I have about 70% of my budget spent on tweaks and, so far at least, about 1% spent on wiring. The tweaks were such that in my case I could indeed apply them equally well toward any gear I’d ever own without sonic negatives (as long as the components themselves proved inherently up to par). These tweaks also let me consider lower priced gear and simpler wiring choices (though I may yet experiment slightly with wiring further down the road).
I did find that as my system grew in resolution that the "budget rules" did seem to break down somewhat and I found myself reassessing what new levels of sound quality were possible if I made certain changes. Likewise in the long run I didn’t plan either on turning loose of quite this much money (about $16k in total over the last 26 yrs), but have wound up more than glad that I was able to go this route. But, I’d say that’s this hobby for you. There really shouldn’t be any set spending rules, or perhaps even suggestions, on how much of the budget should be spent where...unless maybe for those folks who are just starting out or who may feel convinced that learning every little technical detail about how things work and the best possible way to go in this hobby is not really for them and might feel better leaning on the advice of others. But, the longer you in fact spend in this hobby it seems to me the more self-reliant you can become if you remain open to learning a few things here and there along the way. Your first system you cut your teeth on, your second one you learn more deeply into your likes and dislikes about the sound and maybe on your third you can start pulling together some lessons learned and begin making the changes You want to hear...or something like that, I suppose... But, in the long view, there may be no spending strategies in place in the beginning that don’t eventually become revised or even overturned in the end...like many others here I’ve found it’s mainly a journey of discoveries.
I did find that as my system grew in resolution that the "budget rules" did seem to break down somewhat and I found myself reassessing what new levels of sound quality were possible if I made certain changes. Likewise in the long run I didn’t plan either on turning loose of quite this much money (about $16k in total over the last 26 yrs), but have wound up more than glad that I was able to go this route. But, I’d say that’s this hobby for you. There really shouldn’t be any set spending rules, or perhaps even suggestions, on how much of the budget should be spent where...unless maybe for those folks who are just starting out or who may feel convinced that learning every little technical detail about how things work and the best possible way to go in this hobby is not really for them and might feel better leaning on the advice of others. But, the longer you in fact spend in this hobby it seems to me the more self-reliant you can become if you remain open to learning a few things here and there along the way. Your first system you cut your teeth on, your second one you learn more deeply into your likes and dislikes about the sound and maybe on your third you can start pulling together some lessons learned and begin making the changes You want to hear...or something like that, I suppose... But, in the long view, there may be no spending strategies in place in the beginning that don’t eventually become revised or even overturned in the end...like many others here I’ve found it’s mainly a journey of discoveries.