Speakers: What's MOST important to you?...

tight bass, full midrange, and smooth highs. that is why i look at speakers with smaller (but could have multiple of them) woofers (10" or less in size) because they tend to have a tighter lower octave and still produce enough bass for me. smooth highs produce a sound that you can listen to for hours.

I like good extension at the extremes, but the midrange (where most of the music is found) has to be clear and engaging. The liquid midrange people talk about is real and the sound is fantastic, when you get a speaker that will provide that midrange.

Image, Pleasure, Presence(or presentation), Accuracy, Ability to create listening room.

Must be Full range, lifelike vocals, efficient, and be able to reproduce piano with good accuracy. If a speaker can do all that, i'd like it.

I gotta be able to listen to Alicia Keys on it and have it convince me that girl is in the room with me.

All aspects are important,however;I feel that a pleasing tonality is the key ingrediant.I can't consider the "soundstage" or "air" if I cannot get past a harsh treble or lifeless midrange.Remember that this "tonality" can change drastically with different ancillary equipment(amps,preamps,DACs,and cables)and room placement.Speakers must be auditioned in the context of a specific system (where a synergy is achieved) and in a specific room placement.