What are your priorities in system selection?

Since all systems have strengths and weaknesses, when evaluating a system or component, what are your FIVE most important of the following (or other attribute that you might add), in what order and why?


Coherency

Image specificity

Tonal balance

Bass response (lack of overhang)

Sound-stage width

Sound-stage height

Sound-stage depth

Sound stage starting point: Different systems in different rooms have the leading edge of the sound stage anywhere from in front of the speaker plane to all of the way to the back wall

Macro dynamics

Micro dynamics

Other(specify)

I'm in the search for new speakers (and maybe amps) and am having to make this decision my self. With a limited budget, it gets even more complex.

My top few, in order, are:

Linear tonal balance - without it, all semblance of reality is lost

Bass response/bass overhang: Crappy bass, either room induced or speaker induced, is a MAJOR turnoff for me, no matter how good the rest of the system is

Soundstage width (the closer the presentation comes to existing in the original recording venue, the more real it is to me)

Image Specificity; Once you've lived with speakers that do this part so well, going back is darn near impossible