How do you determine how much to spend on speakers

I can echo the rec from Ozfly. Unless you can hear speakers from a friend's house, you almost have to buy the suckers at MSRP from a hi-end store. Personally, I would take my "sweet 'ole" time and audition everything he has, then ask him to get some models he deals from, but doesn't have in stock. (e.g., higher end model of a lower end model on display (that you like), or vice-versa.) A since you spent so much of the dealer's valuable ($$$) time, you should extend the courtesy of buying those speakers at or near full MSRP (retail).

Shipping or buying used speakers is a major PITA. I'd just assume heavily audition and buy a speaker I love at MSRP, then hunt and peck repeated buying and selling used speakers I have not heard. Considering depriciation and shipping costs, you might actually end up ahead by going thru a dealer. YMMV.

And electronics, by all means buy used. DACs, preamps, amps, wires, etc al. are all prefectly good used (more so than used speakers) and you can usualy sell something used for near the same price you bought it used - on most things. In that case, you can think of the shipping cost as the "audition fee." :-) And it works out nicely since you are WAY more likely to frequently swap out electronics, that speakers. The whole matching and "synergy" thing. ;-)

I've tried a lot of speakers over the years and enjoyed them all from fairly inexpensive to very expensive and my conclusion has always been that the electronics if they are good enough will make just about any speaker sound great.Recently I went from PSB Goldi's(about 3grand new) to Axiom Millenia 3TI's(about 300 new)and found I liked the Axioms better on some material,go figure.The Axioms don't go as low or as loud but add a sub like the PSB Stratus 7 for about $800 or less and now you're talking.Good luck and welcome to high end audio where you will probably never be satisfied completely whatever the hell you buy.

As Clueless says,..."what exactly is a balanced and compatable system"..

I would, basically, say the same thing as above. It starts with the person(s) using the system and their needs, wants, musical tastes, room and $ limits.

The reason this is important is pointed out in one of the posts above. For many, likely a great deal many more than the hi-end, the answer is one of those big grey boom boxes. It is in "balance" and is "compatable" with the users needs and expectations. However, I don't think this thread is about boom-boxes and mini executive systems.

This has been a good thread, but all too often responses to thread questions are posts that are saying little more than "buy what I own, it's the best". Which has about as much merit as saying.."I own vanilla ice cream, it's the best and you should like it too".

Balance is not always moderation, an extremely expensive system can work well together and sound great(ie: balanced and compatable) or sound poor. So, with this in mind....

If I were putting a system together, for myself not Krazeeyk, for around 5k..these would be my considerations.

Speakers: Magnepan 1.6, Alon II Mk.II, Martin Logan Aerius,
and the Innersound Isis.

Amplification: Classe CAP-100/150, Audio Research CA-50,
Audio Research LS-9 w/Classe CA-100, Plinius
8200 and SimAudio I-5

Source: Audio Research CD-2, Classe CDP-1 or Classe DAC-1
with a decent transport.

Wire/Cables: Innersound

I believe most of the above would come in (used) at 5k or less.

All of this(with the possible exception of wire) would be purchased used on A-goN...and I would be open to changes in the listed items above..based on what I would learn along the way.

BUT....and this is a big however, this is for my room: (13 x 25 x 9 with two large openings), with my musical likes: mainly Jazz and female vocals at moderate levels. And, another big but/however....I am a fan of dipole speakers (this could be seen as a particular "taste" even prejudice)...which is important..since the above system would not be the choices for a system based around boxes on stands or floor standing dynamics.

I hope this thread has helped Krazeeyk. It will still serve Krazeeyk best to learn what he/she can from this site, friends, audio dealers...and then trust him/her self in the final choices.

A well balanced system is one that never strays too far from neutral, all the components work together as a team, the overall presentation is pleasant and there are minimal conflicts or weak spots that draw attention to themselves.

All of this is done without an individual stand out player, as it would no longer be well balanced or a team effort if that were the case. If one piece were to stand out, the system would no longer be well balanced. It would have a noticeable high point with the equivalent low or lower points.

To use a comparison, system building and body building are not that different. Sinking all of your money / effort into one specific "star player" would be equivalent to exercising one's legs with minimal attention paid to the rest of the body or system. While the legs could easily support the weight of the entire body and do a lot of work, the rest of the body would not be up to performing at the same level when called upon to do so. The end result is that the body would run out of "air" and "energy" while quickly becoming "fatigued". Nor would the highly specialized "star player" legs be able to complete all of the tasks that a well rounded performer would be capable of.

With "star quality" speakers and the associated price tag, your audio system would do the same thing. The speakers would reveal the shortcomings of the signal source and amplification devices feeding them. Kind of like having someone that is far superior in every aspect pointing out all of your weak spots everytime that they see you. Again and again, over and over. While the flaws might be pointed out very fairly and honestly, this would not be much fun nor would it be enjoyable.

From the other point of view, each improvement that you did make might be duly noted, but you would have to make a LOT of improvements EVERYWHERE in order to achieve a level playing surface.

Logic dictates that it would be more intelligent to work every aspect of the body / system equally, making for a well rounded approach. This would provide performance that wasn't seriously lacking in any specific department nor leave you feeling "underwhelmed". While it may not have any specific "stellar" attributes, you could call upon any part of the body / system and feel confident that it would not let you down nor stand out so much that it became irritating.

Keep in mind that when you get TOO much of a good thing, you loose a sense of "balance" and it becomes less palatable with each exposure. The longer you stress the other areas of the system that weren't properly exercised or paid attention to, the more revealing the problem would become.

The bottom line is that my thoughts are: why "x-ray" cheaper / inferior components with high grade speakers when you can achieve something that is much more balanced / well rounded for the same price ? While some would say that this leads to a system of mediocrity, we all have to settle for that at various levels. That is, unless you have taken the "all out assault / never ending funds" approach to system building.

Just my $.02, if it's worth that. Obviously, some will and have disagreed. That's what makes the audio world go round. Sean
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First off, I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to put in their 2 cents. Though it will take me a while to read and fully benefit from all of these post, nevertheless they are greatly appreciated. After reading quite a few of these responese, I came across a post which mentioned something about the law of diminishing returns. So a better question to ask know is, from anyones experience typically what price range does one target to get the most for their money? Meaning, is a $1000 cd player twice as good as a $500 cd player? Or is it only %10 better? Can this idea be applied to speakers, amps and so forth. In addition to this question, does anyone out there have any experience with trying to "match" components that "sonically" or "electronically" complement each other quite well. Aside from trial and error, is there any other way of doing this? Is it possible for one come up with a conclusion stating figuratively for example that, Classe components work quite well with Rotel components. Again, any advice or two cents worth is always appreciated.

Thanks