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How do you determine how much to spend on speakers

Hello all,

I am just starting out in this HI-FI stuff and have a pretty modest budget (prospectively about 5K) for all. Any suggestions as to how funds should be distributed. At this stage, I have no interest in any analog components. Most notably, whether or not it is favorable to splurge on speakers and settle for less expensive components and upgrade later, or set a target price range and stick to it.

Thanks
krazeeyk

Showing 2 responses by virgil

virgil
7 posts
 
Krayzeeyk (Curb fan?),

Here's my advice:

1. Speakers make the biggest difference. Spend the most money here.

2. Cd source is almost as important. Spend the next largest amount on the cd player.

3. Amps are amps after the first $500. Sound improvement is in the smallest increment here. Golden Ears say otherwise, but for the rest of us...Of course, amps have a very high "cool" factor that might lead you to spend your cash here. Be honest with yourself, if cool factor is important spend more money on your amp.
virgil
7 posts
 
Dennis_the_menace

I'm glad the upgrade was worth it for you, but in my experience it just is not cost effective to spend a large percentage of my audio system's budget to upgrade amps. IMO, sink $2000 in an amp upgrade and I see only a little benefit [unless it replaces a very old or just plain bad amp]. Spend that $2000 on a speaker upgrade and the benefits are incredible.

There's certainly an argument for amps giving sound benefits, definitely more so than cables or line amplifiers which I consider bordering on quackery. It's just that I consider amps the third most important after source and speaker; and a distant third for me.

Everyone's mileage varies of course.

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