How do you determine how much to spend on speakers

Hello!

This post is nearly 10 years old but the topic continues.

I strongly recommend the source components be where the most emphasis should be put.

Try to make purchases which have lasting, classic value.

In a digital world the music starts with the d/A converters and their power supplies. Today very compelling and beautiful music can come from a universal disc player.

For example, oppo 95, plus a pre-amp e.g. Proceed avp2(used but classic) could be had for $2500.

A citation 7.1 power amp (used) sells for about $800. Also musical fidelity has a good one which sells for about the same price. 3.2CR.

Spend $500 on competent used interconnects e.g. Card as neutral reference or similar. Supra speaker cable buy in bulk with good terminations.

For speakers buy NHT super zero XU for under $200 new.

You will have spent $4000.

Put the remaining $1000 in your mouth and pray for lock-jaw and continue your search for speakers. In two decades the change will be new speakers.

For speakers buy NHT super zero XU for under $200.

I have now had the Daber Monitor 3's for two weeks and have had a chance to do some critical listening. I have the rounded cabinets in maple that Steve provides for a small extra fee. They are gorgeous with very high end carpentry work! The first thing that will strike you is the deep, tight bass for such a relatively small speaker. I doubt anyone but the most avid bass fan will see the need for a subwoofer in a two-channel setup. The mids are very satisfying and the highs are clear and precise. Vocals are rendered in a very natural fashion. The soundstage competes with the best. My wife, who is very musically inclined, even prefers them over my Acoustic Zen Adagios. A very different speaker and a matter of taste, but still high praise from a very musical person. I love them both for different reasons. To say that I am pleased with the results would be an understatement. In summary I think this must be one of the best values in speakers out there and they are made in the USA by a small entrepreneurial company. Give them a try - you will not be disappointed!

As a side note the speaker stands for the Volla speakers fit as if made for these speakers (rounded) - got them from MSS HIFI at a decent preice. Steve is planning on making stands for them as well in the near future.

Are you interested in good musical qualities or good sound qualities??
I've had expensive speakers ($8800 Cremona's) and now have $1200 speakers (Magnepan MG12's).
If you are going to spend a lot (like more than $2500) you'd better have the really solid (and dead sounding) walls of a great listening room to go with them or you will still have crappy midrange and treble. I've had a pair of Proac D15's that were beautiful sounding in a high-end apartment but sounded awful in a house I later bought (until I covered all the walls with persian rugs to shut them the heck up).
You can get by just fine with el cheapo MG12's or mini monitors if you have real high end source and amplification components though. It's all about the music, not the sound. Speakers (IMO) don't seem to be as much about the music than they are about the sound. One of the best systems I've ever had was a pair of $875 minimonitors (linn tukans) but they had a $2500 source (LP12) and $7000 preamp and power amp (Kairn/Klout) in front of them.

I actually think that it is a non-linear function where more you spend on the system on aggregate, less critical it becomes as to what percent of your total budget should be spent on the speakers. Put another way, if someone's budget is $3000 for the whole system, I would say, spend at least 2/3rds on the speakers. If your budget is $8000, then it is a totally different relationship and it will depend more on your priorities (efficiency, brightness, dynamic drive, low-end, mid-range, resolution, even details like off-axis response).
My two cents.

Find the best sounding speakers you can, find a way to talk whoever owns them down to what you can scrape together. Then figure out what made them sound so good to you ask your self is this what I want to go with my speakers and can I in the near future buy this amp cables front end or is what I have close to or as good as what I heard. When at a dealers shop make notes of what the speakers you like are being driven by cables amps front end and anything in the signal path also note room size treatments tweeks it all counts the closer it is to what you have the better the chance it will sound that way for you at home. That is if you can't do a home demo. In my case I spend more on turntables and speakers as I find I keep them longer than cables or amps but that is just my way. Try and remember this is a hobby not the search for the holy grail have some fun with it. As to the how much to spend "I will go all in with all the cash I can lay hands on if I find a speaker I want" Martin logan CLX this last time I even bought the amp cables that were driving them.

