The speaker-room interaction is the most important, but that does not necessarily mean it will cost the most. A small listening room with nasty bass nodes may benefit from a small stand mounted speaker/monitor considerably cheaper than a speaker required to fill a larger more neutral room. So I agree that it is so difficult to generalise.
Also to a newbie I would seriously recommend looking at active speakers with built-in amplification. Then simply add a source/pre-amp combo.
The ATC room at Munich had their £3k cd/DAC/pre playing into their active speakers and it sounded a dream - a one box solution with 80% of the cost being on the speaker. Definitely worth considering for a first-timer.
What I don’t understand is why the OP would ignore the source? Are you assuming all sources are equal?You can’t assume a perfect signal from any source. In the 1990s in the UK the general advice was to spend 50% on the source. These days I rarely hear that but nevertheless I would recommend certainly spending as much on the source as on amplification.
In summary, and with caveats explained in the first paragraph, I would say to a new Hi-Fi enthusiast seeking advice:
Trad system
Single source (including DAC): 20%
integrated amp: 20%
speakers: 50%
cables/rack/isolators: 10%
active system
source/dac/pre amp combo: 25%
active speakers: 65%
cables/rack/isolators: 10%
If affordable and within the budget active speakers with dsp or a preamp with dsp would help solve room issues without treatment. And treatment is demanding on your space in terms of size (bass traps) and decor, so dsp would be easier for a new hifi enthusiast to deal with.
Also to a newbie I would seriously recommend looking at active speakers with built-in amplification. Then simply add a source/pre-amp combo.
The ATC room at Munich had their £3k cd/DAC/pre playing into their active speakers and it sounded a dream - a one box solution with 80% of the cost being on the speaker. Definitely worth considering for a first-timer.
What I don’t understand is why the OP would ignore the source? Are you assuming all sources are equal?You can’t assume a perfect signal from any source. In the 1990s in the UK the general advice was to spend 50% on the source. These days I rarely hear that but nevertheless I would recommend certainly spending as much on the source as on amplification.
In summary, and with caveats explained in the first paragraph, I would say to a new Hi-Fi enthusiast seeking advice:
Trad system
Single source (including DAC): 20%
integrated amp: 20%
speakers: 50%
cables/rack/isolators: 10%
active system
source/dac/pre amp combo: 25%
active speakers: 65%
cables/rack/isolators: 10%
If affordable and within the budget active speakers with dsp or a preamp with dsp would help solve room issues without treatment. And treatment is demanding on your space in terms of size (bass traps) and decor, so dsp would be easier for a new hifi enthusiast to deal with.