I don't have much time right now, but your order of priority is definitely incorrect. The source is the pinnacle of importance. The speakers (in your three-way list) would come next, and last the amp.

Don't get me wrong. One amp may be much better than another amp (but you have to set a number of things aside to compare apples to apples), but it's all moot if you've skimped or skipped prioritizing the first two. Given amps of the same power rating, not including any filter circuits (cut-offs, etc..) then one amp is pretty much as "good" as another when played back at the same volume. It would be much easier to pick out the other two component types in a blind test. Now of course amp selection may involve other bells and whistles, but that should all come after source and speakers, IMO.

There's a moderator of a forum I used to frequent who's willing to put $10000 on the line to prove the point above about the amp.

Just make sure whatever amp is used can provide enough power to drive the speakers being used. Otherwise you may as well revisit the speaker selection and you're back near the beginning (near because it's already determined that all this evaluation would lead to adding components to the one true source, the empeg. )

Bruno