Vote

Until just a few months ago this figure would have been more like 70% because I build my own amps and pre-amps. However, my recent purchase of a Rega Planet has brought things much closer to equivalence. BTW, the speakers involved (also new)are MG 3.5R's. Mike McClendon tonimemc@radiks.net

For the sake of compatibility, the amount of speakers should be more or less the same price as the amplifiers.

I've spent only about 30%, but my dealer has a 100% 1-year speaker trade-up plan. I've traded up once, and plan to do so until I run out of money or get married.

After College i can get a "REAL" stereo system!

Within the high end there are many excellent choices that do not involve unsightly amounts of $$. Choosing carefully and buying only what you really need is the key.

Amp 25%, preamp 25%, turntable 20%.

I thought the rule was that moderately priced speakers (1/3 of the budget) sound better with more pricey source and electronic components (the other 2/3) than expensive speakers with moderately to cheaply priced components. Rule or not, finding a pleasing balance is up to the listener, who should test the rules for him/herself.

In a system consisting of Lexicon DC-1 THX Edition, 2 Marantz 500 and CAL CL10, I am seriously thinking about Legacy Audio Classics (~2,700.00), which is about 35%. I will vote as 30% because I need to buy some other components for my system.

It used to be about 50%; then I re-cabled and it dropped!

A great system will make a speaker sound its best no matter what the cost. I favor spending 20% on each area: digital, cables, amp, speakers, room treatment & equipment stands

Vandersteen 2Ce's with GT SI-50 Mk.II and Rega Planet

That's for a single source system. Not a conscious choice of proportion of dollars. Just kept trying components till I found things I like that work in a system well.

My front end cost five times as much as my rear end!! I think every link is important, but if you want to overbuild, do it up front. There is nothing worse than a Class C front end feeding a Class A speaker.

MY SPEAKERS HAVE NOT YET BEAN UPDATED TO MY NEW SYSTEM. WHEN I GET MY NEW ONES THEY WILL BE AROUND 70% OF THE COST OF MY SYSTEM.

As for my own reference system, the speakers represent my largest investment. This equates to about 60% of my system's cost (the system being preamp, amp, CD player/transport, and cables).

Not intentionally, I seem to have spent about the same amount on each of six categories: CD player, preamp, amps, turntable/arm/cartridge, interconnects and speaker cables, and speakers. Slightly more than average on the preamp and less than average on the Linn/Lingo/ARO.

Totem Model 1s and a shitload of tubes incl Sonic Frontiers, EAR 509s. Roksan Xerxes, TEAC P700/d700. Used to have Clements Little "d"s. It's incredible how good inexpensive speakers can sound with good electronics.

I WAS SURPRISED I DID NOT HAVE TO SPEND MORE THAN 30% WHEN I BOUGHT MY SPEAKERS.

If and when I add the subwoofer needed with my Goldmund Dialogs, speakers will be 50% of system cost.

Good speakers will reproduce what is fed to them from upstream. Garbage in garbage out. Therefore, make sure that your front-end components are given equal weightage. Cables make a lot of difference as well.

Having a home-theater system skews the results. For all five speakers I spent about 20% of the total cost of my system. For a 2-channel system, my rule of thumb is that one's speakers should cost about the same as one's amp.

I custom-built my own speakers using the best parts available, saving thousands of dollars.

I believe many audiophiles overstate a speaker's impact on the audio chain. I believe a speaker will "conform" to the source and amplification components more than people expect. For example, British audio magazines tend to rate US speakers better than US magazines do. One reason is that since the speakers cost twice as much in England, the reviewer pairs it with source components that are of a higher quality than most US reviewers do. The result is that the same speaker sounds better. I think that the souce components should be upgraded well before a speaker is changed.

Find what you like, and don't skimp by buying the slightly less expensive set. I have changed EVERYTHING in my setup over the last 10 years many times over. I am on my second set of speakers and I don't expect to change for a long time. Speakers are the most personal of all choices in your system. Take the time and, if necessary, spend the $$!!

I think that this percentage will vary with the price of the system. As the total price of the system goes up, the price of the speakers becomes a smaller percentage. I believe that you should spend a considerable portion of your budget to get the best speakers you can.

I found that the most dramatic increase in sonics happened when I upgraded my speakers. Money spent in other areas seems well spent, but the biggest bang for my buck is in the speakers.

Despite popular opinion at Stereophile, speakers matter more than the amps, preamps, and wire---much, much more. Second would be the source device.

Primarily as a result of continually upgrading to the latest in digital-technology hardware, my percentage investment in my speakers has dropped considerably.

This percentage changed not to long ago because I bought new (and more expensive) speakers. My "Speaker expense" used to be about 30% of the system expense.

Infinity Epsilon