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My B&W 603s were the first purchase I made after I "took a few years off from audio and played around with home theater. They rekindled my interest in all things hi-fi. As a result of this re-discovery, I've built a new, music-only system on a budget, including the addition of a Pro-ject turntable. Thanks to Stereophile's explanation of the vinyl sound, I've rediscovered a treasury of music (my old LPs and $1 garage sale finds) that has augmented my CD collection. Format doesn't seem to matter to my tin ears--there's so much good music to hear, and so little time to kvetch.

Output transformers are critical components, especially for single-ended systems. That skews the percentage toward the amplifier.

I have spent aprox equal amounts on source, amp, and loudspeakers. (not including cables) But in the future, I plan on dedicating more funds to the source. My most recent upgrade was from a NAD 502 to a Marantz CD 63 SE. At first I was skeptical, but this has been the most satisfying upgrade I've ever made! The rest of my system includes Energy C-2's on Target stands, and an Adcom GCA 510. ( wicked little amp ) I'm also considering a second GCA 510 to bi-amp the C-2's. Cables include Kimber PBJ and Monster M-CX 4 bi-wire (or bi-amp). Audioquest sorbothane(sp?) big feet, TDK noise blockers and a Panamax MAX 4 soothe the tweak-beast in me! A more important question is what pecentage of the "audio budget" is spent on music vs. gear!

Why spend more on speakers than the rest of your gear? If you weakest link is at the top of the chain then everything else in the chain can't make it sound any better. Don't be stupid, put your cash in the front end.

Hard to say exactly. What are two pair of ML-20.6's worth?

Acoustat 33's and Infinity Modulous Subwoofer

The price/quality ratio for speakers has dramatically improved reducing the speakers % of the total budget.