The point here is to select stuff that is of a uniform quality especially if you are on a budget. You can do extremely well on so called budget items. The majority of problems occur with the ROOM and NOT the equipment. I suggest the OPPO players for CD and SACD. An integrated amp from NAD and Kimble Hero interconnects. Speaker wire should be Spitz anti- cable and whatever is left should be spent on the speakers. If you have some money to spare I would try and deaden the listening room.

Make that the Pathos Logos.

I have an Integra 50.1 receiver with Focal 836v speaker and last Monday I listened to a Focal 807v bookshelf speaker that had significantly better clarity in the sound compared to my "better" speakers. The difference was the 807v speakers were being driven by a Pathos Inpol2 (I believe). It made me think that for certain music types I might prefer the cost of the bookshelf compared to my floorstanders so that I could put more of the budget towards a better amplifier. Jazz comes to mind.

I would suggest listening to some of the less expensive speakers on really high quality amplifiers and see if at their best they give you the sound you are looking for.

Beerdraft,

When I initially saw the forum title, I laughed out loud and then I remembered how I started this hobby and it's been fun to look back. Thanks for updating this old question and giving a kick to my memory banks (those just tuning in should read the posts in reverse)

I agree with you that the various components are *almost* equal in importance. Synergy works that way....you would be hard pressed to choose downgrading anything once things are dialed in to a particular sweet spot.

That said, I believe speakers are the place to start and they should dominate a starting budget. Audition them with the very best electronics first to establish how good they can really be. They anchor everything.

After purchasing speakers, my greenbacks tended to go to the front end. My old Thiel 3.6's didn't sound very good with mid-fi gear. I spent a fair amount of money before the electronics were as good as those old workhorses. Just my two cents.

well, this topic started in '02, so at that time one could have taken out a giant home equity loan and bought one heck of a pair of speakers, but that option is not in play these days, is it?. :)

How much money is in my bank account? That's how much money I can spend on speakers!

Just kidding of course. In all seriousness, the REAL way I determine how much money I can spend on speakers is the shade of red my wife's face turns when I mention price. Pale pink means "go," but beat red means "too much."

;)

-Aaron

If you want superb Hi End Audio system set up, go for this:

1- Totem's Limited Edition The One speaker, US$3400.
2- CD Player: RAYSONIC CD168, US$1578.
3- Bada LB-5500 Power Filter Plant,US$115.
4- YAQIN MS-12B Tube phono Pre-Amplifier,US$226.
5- Cayin A-88T integrated/power vacuum tube amplifier, US$1700.
6- Speaker cables, Part Two: Audience-Au 24 2.5 meter, US$800.
7-Interconnect Cables: Audience Au-24 interconnects 1meter, US$502.
8- Cable Elevators: Dark Field,US$105 for 4 field.
9- Power Cable: Anaconda CX Price US$1808 for 3 power cable.
10- Speaker Tuning Feet, US$376 for 2 speaker.

You're looking at almost exactly what I have in my system. First you have to understand that there is always something that will sound better than what you have. The goal is to own equipment that makes you happy. I purchased a pair of Focal 836v speakers ($3,000) and Integra 50 receiver ($1,400) and an Integra CD player ($300). I can't have a dedicated 2 channel system so this gave me the best overall sound. Later I added a Martin Logan Dynamo 700 subwoofer to handle the .1 movie duties. I've listened to many of the Focal Chorus series speakers on a system that is intended for the Utopia line so I've heard them on equipment where the speakers were worth less than the tax on the cables used in the system and they sound great there and on affordable equipment. Unless you're the type that is never happy, any system in the 5k range should sound wonderful.

Don't spend a bunch of money on a CD player IF you plan to hook it with a toslink cable and stay digital into a receiver as there isn't any difference. The digital signal is nothing more than ones and zeros. If you're going analogue from the CD player then it makes a difference.

I just purchased my wife's dad a pair of Focal 706v speakers and compared them to Paradigm, B&W, PSB, Martin Logan and a few other speakers in a similar price range and had my opinion of the Focal Chorus series confirmed. They really sound great.

