How do you determine how much to spend on speakers

In my humble audiophile opinion start by spending half the budget on a excellent source (turntable/tonearm, or disc player), first. Fact is, if you can't recover the data from the source you will never hear it, no matter how swing the speaker. Many audiophiles will agree that there is a far more satisfying future in a system built around a outstandingly musical and detailed source. Now understand, your hearing this from a guy who in 1983 bought a Linn Sondek Lp12 with Ittok arm for about (1700.00 USD) and then found a modest amp and speaker combo. Since then I have upgraded three times completely with exception to the source, which I still own and am very pleased with. If you notice I have not mentioned a phono cartridge because my first was very modest as well and over time I have upgraded to something outrageous. I have always remained happy with my system and my upgrades have followed in this hierarchy. I digress. Split the remaining half on the best speaker and power amp combination to your liking. Caution. Be careful in this pairing to find synergy in performance. I recommend you do not buy any power amp or speakers that are individually auditioned, recommended, or reviewed. I know this is sometimes difficult but, you must hear the magic of these two components together. Read around Audiogon of the mismatch problems and general discontent with the synergy of many combinations. There is a lot of great amplifier products and great speakers that will never work well together. I happen to like and could finally afford Aesthetix preamps, Atma-sphere amps, and Coincident Technology speakers. I auditioned them on and off for two years while coming up with the funds. For me, this combo gets me closer to the music than I have ever been. Enjoy!

Buy the best speakers you can period, that way as you up-grade all your components, your speakers will grow with you, you will hear more, feel more, and smile more as your sources get better.

If you have the room for Magnapans, like the 1.6s or even 3.6s, consider them at 1725 and 3500 per pair respectively. Because the sound improves as you feed them more power, you could start with an integrated amp, or good preamp and amp, with the intent of adding more power over time. You could even monoblock or biamp them as budget allows in the future.

Audition multiple CDPs (or even the new universal players) to determine if, on your selected cuts, you can hear a difference. I would avoid SACDs and HDCDs for now, unless the specific cuts you desire are already available in these formats.

The ultimate judge of the music is YOUR ear, and no one else's.

i bought a VPI MK3 with a Morch Arm,and with the money left over purchased a Grado Reference The Reference Phono Cartridge.You would be very hard pressed to find any CD RIGsound like this one.Of course I can always upgrade the table a little more with an Aries Platter,SDS,and outer ring clamp.
You can try to get an Analog Table like this.With everything mine cost me about $1,500.00 counting cost of cartridge.My spekers cost a little more the Martin Logan Quest Z.
Happy Hunting
Don

I always ask my wife......