The fact that electronics matter a lot when we pick our system pieces is well known and called : synergy....
I just changed a bad low cost cable for a better low cost cables i already had and added a low cost tube preamplifier well designed to my active speakers and for my secondary headphone for the best... Then synergy matter and can be helped as anyone know by adding the rightful pieces .😊
The fact that the greatest improvement will always be acoustics as in room or as in acoustics gear modifications using acoustics concepts , ( modification of porthole design and modification of the wave guide) these facts are way less well known...It is why they must be known ... This improvement facts going on with acoustics basic are true even compared to most upgrades of a single piece of gear ... The only exception will be going from low-fi to top hi-fi speakers which will represent too a high improvement ...
The two "schools of thoughts" you are refering to are not schools of thought but 2 groups ignoring that measures or tastes are not enough ...
One group vouch for set of electrical measures which are not enough at all and the other group in the name of "tastes", which is not enough either, ignore acoustics factors and psychoacoustics factors and measures and go for an upgrading race to improve his S.Q. blind to acoustics by necessity ( not all people own a dedicated room or know its importance )
There is only one enlightened group for me : People who takes into account all factors in the right order ...
I want to be clear....😊
Repeating common place fact as changing electronics piece can improve S.Q. will not change acoustic and psychoacoustics truth ...It only will add to the feud "between these two school of thought" ...
It is why i stubbornly repeat basic which goes over this feud...In acoustic we used "ears" and we use "measures" ...