How much does power amplifier really matter comparing to other hi-fi components?


What is the best ratio (out of a total of 100%) in terms of money to put in a high-end hi-fi set containing:
1. CD player/DAC, 2. Pre-amp, 3. Power-amp, 4. speakers.
(25% will be assigned to each if the 4 parts are equal).
Can we take this as a reference to distribute the budget when buying power-amp?

Looking forward to learning experiences and technical information from audiophiles including hi-fi dealers.
cclee2022

Showing 1 response by barts

It all matters...if you did a mashup of all the above posts you would find that "it all matters".  

Assigning percentages to components is a fool's errand, you may like to think about it in those terms, but you'll never match it as you move forward.

My simple rule of thumb is that any component that is a transducer requires more dollars.  That would be speakers (signal to sound), cartridge (squiggles to signal), cd/dac (digital to analog). 

After that you pick the order of spending, but it all matters!

Regards,
barts