Perentage system $$ for speakers

I think that it really doesn't make sense to reduce the purchase of speakers to some formula. We all know that paying a little or a lot for speakers is absolutely no guarantee of quality or that you wil ultimately be happy with the purchase. I would say that you want to get the speakers which please you the most and which match the equipment you already have while still allowing you to stay within your budget. That said, this is still a very difficult task in practice, but why make it even more difficult? If your total audio budget were say $50,000, would that say that you have to buy a speaker for $15,000 $20,000 or $25,000? Why? Especially if you can find a speaker for $4000 that sounds as good or better? I agree with Eldragon that while speakers are very important, pay close attention to the preamp. That is where in many systems good sound is turned into bad. I personally don't like the idea of spending megabucks on speakers since at any price point, these are the most "flawed". And raising the price point doesn't necessariyly get you a less flawed product.

By the way, all those crazy audio allocation formulas are forwarded by those who want to take your money and therefore the formulas don't benefit YOU! These include the manufacturers, the store sales people and the magazine reviewers who all benefit by getting you to buy the most expensive, rather than the best equipment possible. It just doesn't follow that because you spent or intend to spend X number of dollars on your entire system, that some percentage of it should be spent on any particular piece of the system. As you get to know the available equipment and what works well with what, you will know on what product you need to sacrifice cost and on what product you can make up the cost overrun.