How to divide up your budget in building a 2-Channel HiFi system


I have just begun my HiFi journey over the last few months and already thinking about what is next. I’m curious to hear from those with much more experience than I where the best place to focus your budget is. I’ve heard many say you should spend the majority of your budget on speakers and then buy the best you can for the components with what is left over but your obviously not getting the most out of your speakers if you spend 80% on them and the remaining 20% on everything else. I would think the reverse to be true as well....no sense in spending your budget on components if you don’t have good enough speakers to reveal the difference. As a fun exercise and assuming you had a $20k budget how would you break that up in building your system? Goal would be to optimize realism and expanded sound stage.

Amps:
Preamp:
DAC:
Speakers:
Streamer:
Cables:

Current system: Vandersteen 2ce ii Signatures, mono-bloc Schiit Vidar Amps, Schiit Freya + Preamp, Audio Mirror Tubradour III DAC, Node 2i as streamer.
mvrooman1526

Showing 1 response by looscannon

Mv, I think it depends on the way you plan on approaching this endeavor. 
Some people want to buy a system and get it over with. But, I think most of us plan on approaching this in an evolutionary fashion building a system over time as finances allow. Since you seem to be avoiding vinyl and you already have a quorum of electronics you should most definitely focus on speakers. Take your time. Many people can not overcome their instant gratification impulse. Listen around. Go to shows. Get an idea of what you like best. In the mean while stick all your spare change in the cookie jar. Do it right and do it once. Once you have your dream speakers then you can modify everything else to fit including room acoustics. 
Speakers are too imperfect for me to make a recommendation. It comes down to personal taste and other issue like size and appearance enter in.