I'd recommend listening to a set of Focal Chorus 816v, 826v and/or 836v, you'll may find something you like.

The speakers are the weakest link , spend on good speakers they will serve you better in the end ...

regards,

I should point out that I am not saying in my post above that the %%% I spent was a planned attack or a method of someone else putting something together. I did no planning when I did this system. I just bought what I wanted. I sat and figured the percentage on a calculator just for this thread. I am surprised though at how close every category is and to me it tells me that they are all important, because the cdp went in first with the old system and then the speakers, then each piece was upgraded one at a time so I did get to see the improvements in stages although it only lasted a couple of weeks in between some upgrades. The one thing I left out was room control which I have some of to and it is equally important. I could probably include that in the racks which would bump that up 3 or 4 % maybe. I think the most important thing is to talk to someone who knows how to match things well and then decide what to spend and would say spread out the money, don't put it all in one place.

There is no formula, period. Figure out what works for you. It might be a brand new $200,000 horn speaker system with $1500 used integrated. On the other hand, you might find unbelievable results with $500 worth of used Spicas with a new Ongaku. Many world class musicians find their needs met by very modest gear and might not even know what brand of speakers they have.
Making pronouncements about what fraction of your available funds must be applied to the speaker purchase, reveals a naivete you should prefer to conceal.

I think it is incredible that a thread based upon such a foolish premise has survived this long. Such reflects badly on us as a group.

Let your ears decide, I figure by the time it's all over I'll have at least 20K in electronics feeding my Thiel CS2.4's. They really are that good of a speaker! Or at least I think so

AT least $20k be a sport!!

It's funny to go back and look at my old post and now with all the changes I've been through with my system and what I viewed as important then and now, ha... I think my speakers are right up there in importance now with everything. Here is how my $$$ was spent on the new system and it is pure magic IMO.
Preamp-14.5%
Source-11%
amps-19%
speakers-19%
Racks-12.5%
Conditioners and power cords-14.5%
interconnects and speaker cables-9.5%

The above for me is all important. If I had to determine what goes last in the event of a down size, it would be very difficult. I would say the last things to change in my system would be the speaker and or racks. I would rather downsize my components if I had to and get the max out of it by placing it on my racks. That said the rack maybe would go before the speakers. That said I think its important not to leave anything undone and make sure you get stuff that works well together.

1/3 to 1/2 of your budget on speakers

Just because it's pertinent and works, I'll interject this once again... and from time to time for the newbies and other's.

A great front end makes even decent speakers better.

Determining your goals in advance will make your speaker choices fewer and to some degree easier.

Easy impedance loads and good to very good efficiency ratings will also afford one far greater flexibility as one tries this and that with regard to system components (amps) along the way.

Middle of the pack $4K to $6K speakers can sound like greatest speakers on earth when the front end attached to them is up to snuff.

Great speakers do not make great front ends... but fine electronics do make very good speakers great. true too there are some very good quite forgiving loudspeakers on the market and even so so gear will make them sing pretty well. Apart from those units however, refined well heeld and resolute speakers require the same in the signal being fed to them.

The keys will always be the same... room size... room acoustics... and the amp feeding the transducers being mated properly to their particular needs.

Systems that are balanced will yeild results beyond the sum of their parts.

So spend what you wish on squeakers but do remember, it's a symbiotic relationship and not a parasitic relationship. Speakers which remain at one third to one half of the total enterprise should be sane enough choices.

The short answer IMO seems to be to spend what you can when you can with the notion in mind that speakers do play a significant role, but not THE role in an excellent sounding system... as everything matters... and I do mean everything.

Check your bank account SPEND HALF on speakers the rest on the rest of system!!

There is a math formula I use,that has worked well for me.take the amount your wife approves,times 4 and lie like hell!

Is one has good woodworking skills you can take the DIY speaker approach and save thousands and put the money saves towards the front end equipment.

Oh well, this thread started exactly 8 years ago !

Dollar value have changed... $5K in today's value would be almost $10K

I think the most difficult part is STICKING to your original budget plan :O)

Yes, I have failed on this, too.

