My rule of thumb: Spend equally on each major component. Example: A=$5000. Amp=A, Pre=A, Integrated=A(1.5), Speakers=A(2), Source=A, Cables+Room Treatment=A, etc.
Underspent on speakers relative to overall system?
I’m sure this has been discussed many times in the past, but was curious about where your systems sits in this breakdown? I am wondering if I underspent on my speakers relative to my overall system. My current, just recently completed system by percentage looks like this:
31% - SOURCE – PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream DAC/BRIDGE II & Roon library management
27% - SPEAKERS – Monitor Audio Platinum PL100’s & REL Storm subwoofer
16% - AMPLIFICATION – PrimaLuna DiaLogue Premium HP Integrated
16% - POWER CONDITIONING– PS Audio Power Plant Premier & Panamax MAX® 5300-EX Power Conditioner
6% - CABLES - DH Labs Silver Sonic speaker cables & interconnects, and Pangea power cords
4% - CABINETRY – including AIRCOM CLOUDPLATE T7, QUIET RACK COOLING FAN SYSTEM 2U
Not sure if there are "standard" guidelines of ranges of how much by percentage you should spend in each category.
Look forward to
your responses!
Cheers,
Sam
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- 35 posts total
Hi OP! I have lost all faith in money being a determining factor of anything when it comes to sound quality. My goal is not to drink $300 bottle of wine but to find a $30 bottle I love. MA speakers are outstanding technical achievements especially for their price points and if you like them (two different things) there is zero reason to spend more. The place I would spend money on next is room acoustics. Best, E |
Even a dirt cheap Chromecast Audio is a bitperfect perfect source, and the electronics further down the chain need not be that expensive either. See here for a test using an Audio Precision test bench of the 2x350 watt Yamaha P3500s power amp that until recently sold for some 400-500 euro and that beats many audiophile amplifiers, not just in price. http://www.homecinema-fr.com/forum/amplificateurs-de-puissance-haute-fidelite/mesures-ampli-yamaha-p... It would be wrong to suggest that any amplifier will do - it is important to have a truly powerful amplifier (such as that Yamaha) to reproduce dynamic peaks. Fancy cables and power conditioners are a waste of money as every physicist can tell you. And every economist can tell you why they are pushed so hard. The real difference is made by the speakers. They produce the sound, and they are the measurably weakest link. Just look at the frequency response and distortion figures for speakers as compared to electronics. Speakers are the hardest link to get right, and are also the most expensive link to manufacture. |
- 35 posts total