Which Cables Are of Most Importance?

The obvious has been stated all cables matter, from my experience the preamp to amp makes the biggest difference in my system.

The least noticeable has been speaker cables.

Tonearm cables are much more important than any other.
The smaller signal the better cables are needed.

The interconnect between the source and preamp.

Rrog,
My interconnects from pre to amp are balanced AudioTechnica with Neutrik XLR plugs, so in this case the quality of wires is almost negligent.

My problem is two-fold. The local dealer wants to put comparable quality (high-end AQ) for all my cables which rapidly gets very expensive. Since my setup involves putting wires through walls and behind a fireplace, I need professional installation and can not readily compare different cables or do it myself. That was why I asked the question of which cables were most important and where I can get the most bang for the cable buck.