It is refreshing that a string could bring so much diversity of ideas and concepts and still maintain civility.
All of the above discussion brings credence to what I refer to as;"The charm of vinyl".
Indeed the chain of components and the symbiotic relationship of all the parts of the process of listening to analog music reproduction is a great metaphor to nature and life.It shows the human love of touching,gathering,and listening,often to artists that are no longer with us.We bid on Agon and Ebay for those discs that were made decades ago from all parts of the world.We listen to wide and diverse cultural collections of offerings. From Renaissance european madrigals to Tibetan monks. How cool is that?
Then there is the very human expression of cover art and the actual touching and preparation of the discs.We wash,steam,anti-static zap,clean again then listen.Than analyze what we are hearing both sonically and for artistic content.This is so much more tactile and human than a computer (digital) and IMHO more enjoyable.
Now to answer the topic:
It seems to me that "good" reproduction of "good" vinyl can be done without huge outlays of funds.The notion of "good" is of course,subjective and relative and this is where the disclaimer "in my humble opinion(IMHO)"comes into play.
I have found through my years of listening to many systems that symmetry is all important.I also feel that there is a diminishing returns threshold that is reached very quickly.A "good" table with a "good" cartridge can achieve magic but can also be limited.The same can be said for very expensive and renowned rigs.Needless to say subjectivity is everything here.
It seems that there is so much good stuff out there now that it is hard to lose.
Personally I have a VPI HWM19 jr. This is considered a good but limited table.It has the Audioquest PT6 arm and a Benz Gold pickup going to a NAD PP2 phono section.None of these is state of the art and are quite outdated compared to the newer VPI line not to mention a host of other super rigs. But it has symmetry and illicit general praise from those that hear it.I also have a crappy old Realistic-Radio Shack direct drive with a AudioTechnica AT62E.It too makes magic on my man cave system. It has symmetry.
In conclusion (very long winded)I am not sure what I would classify as the most important component of the chain,but I would say to balance the components together with the concept of symmetry tempered by wallet and musical taste.
