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 sns

 I've never built any system in nearly thirty years with a set percentage of budget for any particular element in chain. I've always started out with amp/loudspeaker as package deal, whatever loudspeaker I started out with required certain type of amplification, I purchase the best I can afford at this point. Rest of system follows from here.
Certainly, there is a certain percentage attached to each element at any single moment in time, just don't pay attention as I'm building system. I can only say that every single link in chain is important, when weak link discovered, 100% of my efforts and budget goes toward eliminating that weak link.