How do you determine how much to spend on speakers

That is a difficult question that has many variables. Price is only one. You have room acoustics, tubes or solid state, type of music, etc. I have found that system matching is manditory if you want the best possible sound. If you unbalance your system with one component then your overall coherancy is thrown off and is disjointed. This won't be glaringly apparent, it will just be a feeling that things just don't mesh. When this happens, you start listening to the sound rather than the music. This is my great judging factor in audio. Is it musical?

There's a lot of responses already, so I'm sure my opinion here will die, ignored, in the ether... I don't think there's a percentage of a budget that you can copy/paste into making a system. What I can say is what _I'd_ do with $5k.

As little as $500 for used Vandersteen 2Cs or as much as $1,500 for used MartinLogans (SL3 or Aerius i are in that range).

Somewhere under $1,000 for a used amp.

Somewhere under $500 for used source components.

Throw in some interconnects.

Buy a used dirt bike. Probably a KDX-220.

The main idea is that I don't think you can build a permanent system in one fell swoop. You need speakers that speak to you personally. You're going to be staring at these things for years (probably) and that alone can fill your mind with doubts that'll affect your opinion of their sound. (Not that it's right, but it happens.)

Listen around, read, take your time and find the right speakers. Then you can find the right amp for them (I'm sure most of us can tell you the joys of the right speakers and the wrong amp... IT SUCKS!). However you do it, I'm sure you won't be anywhere near the $5k proposed... either 2/3s of it or 3 times it. =]

I realize now what my future speaker will be. I orginally had my sights set on the Tyler Linbrook Sig Sys. In fact almost bought one used this weekend. BUT as my brother in law pointed out that speaker is 4 ohms, which my new Jdais Defy 7 could drive , but even better is to stay with the 8 ohms as are my current Seas Thor speaker. So I have made my final decision to go with the Tyler Linbrook Super Tower with 4 W18's per cabinet!!!! My orchestral collection will be taken to new even richer fuller sound stage over my current fantastic Thor speakers. I bought the kit for $1800 and honestly have not heard anything to compete with it for any price. Except Tyler's Seas line of course, as both use the smae drivers.
So since I could not sell my Thor's at $1200, I'll try again later this summer when I have some cash to get the Lin Super Towers. Can't wait!!!!!!
You do not have to speand $$$$$$$$ to get first calss sound. Many lines are wayyyyyyyyy over priced.They have to pay ad costs.

Find a pair you love the sound of. Find the price and then you'll know how much to spend.

If it were me, I'd buy used to begin with, on Audiogon. And start with a pair of Magnepan 1.6s at less than $1000. Then a matching pair of amp and preamps, the BAT VK-3i preamp and the BAT VK-200 amplifier at about $1000 and $1200 respectively. Then a good cd player, like the Jolida A100 tube player for about $900 new. For a total of around $4100. Later, you could do surround sound by getting another amp for surround speakers. If you want a good subwoofer, I suggest an Era, for the additional few hundred, making it just a little less than $5000.

In any case, have fun.

Sincerely, waltcertain