Why do folks spend more on electronics than on speakers?

Why do some spend more on electronics and speakers than on their ROOM ACOUSTIC?

I dont speak of money only here , i speak more of tuning TIME....

The same people spend more money on upgrades than time in tuning their room...

For sure all people dont have a dedicated room, but this will not change the truth : acoustic matter more...

Focus on electronic is the reflection of consumerism market conditioning... Reviewer need to sell you something... Acoustic will teach you something...

We dont listen to a piece of gear alone but to a system +room...

It is acoustic and psycho-acoustic which will explain to you what is a SOUND and how to control it in a room...

Not the owner manual of your dac, speakers or amplifier...

Why idolizing gear price and ignore the essential : acoustic...

My 500 bucks system is a proof of what science claim: acoustic explain sound not electronic...

The Egyptian and the Greek learned how to control sound in a room before the invention of the gramophone... Even before Helmholtz...

😁😊

I know for sure that this truth about acoustic can be an inconvenient one ..... Especially for those who has spend big money....And for those who like with passion  with good reason for sure their excellent gear...

Even for them acoustic matter more...

Bought my current speakers in mint cond. back in 2005 for $2500. I don't know what the list on them was back then. The new version lists at $7500 per pair.

At that time I had a Jolida tube integrated and Jolida tube cdp. Liked the sound.

Upgraded to Wells Majestic integrated, kept the speakers. Liked the sound even better.

Upgraded from Jolida CDP to Moon transport feeding Aqua La Voce S2 DAC. Kept the speakers. Again, nice improvement! 

Upgraded from $3500 Wells Majestic integrated to $6000 Hegel H390. Kept the speakers. Massive improvement!  It was at this point that it became clear that I'd never really heard what my speakers were capable of!

This week: upgraded Moon Transport to Jay's Audio transport. Too early to report definitively but at the onset, resolution, PRaT and bass control are all noticeably improved. We'll see what happens with burn in but I still  have no reason to sell my speakers! 

I'm simply reporting my experience, here. YMMV.

but if I had not built my own speakers my spend would be around 1/3rd in room acoustics, electronics and speakers.

If I take into account, the stands for my stand mounts and sub (speakers I also built), I’m probably close to the same as @erik_squires says about his system spend.
In my case though I would also bundle in the furniture I’m building in with the room acoustics budget (which I have so far built).

My two cents, from a guy who commercially designs (and sometimes even makes money :-)) on electronics. But at the end of the day, speakers -- in my opinion -- make by far the largest difference. Speakers have many many opportunities to grossly distort the signal - flexing cones, resonating cabinets and baskets (the term for the driver frame), crossover trade-offs. PLUS !!! the simple fact that to reproduce bass and volume demands size -- and to avoid dopplering of the entire cabinet, mass and size, which cost money. Lots.

Now, several posts above point out caveats. It is possible to make an excellent, small monitor. In a small room, with chamber music, they may fit your needs and be had for 1/3 to 1/4 what a similar quality full range monster might cost. So there are exceptions.

Also it was pointed out that one must distinguish between "better" and "different". True again, but i’ll state that many speakers are just "better".

I am designing a new integrated amp right now. Probably my first "from scratch" design in 25 years, employing all new method that were impractical even 10 years ago. So i get lots of opporutnity to hear inexpensive ($3-4k) electronics with my "big" speakers as well as my usual costly stuff (prototypes of my best products from years past) on my smaller, cheaper, and yes, "worse" speakers. Clearly worse, BTW.

So i have over the years become more and more in the camp of "speakers are #1". Now, the sum of turntable, DAC, digital source and power supplies, amp, speakers may exceed it in aggregate, but the speakers ought probably take a big chunk.

One more caveat: its easy to make lousy sounding electronics. but its also possible to make GREAT sounding ones for a few Thou....but many sacred cows maybe slaughtered on the way.

G