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cost of speakers in relation to the rest of the system

I don't intend this to be a "How much should I spend for speakers" question.  Seems a number of folks generally recommend a third to two-thirds.  My question is, generally for discussion, whether folks found happiness and "success" in spending significantly less than that.  Or--by price, are you happy with speakers that might be considered by some folks outclassed by your other equipment and don't think the speakers are the "weak link?"

As a "favorite" professor might have said too often, "Discuss."

I would think there would be a number of Maggie MMG/1.7 folks, Tekton DI folks, probably some Omega folks, some vintage speaker folks.... others?
stfoth
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
2,164 posts
 
transducers have the toughest job put $$$$ there
some supposdly great speakers are 10% distortion
the cone flops around is non-pistonic and out of phase...
also i would not look at total system cost would prefer single source to ear cost
those of us with server, reel to reel and a table are allocating $ away from one true reference source.
someone mentioned this with not including render / dac

so i am right at 50% with my reference chain



randy-11
1,913 posts
 
"transducers have the toughest job -- put $$$$ there"

best advice I've seen here for a while
mikelavigne
1,274 posts
 

at the top of the food chain %’s don’t mean much. chasing ultimate sound breaks all the rules. i don’t hold my system up as any sort of example on what to do.

but if asked what’s a good approach starting out or at modest levels, i would say that (1) getting the right speakers for your room and (2) stretching on the budget for speakers likely will result in the best sound. whether that is 50%, 75% or 90% of the budget for speakers......is ok.

these days perfectly competent amps and sources (even skip a preamp at the modest price points as they typically limit performance) can be found on the cheap. and entry level sources and amps with good speakers scaled to the room with bring the best bang for the buck.

the speaker<->room interface trumps all.

even more essential is having a sonic reference you are aiming for, otherwise it's a game of chance. if you don't have a good idea of the sound you want then find someone you trust and allow them to assist you. or don't buy until you hear something that satisfies.

soundsrealaudio's avatar
soundsrealaudio
642 posts
 
I could easily argue for spending more money on speakers then you might spend on the rest of your system. Or I could easily argue with spend very little money on speakers saving that money for amps preamps dad's cables. You kind of need a plan. A decent single ended integrated with a moderately priced speaker and dac has the potential to make you deliriously happy. 
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
4,908 posts
 

IMO, the problem with looking at the situation in terms of the cost of things is that there is no absolute correlation between price and sound quality, however one defines that. And then there is the fact that a group of similarly-priced loudspeakers will produce radically different sound. One or more of them may sound better than the others to any given listener, so there again price is not the determining factor in sound quality. That being the case, one must find a better way to determine system budgeting.

In the days when Linnies roamed the Earth, their philosophy was the further upstream the component, the more important it is. The reasoning was, once lost, information can not be recovered downstream. True, but that ignores the fact that loudspeakers, like phono cartridges, are transducers, and vary much more in their sonic characteristics than do electronics, and even mechanical turntables and tonearms. A loudspeaker has a far greater influence on what you hear from a system than does anything upstream. IMO, of course. And, as many have here said, the speaker and the room it is in are a system unto themselves, inseparable.

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