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Which area of components to spend the most $ on? Boy I was wrong all my life!

I have been an audio junkie for about 25 years. All those years, I have read plenty of discussion posts and recommendations where to spend the most money on. The majority, even the experts recommend to spend the most money on speakers. Up to as high as 60% of the total budget.Example: CEO of PS Audio-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYwL7vPkPhg
I believed this all my life. Today, my eyes are opened. My total budget is about $15K.Before today, my system was:Speakers-Revel F36 Concerta 2 (For the money, this is the best speakers I’ve heard. I like it more than my previous Dynaudio Contour 30)Integrated Amp-Marantz PM-10 (Class D, balanced, 400wpc at 4ohms)CD Player-Oppo UDP 205 & Marantz CD 6005 (Some of the best in class)Line conditioner-Furman Elite PFi 15Cables-Kimber 8TC Speaker Cables (Sorry, not a cable nut. I’d rather spend money elsewhere)
I upgraded my front end CD player to... Marantz SA-11S3. I was BLOWN away! This is the greatest upgrade I have ever heard in my life. For 25 years, I was taught to spend the most in speakers. Sorry! It’s the FRONT END! The best source you can afford. The purity transcends down the river. I am blown away by the sheer improvement in detail, clarity, depth, the air around the instruments.
My philosophy has changed.
skimrn
pts's avatar
pts
42 posts
 
"The majority, even the experts recommend to spend the most money on speakers."

Experts? Oh, you mean the people who are pushing for you to buy their product, or paid to write good reviews? Take everything they say with a pinch of salt.

Synergy is everything. Ignore snobs and people who are obesssed with a certain brand. Try to get recommendations from unbiased people on what they’ve found works well together. Save money and buy inexpensive cabling and interconnects. That’s the biggest snake-oil racket in the whole industry. Mogami and Belden all the way, well built and sound good. You need nothing more.
cherub
1 posts
 
A good discussion!  Audio systems are just that - systems where every component affects the end result.  The most important part to spend money on is the weakest link.  Finding this can be hard, I once changed my speakers and source but only fixed the issue I had when I upgraded my amp (which I thought was my best component due to brand name).  If I had started with the amp I would have avoided some unnecessary churn.

The rule of thumb about spending the most money on speakers goes back to a time when good speakers were hard to find  and expensive.  Relative prices have shifted which allows more to be spent on other parts of the system.  

Don’t forget cables and power cables are all part of the chain.  I also got a big improvement from adding isolation feet to my equipment.  As an early poster said, the more the system improves, the more noticeable the benefits of additional upgrades.  That’s why very high end systems have very expensive cables- because these things start having a big impact as more nuances are revealed.  That’s where the black hole comes from!
headphonedreams
529 posts
 
Sometimes I think that if given the financial resources I would by an all-in-one system. Then all pieces should be suitable together. Active speakers have amps that should be selected to work with the drivers, any dac inside should be good enough to do the system justice.

Of course you give up changing components but it might be nice to just buy it all at once.

Like this one:
https://goldmund.com/collections/prana-active-wireless-speaker/
davidtlai's avatar
davidtlai
11 posts
 
Have you not had good speakers to begin with your new CD player might not have blown you away now.
With mediocre speakers it almost doesn’t matter what you feed it.

People suggests going heavy on speakers as a percentage of the INITIAL budget. Over time of course it makes sense to bring the rest of system up to par.

Further, I’d also recommend speakers that are easy to drive to keep amplifier issues to a minimum so that You can spend time improving the front end, especially the preamp.
fusian
129 posts
 
For low budget audiophiles like this none-too-well-heeled orchestral musician, I only spend my big bucks on MC cartridges and a good preamp (right now, Benz Micro Wood SL and Lukaschek PP1 MC preamp). A well-maintained Thorens with these components sounds very good. Only the slightest hint of IGD, on well loved records.
A fancy valve amp with some of those newly-introduced models of tubes would be nice, but I have a mortgage to pay in an expensive town, so vintage tube and SS amps it is, for me.
FRONT END ALL THE WAY, BABY!


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