How do you determine how much to spend on speakers

well, this topic started in '02, so at that time one could have taken out a giant home equity loan and bought one heck of a pair of speakers, but that option is not in play these days, is it?. :)

Beerdraft,

When I initially saw the forum title, I laughed out loud and then I remembered how I started this hobby and it's been fun to look back. Thanks for updating this old question and giving a kick to my memory banks (those just tuning in should read the posts in reverse)

I agree with you that the various components are *almost* equal in importance. Synergy works that way....you would be hard pressed to choose downgrading anything once things are dialed in to a particular sweet spot.

That said, I believe speakers are the place to start and they should dominate a starting budget. Audition them with the very best electronics first to establish how good they can really be. They anchor everything.

After purchasing speakers, my greenbacks tended to go to the front end. My old Thiel 3.6's didn't sound very good with mid-fi gear. I spent a fair amount of money before the electronics were as good as those old workhorses. Just my two cents.

I have an Integra 50.1 receiver with Focal 836v speaker and last Monday I listened to a Focal 807v bookshelf speaker that had significantly better clarity in the sound compared to my "better" speakers. The difference was the 807v speakers were being driven by a Pathos Inpol2 (I believe). It made me think that for certain music types I might prefer the cost of the bookshelf compared to my floorstanders so that I could put more of the budget towards a better amplifier. Jazz comes to mind.

I would suggest listening to some of the less expensive speakers on really high quality amplifiers and see if at their best they give you the sound you are looking for.

Make that the Pathos Logos.

The point here is to select stuff that is of a uniform quality especially if you are on a budget. You can do extremely well on so called budget items. The majority of problems occur with the ROOM and NOT the equipment. I suggest the OPPO players for CD and SACD. An integrated amp from NAD and Kimble Hero interconnects. Speaker wire should be Spitz anti- cable and whatever is left should be spent on the speakers. If you have some money to spare I would try and deaden the listening room.