Rate these on order of importance:

Nrchy, how can speakers be the least important if "all things being equal, or even close" is the situation. Some things are more equal than others? Lets at least agree that cost is not the method to determine degree of importance. It might take 40% of the cost of a system on speakers to get an "equal" contribution from said speakers, without stating that they are more important.

Cost is often substituted for quality when making comparisons since the relative value of a product is virtually impossible to determine.

My priority when buying my current system had speakers placed at dead-last in imporatance. Great electronics with okay speakers will sound better than great speakers and okay electronics.

For the 100th time I will state that speakers will never replace what was not retrieved from the source, and then did not survive the trip down the line to the binding posts.

The "synergy of the system" is what most of us are after, anything weak in the chain will deafeat the purpose. I say all in No 1 slot!

5, 5, 5, 4, 1, 2, 3

Changed your mind, Rsbeck?