How do you determine how much to spend on speakers

Don't use price or allocation formulas to build a system. The key is balance, synergy, and value.

You won't know where to allocate your funds until you are actually auditioning units. A good dealer should have units at a number of different price points. This is about listening and about developing good instincts. You should have CD player X and Y, amp X and Y, preamp X and Y, and speakers X and Y in mind and then it is up to you to organize them into an arrangement that sounds good and meets your budget. Also, think about how often you are likely to upgrade and what kinds of compromises you are willing to make. Do you need a lot of bass or would you rather have a more refined but smaller speaker? Ect.

That said, I think in a system like this the speakers should actually wind up being the least expensive component. I would spend $600-$1,200. You would be better off getting a capable but inexpensive speaker now and laying the foundation for a future speaker upgrade with a solid amp and preamp. Build around a really good preamp and amplifier. Split what is left between your digital source and your speakers.

The reason is that, I know for a fact that there are $650 monitor speakers that have the detail, refinement, and imaging to keep up with a much better amp and preamp, but the reverse is almost never true. Pairing insufficient amps and preamps with higher end speakers usually results in an unpleasant system because you wind up just hearing more of the mediocre source components and the purpose of having the better speakers is defeated. Especially if your source is digital, you are going to want to have a really good digital source before thinking about your dream speakers.

For example, I have about $7k of amp/preamp in front of my B&W N804s that cost me around $4k. When I got those speakers I was using an old integrated amplifier (Audiolab) for my preamp and the system was just harsh and unpleasant. It wasn't until I parked about $5k of preamp in front of those speakers that they sounded spectacular. Until that point, they were like having a microscope on my mediocre integrated. This is the type of situation that creates upgrade fever and it can be avoided.

Slapping really great speakers on a system that can't keep up is sort of like that Woody Allen joke: "boy, the food here is really terrible, and the portions are too small." Why would you want more of something that is terrible? Do the front end stuff first and just find some speakers that sound good to you to start.

If you are just beginning, the ‘hi fi’ highway is wide open… as just about everything you buy now will likely be replaced anyways later on.

I’ve not run across anyone personally, though there may well be a few out there, that haven’t at some point made changes to their stereo systems.

Rooms do play a big part, so does life. Decorating. Redecorating. Kids. Changing houses or apartments. So there is probably no one fool proof way to select the ‘first’ pair of speakers apart from a nice pair of monitors. Two ways…. Or just not large pricey floor standers. A good trickle down plan here will help out immensely, as the ‘first’ ones can be applied some where else, at some later date without them becoming a total loss.

A real nice pair of two ways and one or two subs can do an awful lot of music. Movies. Etc… They pack quickly and move easily too.

Without a gob of money, I’ve always gone the receiver route, decent source, and middle of the road speakers, using entry level wires. Then begin adding when and where it’s needed. I went always with an amp addition then.

With a gob of duckets I’d still stick pretty close to that plan depending on my decision to go 2ch or multi as the end result. If the idea was multi ch sound, I’d not get too crazy there and could live with monitors all around, though my past says one pair should be as full range as I can afford. In multi ch, the speaker costs can be hefty and half the budget isn’t uncommon.

In two ch as attractive as the speaker buying aspect seems to be, the front end does mean more in the final analysis. From scratch, I’d get a really decent integrated amp. As nice a source as I could find two good power cords, Decent ICs & speaker cables. The balance of the funds would go towards speakers.

Great loudspeakers don’t sound so great with mediocre front ends as a rule. Midlevel loudspeakers can sound fantastic with great front ends though.

Quite naturally, and it stands to reason, where ever you can add more performance/money to the now system later you will be well served. Be it at the front end, along the way, or at the rear, into the speakers.

As esthetically appealing as are loudspeakers, and certainly as necessary as they are, they need not be seen as the prize piece of ones system. I would also caution anyone whose intention it is to go get brand new loudspeakers, it isn’t a prerequisite they be new for fine results to be had. Pre-owned do very well indeed.

Lastly, if the decision is more set into the esthetic end of the scale, meaning their color or wood coverings HAVE to be one way or another, I WOULD STRONGLY recommend some reconsideration of that note from a fiduciary stand point alone. There’s not a large market for resale of white, purple, green, or zebra striped speakers. They may be stunning at first to look at, but that visual appeal may fade soon thereafter, and oh, what if you’re moving or redecorating in a couple years or so? Specially adorned cabinetry is an elite or niche pick entirely. They diminish later changes and choices.

I know I’ll not be going that way ever again. Classic semi, or piano gloss black, or better yet, a nice warm actual wood veneer well finished will be my choice henceforth. Dark for the most part too.

My current speakers comprise about 25% or so of my system, not counting accessories or cabling… less than 20% I believe if they are added in too. My speakers retail for about $7K at last look. I love ‘em. They sound super. But following the remodeling, their color, to me, is all wrong now.

Plans change. Things one has no idea what so ever to do later on may yet materialize. Going whole hog up front on some pricey speakers without some dedicated plan and lots of resolve can wind up being an expensive move. Or at least, a very regrettable one.

Factor in also if there are limitations of the signal’s purity prior to it’s introduction to the loudspeaker itself, you have undermined the performance of your transducers. Speakers can not make up for signal loss or degradation. This detraction of the signal is the only way to decrease a loudspeakers ability to recreate. Consequently, it doesn’t seem sensible to place the larger portion of the budget there.to do so will cost you music and money. Always.

You will consume the majority of your budget in speakers and will not have enough money for the supporting electronics.

The Speaker / Amplifier interface is critical to extracting the best performance out of your speakers. You need to ensure that everything is balanced within your budget or you will have expensive gear in your system that is under performing.

The room you place your stuff in is just as critical.

So what size room are you listening in?
Is it a bright room or somewhat damped?
Where do you intend to place your speakers in relation to the room dimensions?
How far will you be seated?
Is your back to a wall?
Any sliding glass doors around?
Is there equipment (TV for example) going between the speakers?
How loud do you listen to music?
What types?

Without this information, all the advice you are getting is basically a shot in the dark.

If you want the most value out of your system, then you need to address the questions above first before even considering actual speakers.

5K can make you really happy.
- pick the speakers you love and are comparable with your listening room
- amp or integrated that complements the speakers.
- read about proper speaker setup and room acoustics. Apply that knowledge.
- spend rest on source.

Mariusz

That's easy, $5K for a pair of Maggie 3.6R's. Save yourself a lifetime of desperate searching and ungodly amounts of money like myself and get a pair today...you will be home when you listen. If you know music, there is no other speaker for you:O )