I plan to spend 40% on speaker, 30% on solid amp (with most power I can get), and all the others for 30%.

But my speaker department is demanding more budget.
(Every time I listen to new speakers, budget goes up)

I kept the amps and other components under control,(thanks to AudiogoN) but the speaker budget has gone up 50%..Alas...

The proper question should be, "Which speaker do you spend anything on?". The very best speakers are as different as night and day. Choose five of your favorite CD's and audition as many speakers as you can. Once you determine wich sound you like best you can began to spend money. Top amps sound quite similar; the big question is solid state or tube. Audition, audition, audition.

No one can afford the perfect speaker; therefore you must determine which is the best speaker for you. You can do this be selecting 5 of your favorite CD's and audition as many different speakers as you can. This will narrow the kind of sound you like best. While the best amps sound similar, the best speakers sound as different as night and day.

First time poster pondering the same questions as we prepare to replace our 15 year old components and 25 year old speakers. In discussing building with the intent/expectation of future upgrades the one thing I haven't seen discussed is advancements in technology.

Is speaker technology more mature than all the electronics driving them? Technology has left our Pro Logic receiver and tube TV behind but I'm not so sure the same can be said for the Infinity RS7s.

We'll be upgrading speakers to a matched set of surround speakers. So all things being equal, will money spent on good speakers today be compatible/adaptable to advances in the components driving them or will today's speakers be tomorrow's Pro Logic dinosaurs?

The harsh reality is that you can put $5000 speakers in a room next to $500 speakers and the $500 may actually sound better. The room itself plays a critical part in the sound. You don't hear specs and the sound you hear will not be flat due to room acoustics. What you hear in the store will sound nothing like what the speaker sounds like in your home.

I strongly recommend buying a receiver/processor with Audyssey eq built in. It will improve your sound more than spending twice on your speakers, especially if you have a separate subwoofer.

Ignore all the hype on special cables and power filters...don't even think about buying monster cables. Unless you have exceptional ears (and a far larger budget), you will hear absolutely no difference. Just buy cables from MonoPrice and maybe a surge suppressor from home depot.

Finally, since you are sort of new to all this, keep your eyes open for used equipment...especially speakers because they are often hard or a pain to box and ship. Check your local craigslist or do ebay searches for speakers based on distance to your home. Of course, you have to be careful..some of that stuff is way overpriced, but you can absolutely find real bargains if you are patient.

As a general rule..if something is sold in any of the big box stores (e.g. best buy, Walmart,...), don't buy it. They just don't carry any of the good gear. Don't buy all the Bose hype and I've already commented on Monster Cables, etc.

Have to agree with Ddd1,buy used your 5 k budget,can turn into a 15 k system by buying used,just pay close attention to how old the cd player is,and if its been serviced or upgraded.I just spent 700 dollars serviceing my cd player.

Don't worry what your're spending...worry about what you're getting. For example, if you find a pair of used speakers (by being extremely patient) for $250 that were $1800 new then you will have a lot more money for the other stuff. Just have the discipline to use what you have until you find a bargain too good to pass up and build like that. Only buy the best bargains and don't be afraid to use sources in addition to Audiogon, where the sellers may not be so sure of the going rates for their stuff. You can buy a $10,000 system for peanuts if you take your time.

Alas it is my bank-account,not I that 'makes' the decision.
Otherwise I would directly order the biggest from Nuddel.
Regards,

What ever the wife says.

If your goal is the best possible sound today, splurge on components and then add reasonable capable speakers. Don't cap a mediocre system off with great speakers unless you are committed to upgrading those components down the road. Great speakers just let you hear more of the source.

make up a budget, then only spend $1000 more than you budgeted on the speakers.

that's a plan

Much depends upon the speakers you choose in terms of the needed amplification. As a Maggie owner (3.6s) I need more current and watts than someone who prefers horns.

That said, I have McIntosh 501s driving them and a matching McIntosh tube preamp. I bought the electronics used and the speakers new so my balance is about 2 : 1 in terms of preamp, amp and source versus speaker cost. I am not counting the music server I just added as that is an "extra" that not everyone would chose to own.

