List your System Ingredients: Listed most to least expensive, by list price or price paid

"Uh oh, can’t hardly believe this but just realized I forgot to include my five subwoofers!"

Huh!!! >>>>> Off with his head...

Speakers, DAC/streamer, amplifier, speaker cables, interconnects.

The amp is very old (Adcom 5802)and you can by one on the used market for...well, usually a lot less than this - https://www.ebay.com/i/283365435016?chn=ps .

Speakers dominate by a factor of three or more. As it should be, IMO.

We didn't include amount spent on music, I wouldn't know how to add it up, but at least 500 albums, over 1000 CDs, and several streaming services for the last few years.  And a dedicated server.  The music sum may be larger than the system.

I don’t proportion my system spending.

Maybe I did when I first started about 40 years ago and had to put a complete system together initially within a meager working college student budget but that was too long ago to matter now. It’s a new world, including when it comes to hifi, these days.

Since then I’ve spent what I’ve needed to spend at any particular time (within reason) over the years to get things to where I wanted them to be and did it one step at a time.

No major changes to my core system for several years now, though I have expanded and added other gear to provide more listening options both within my house and even from remote locations like work or when travelling.

As I write, I am at lunch break at work, listening to my music server located at home, via Plex app running on my Iphone, and playing via a wireless bluetooth adapter connected to the aux input on a very nice sounding Sangean desktop radio.

Sweet!

FWIW, I’ll estimate as a result I have about 30% invested in speakers, another 30-40 % in amplification, and the rest in source gear per system typically at any particular time.

I don't proportion my system spending.  

Maybe I did when I first started about 40 years ago and had to operate within a meager working college student budget.

I’ve spent what I’ve needed to spend at any particular time (within reason) over the years to get things to where I wanted them to be and did it one step at a time.

Right. Same here. Because the trick with an existing system is to find the upgrade that will get you the most for your money. Only when buying everything all at once do you need to budget that way. So this is a snapshot. Doing it this way without prices or even percentages eliminates a lot of detail. Still I think it is illuminating. A pattern may be emerging. Or maybe not. We will just have to see.