I quite disagree with the notion of saying that this and that component is more important than the other. In my opinion, and experience, the entire system is critical.
What is really important is matching, successfully voicing components together. In this aspect, stuff that you consider less important like cables, power conditioning, vibration isolation and such can be most critical. A cable can make or break any system much in the same way a pre-amp can, or why not room acoustics. The impact of these so-called minor things can really make a system shine, or it can strangle it completely.. :)
What is really important is matching, successfully voicing components together. In this aspect, stuff that you consider less important like cables, power conditioning, vibration isolation and such can be most critical. A cable can make or break any system much in the same way a pre-amp can, or why not room acoustics. The impact of these so-called minor things can really make a system shine, or it can strangle it completely.. :)