I spent about 45% on my speakers. Then again, its a surround system and they're more speakers to go round. The issue of balance is a very important point because you certainly don't want any more power than is needed for the speakers, nor do you want insufficient power going to your speakers. I had B&W N804 powered by McIntosh MC205 and was more amplifier than the speakers needed, so I upgraded to 803s (the best I can afford). Still the power indicator needles don't move very far.

The fellow that bought my N804 was going to power them with NAD 50 watts per channel, and I told him "gahhhhh nonononononoo" Can you get at least 100 oer side? He was moving to Korea and shipping the speakers back. Apparently its costs less than buying them there.

Awesome $5k system:

http://www.bluebirdmusic.com/Ultimate%20Budget.htm

That's easy, $5K for a pair of Maggie 3.6R's. Save yourself a lifetime of desperate searching and ungodly amounts of money like myself and get a pair today...you will be home when you listen. If you know music, there is no other speaker for you:O )

5K can make you really happy.
- pick the speakers you love and are comparable with your listening room
- amp or integrated that complements the speakers.
- read about proper speaker setup and room acoustics. Apply that knowledge.
- spend rest on source.

Mariusz

You will consume the majority of your budget in speakers and will not have enough money for the supporting electronics.

The Speaker / Amplifier interface is critical to extracting the best performance out of your speakers. You need to ensure that everything is balanced within your budget or you will have expensive gear in your system that is under performing.

The room you place your stuff in is just as critical.

So what size room are you listening in?
Is it a bright room or somewhat damped?
Where do you intend to place your speakers in relation to the room dimensions?
How far will you be seated?
Is your back to a wall?
Any sliding glass doors around?
Is there equipment (TV for example) going between the speakers?
How loud do you listen to music?
What types?

Without this information, all the advice you are getting is basically a shot in the dark.

If you want the most value out of your system, then you need to address the questions above first before even considering actual speakers.

If you are just beginning, the ‘hi fi’ highway is wide open… as just about everything you buy now will likely be replaced anyways later on.

I’ve not run across anyone personally, though there may well be a few out there, that haven’t at some point made changes to their stereo systems.

Rooms do play a big part, so does life. Decorating. Redecorating. Kids. Changing houses or apartments. So there is probably no one fool proof way to select the ‘first’ pair of speakers apart from a nice pair of monitors. Two ways…. Or just not large pricey floor standers. A good trickle down plan here will help out immensely, as the ‘first’ ones can be applied some where else, at some later date without them becoming a total loss.

A real nice pair of two ways and one or two subs can do an awful lot of music. Movies. Etc… They pack quickly and move easily too.

Without a gob of money, I’ve always gone the receiver route, decent source, and middle of the road speakers, using entry level wires. Then begin adding when and where it’s needed. I went always with an amp addition then.

With a gob of duckets I’d still stick pretty close to that plan depending on my decision to go 2ch or multi as the end result. If the idea was multi ch sound, I’d not get too crazy there and could live with monitors all around, though my past says one pair should be as full range as I can afford. In multi ch, the speaker costs can be hefty and half the budget isn’t uncommon.

In two ch as attractive as the speaker buying aspect seems to be, the front end does mean more in the final analysis. From scratch, I’d get a really decent integrated amp. As nice a source as I could find two good power cords, Decent ICs & speaker cables. The balance of the funds would go towards speakers.

Great loudspeakers don’t sound so great with mediocre front ends as a rule. Midlevel loudspeakers can sound fantastic with great front ends though.

Quite naturally, and it stands to reason, where ever you can add more performance/money to the now system later you will be well served. Be it at the front end, along the way, or at the rear, into the speakers.

As esthetically appealing as are loudspeakers, and certainly as necessary as they are, they need not be seen as the prize piece of ones system. I would also caution anyone whose intention it is to go get brand new loudspeakers, it isn’t a prerequisite they be new for fine results to be had. Pre-owned do very well indeed.

