if there esisted a "best" component in each category, someone would specify the brand name and be able to justify the opinionor so-called knowledge.
the fact that for any component type there are so many suggestions as to what is "best", would seem to indicate that there is no best.
in fact all components are erroenous and they manifest this in different ways. thus, there can be no best amp, preamp, cd player, cable, speaker, power conditioner, etc., as each component has its strengths and weaknesses.