The notion that there is only one right approach, which implies only one correct set of priorities, is unreasonable. I am a fan of extremely dynamic speakers, such as full-range, full-range used as wide range drivers in multiway systems, and horn-based systems. But, there is no one approach that does everything right and so we all pick our favored set of compromise
Completely agree, which brings us full circle to the original point of this thread which is "most critical component" which to me means the one component you must start with ........ again
we all pick our favored set of compromises
so the one component that has the largest number of inherent weaknesses that must be overcome or lived with, the one with the largest number of differences in performance from model to model, the one that must be most carefully chosen to integrate into the given room, the one which forces us to make the largest number of compromises is the speaker... so therefore, one must start with speakers that meet their criteria then build from there i.e. speakers are the most critical component.
Mahgister has been relentless in his posts about his room and I appreciate his passion, but optimizing the room does not fit with the idea above about picking the most critical component because most of us don't have the luxury of picking our room. We do pick our speakers. So I'm fine with the idea that the room is critically important when optimizing your system, but it does not fit with the idea of picking the most critical component because again, most don't pick their room.
My philosophy which has served me well is you have to start somewhere and build around it otherwise you will be constantly changing one thing to make up for a difference in another. You need a solid foundation to build on. You need one constant in your system to build on.... buy the best speakers you can afford to meet your preferences then go from there. I've had the same speakers for almost 20 years with no desire to change.. everything else has changed and most many times.
Which leads me to me final point. Most of this thread has been people talking past each other because they are talking about different things. "Weakest Link" and "room optimization" and "garbage in/out" and "speaker differences" and "everything matters" and "most critical component" and all the rest are all valid considerations, but even though it is all intertwined, they are different considerations.
If you have a different definition for "critical component " then the points above don't apply.