I am sort of baffled by the above posts, but i guess everyone has thier own way. I think you should select the rest of your equipment based on your speakers. Buy the cheapest speakers that you really like and buy appropriate electronics for them. You may not have enough money left over. But it will be less expensive to save up to buy better gear later than to replace your speakers and start over. I don't like the idea of set percentages, but unless you own a turntable, I think the speakers should be the most expensive piece.
Perentage system $$ for speakers
While reading various posts in the past, I have read comments where some believe that the speakers should only be about 15% of the total system cost where other believe they should be the main focus. I am not looking for a right or wrong answer in this, I am just curious as to the thoughts of others on this topic.