Lastly, if the decision is more set into the esthetic end of the scale, meaning their color or wood coverings HAVE to be one way or another, I WOULD STRONGLY recommend some reconsideration of that note from a fiduciary stand point alone. There’s not a large market for resale of white, purple, green, or zebra striped speakers. They may be stunning at first to look at, but that visual appeal may fade soon thereafter, and oh, what if you’re moving or redecorating in a couple years or so? Specially adorned cabinetry is an elite or niche pick entirely. They diminish later changes and choices.

I know I’ll not be going that way ever again. Classic semi, or piano gloss black, or better yet, a nice warm actual wood veneer well finished will be my choice henceforth. Dark for the most part too.

My current speakers comprise about 25% or so of my system, not counting accessories or cabling… less than 20% I believe if they are added in too. My speakers retail for about $7K at last look. I love ‘em. They sound super. But following the remodeling, their color, to me, is all wrong now.

Plans change. Things one has no idea what so ever to do later on may yet materialize. Going whole hog up front on some pricey speakers without some dedicated plan and lots of resolve can wind up being an expensive move. Or at least, a very regrettable one.

Factor in also if there are limitations of the signal’s purity prior to it’s introduction to the loudspeaker itself, you have undermined the performance of your transducers. Speakers can not make up for signal loss or degradation. This detraction of the signal is the only way to decrease a loudspeakers ability to recreate. Consequently, it doesn’t seem sensible to place the larger portion of the budget there.to do so will cost you music and money. Always.

Don't use price or allocation formulas to build a system. The key is balance, synergy, and value.

You won't know where to allocate your funds until you are actually auditioning units. A good dealer should have units at a number of different price points. This is about listening and about developing good instincts. You should have CD player X and Y, amp X and Y, preamp X and Y, and speakers X and Y in mind and then it is up to you to organize them into an arrangement that sounds good and meets your budget. Also, think about how often you are likely to upgrade and what kinds of compromises you are willing to make. Do you need a lot of bass or would you rather have a more refined but smaller speaker? Ect.

That said, I think in a system like this the speakers should actually wind up being the least expensive component. I would spend $600-$1,200. You would be better off getting a capable but inexpensive speaker now and laying the foundation for a future speaker upgrade with a solid amp and preamp. Build around a really good preamp and amplifier. Split what is left between your digital source and your speakers.

The reason is that, I know for a fact that there are $650 monitor speakers that have the detail, refinement, and imaging to keep up with a much better amp and preamp, but the reverse is almost never true. Pairing insufficient amps and preamps with higher end speakers usually results in an unpleasant system because you wind up just hearing more of the mediocre source components and the purpose of having the better speakers is defeated. Especially if your source is digital, you are going to want to have a really good digital source before thinking about your dream speakers.

For example, I have about $7k of amp/preamp in front of my B&W N804s that cost me around $4k. When I got those speakers I was using an old integrated amplifier (Audiolab) for my preamp and the system was just harsh and unpleasant. It wasn't until I parked about $5k of preamp in front of those speakers that they sounded spectacular. Until that point, they were like having a microscope on my mediocre integrated. This is the type of situation that creates upgrade fever and it can be avoided.

Slapping really great speakers on a system that can't keep up is sort of like that Woody Allen joke: "boy, the food here is really terrible, and the portions are too small." Why would you want more of something that is terrible? Do the front end stuff first and just find some speakers that sound good to you to start.

Well recently I just bought my first system. It consists of the latest Olive Opus 4,
Bel Canto DAC3 and ATC Active 20s with PsAudio's Power plant premier. So you can tell that I've spent like almost 60-70% of my budget on my speakers but then again they are active so I ended up saving quite a bit. My original choices was an Icepower amps from Acoustic Reality and Wilson Benesch's trinity or Discovery. Buying active speakers saved me a sizeable chunk of money so maybe you should go active too with that budget. Consider getting a class leading DAC like Benchmark's or BelCanto's and pair it with a basic transport, and maybe active loudspeakers from AVI, ATC or Dynaudio and you will have a great value for money simple set up.

