How do you determine how much to spend on speakers

for my system, the biggest sonic improvements came from the speakers, followed closely by the amplifier, then the preamp, then digital source, and finally cables, tweaks, etc. i don't understand why people tout the CDP as a critical link. imho, there are few audible differences among CDPs below $2k (and more in some cases). you're much better off buying a cheap CDP and throwing that extra $$ into the speakers or amplifier.

paul: not to belabor this point but you are not still not getting it: the benefits of spending $2k versus $500 on a cdp are INSIGNIFICANT, especially when paired with a $550 integrated amp. you'd get MUCH better bang-for-the-buck by spending that extra $1500 on better speakers or better amplification. it is ridiculously easy to tell one speaker pair from another or one amp from another. in comparison, the differences among CDPs are laughable. we should just agree to disagree because you won't convice me.

regards,

s2k

paul: i said "comparable CDPs", meaning within a certain price range. as i also said, i believe that the differences among CDPs under 2k are very difficult to detect unless you have very high resultion stuff. this thread concerns a system with a total value of $5k. while not impossible, it is unlikely that a $5k system will have the resolution for the CDP to matter very much.

with all due respect paulwp, i strongly disagree that the CDP is more significant than the amp. in my experience, just the opposite is true for EVERY system i've ever heard. i would never scrimp on the amp to spend more on a CDP.

there are so few audible diffences among CDP's these days that you need a very high resolution system just to hear them. and with an inferior amp, there's NO WAY the CDP is going to matter.

note: i realize that a $20k linn sounds a lot better than a $50 portable...my comments above refer to decent CD players below $2k.

i totally agree with the last post. i defy anyone to conduct a true DBX test for comparably decent CD players. i am not holding my breath.

regardless, there's no question that differences among speakers, amps and preamps are MUCH easier to hear than those among comparable CDPs.

-s2k