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Which area of components to spend the most $ on? Boy I was wrong all my life!

I have been an audio junkie for about 25 years. All those years, I have read plenty of discussion posts and recommendations where to spend the most money on. The majority, even the experts recommend to spend the most money on speakers. Up to as high as 60% of the total budget.Example: CEO of PS Audio-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYwL7vPkPhg
I believed this all my life. Today, my eyes are opened. My total budget is about $15K.Before today, my system was:Speakers-Revel F36 Concerta 2 (For the money, this is the best speakers I’ve heard. I like it more than my previous Dynaudio Contour 30)Integrated Amp-Marantz PM-10 (Class D, balanced, 400wpc at 4ohms)CD Player-Oppo UDP 205 & Marantz CD 6005 (Some of the best in class)Line conditioner-Furman Elite PFi 15Cables-Kimber 8TC Speaker Cables (Sorry, not a cable nut. I’d rather spend money elsewhere)
I upgraded my front end CD player to... Marantz SA-11S3. I was BLOWN away! This is the greatest upgrade I have ever heard in my life. For 25 years, I was taught to spend the most in speakers. Sorry! It’s the FRONT END! The best source you can afford. The purity transcends down the river. I am blown away by the sheer improvement in detail, clarity, depth, the air around the instruments.
My philosophy has changed.
skimrn

Showing 2 responses by roncagg

roncagg
36 posts
 
+1  - or a nice double IPA, I’ve written as much over at audioshark.org, the best tweak you can make!
roncagg
36 posts
 

This is a great thread, thanks OP! It seems like every time I upgrade a component I perceive a meaningful difference (good or bad!). In a haphazard way (which is fun, it’s a hobby after all!) I get a better overall system, through trial and error and by focusing on pieces recommended by reviewers, these forums, and design engineers I admire (such as Nelson Pass, John DeVore, Cees at Metrum Acoustics). Synergy, as said above, is key, but only discovered by trying so many permutations! And how do you know you’ve finally arrived?!

Point is that in doing it this way, the % spent on each category is in constant flux so for fun I calculated what it is at this moment. I buy mostly but not always used gear which can skew it quite a bit (for example I got a great deal on a wyred4sound stp-se stage 2 upgraded preamp for a 3rd of its new retail), so I calculated it both ways based on new price as well as what I paid:

New pricing: speakers-37%, amplification-39%, source-19%, cables-5%

Used pricing: speakers-29%, amplification-34%, source-29%, cables-8%

Accounting for used pricing brings the percentages closer to parity, not sure if that is interesting or not, but there it is!

Ron


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