Top two most important sound qualities

Clarity

Tone

Something magical happens when tonality is just right, from top to bottom. Not easily achieved. Not easy at all, especially when trying to improve on multiple other qualities at the same time.

In a related point, I got tone wrong in the first sentence of the original post, but I can’t edit it out now. It was meant lightheartedly, but it sounds whiney. Sorry about that guys. I’ll be adjusting my own tone. 🙂

You need only one: a sense of realism. As in 'suspension of disbelief'.

For this to happen everything else needs to fall into place. Without correct tonality no realism. No clarity, no realism. Limited dynamics, no realism. Etcetera. To get there you will need electronics that are completely neutral and speakers that are 'hand in glove' with the listening space. And of course you will also need a recording that already captured this realism at the recording event. Good luck!

True. And not to criticize or disagree, but to me, choosing "realism" is almost like cheating lol. Isn't it almost like choosing "perfection" or "the ideal sound" as a single sound quality? Maybe not. I've always been aiming for realism for my sound because it is necessarily a composite of getting so many essential sound qualities to a very refined state.

Great thread! I was going to start one that was a top 5 so I’ll list my top 5 things that I want to achieve with my system. From least to most although they no doubt all fit together 

1- great center image 

2-clean sound with superb clarity and detail with no grating highs 

3- wide soundstage with as much depth as my room will do  

4- great tone and midrange magic

5- speakers disappear so it’s just me and the music