I think you should always try to buy the best(to you) you can. And buy things you will be happy with, isn't that the point of this hobby? As a rough guide, I think you start with your likes and dislikes. Include how you listen, what you listen to, what you listen for, and so on. Next, you consider the room. Then you can think about speakers. They must match first the room, and then the amplification. This takes more thought than it may appear. I just realized that it all snowballs. Then move on to amplification. I think speakers and amplification both require you to look both up and downstream. Room and amp for the speakers. Speakers and source for the amp. Continue on with your source components. Wire is the LAST thing to worry about. There should be a synergistic match of the upstream component, wire, and downstream component. Synergistic is also subjective. Making things sound best to YOUR ears. As in the end, that is the only thing that matters. Rarely do our lives follow such meticulous blueprinting, but if I had to start from scratch, I would follow this map. Happy listening!