Depends on what source you want. Assuming you are going with a cd only - spend no more than $500 there, between $1000 and $1500 on the amp (stay integrated) and between $2000 and $2500 on the speakers. Keep only enough left for speaker wire (#12 or #14, 2 conductor cable - copper - decent quality, i.e. Belden or any other major manufacturer) and decent connectors (i.e. banannas or spade connectors)- you should be able to keep this cost to much less than $100 assuming you don't have 100 feet between your amp and speakers. Do not waste $$ on expensive cable power cords or power conditioners (although a decent surge protector is not a bad idea). Pick your speakers first and get enough clean power to drive them. If you are happy without high volumes and deep low end you can do very well with your budget - particularly if you go with bookshelves. Audition your options and listen for more than a few minutes - if you can't hear the difference between two options without the salesman telling you the difference, then go with the lower cost and reapportion your budget as you go

In 1985,I bought my first hi-fi stereo system at a trustworthy high end local dealer. I was pretty much a novice at the time. I told the dealer my budget was $3000 and he brought me in at $2800 as follows:20% on speakers (Spica TC-50s w/custom stands);7% on Receiver(Rotel 2 x 50wpc);16% on source (Rotel CD player and a used Meridian DAC); 7% on used subwoofer system (10" passive woofer in seperate enclosure and 350w bass amp); 3.5% on speaker cables (a pr. of used MITs)and a whopping 57% on interconnects ($100 on analogs and $1400 on a Goldmund coax digital running between the CD player and the DAC). The dealer did a blind demo for me of the system with and w/o the Goldmund. There was a large improvemnt w/ the Goldmund. I have never again had a cable make such a big improvement.

In 1997 I went back to the same dealer for a new system with a $20,000 budget. This time I spent 50% on speakers (Wilson Audio Cubs w/ custom Sound Anchor stands); 37% on Sonic Frontiers tube preamp and matching 2 x 105wpc tube amp; 7.5% on source (top of the line Sony SACD/CD/DVD player); 10% on Sunfire True Subwoofer; 2% on surge protector/line conditioner and 5% on spkr cables (Audience AU/24), interconnects (Transparent and Wireworld)and XLO balanced cables between the pre and the amp.

If I were you I would look at a Madisound Kit or similar if you are DIY inclined as this will save a heap. Zaph Audio/ scanspeak collaboration with Madisound the ZRT is a good bet. I would look at amplifiers next ME, Pass Labs, Accuphase, ARC, VTL second hand are sometimes a bargain. I would run a decent pro PC sound card with XLR out. I use an entry level ASI5111 that EATS most CD players up to $5000. Your computer and its music library are your source. Just thinking aloud you could run a SERIOUS amp with a passive volume control if it has XLR input and out. That is what I run on my PC only I run XLR to RCA out to a flea powered hotted Rogers Cadet III [8w/rms]into ProAc super Tablette with twin 8in bass bins a side run with a custom class A Amp
Loud enough for computer near field monitoring but not a lounge room but I can use the Tannoys for that. $5000 could build you a Killer system as you only need 3-4 components assuming you have a computer. Hope this helps

My logic would be,A SPEAKERS and B AMP are the most important starting point.The rest in time.

Good Luck and have fun!

Based on my experience, I would definitely start the development of a system with the speakers. It is the speaker that mostly characterizes the sonic signature of your system. That is, electronics can change how well a speaker sounds, but they don't change the speakers' basic sonic signature. So, i would first make sure that I get a speaker that has a sonic signature I like. I would then try to optimize the electronics based on the speaker I've chosen. I don't think power cables make a huge difference. Interconnects and speaker cables, on the other hand, can make an enormous difference. The above probably suggests that the speaker is the hub of the system, something that you don't want to change that frequently because the rest of the system needs to be optimized on the speaker. For this reason, I would over-invest on it. How much depends on the size of your room. Smaller rooms afford you a smaller investment. I just bought a pair of reference 3a Decapo i for my smaller room...I invested $1200, and I believe it's hard to find much better speakers for a very small environment. Of course medium and large rooms require more expensive equipment...but even here, you can reach pretty good results with a $3K investment. If you like the midrange, for instance, Piquet modified ESL 57 is very close to the best...and they cost $3K.

"How do you determine how much to spend on speakers "
More than you want too :-)