Synergy is one of the most important factors. And replacing one piece at a time is one of the best way to tell differences. You never trully know how a piece will sound untill you hear it in your system. I usually have a long term plan and know what pieces I am not completely happy with. I work toward the end goal.
But at this point I am trully happy with my system. There is nothing that I really feel needs upgrading. My phono preamp was the last piece.