What is your cost for each system category ?


What cost priarity do you have for each system category: Speakers, Amplifier(s), Preamplifier(s), Primary Source (CD, tuner, turntable, etc.), and cables. This will help to determine where money should be spent in developing the ideal high-end stereo system regardless of total system price. Notice that I'm limiting the source to the primary unit only. You may have spent a bundle on all of your sources, but you can only listen to one source at a time. I'll start off by providing my priarity list.
Speakers: $20,700 37%
Amplifers: $16,800 30%
Preamplifier: $3,900 7%
CD Player: $6,700 12%
Cables: $7,800 14%
redwoodgarden
Seriously, I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about the absoulute percentages, but I'd try to make sure that you spend the least on cables. You have far, far less to gain from an expensive cable than from a better component.
I recently came to the same conclusion. Does anyone want to buy my Virtual Dynamics highest end cable?
Thsalmon,
Doesn't it suck to make a joke and nobody gets it? Rest assured, it cracked me up.
Karls, that's OK; everytime you buy a Valhalla cable, Nordost laughs all the way to the bank.
It was interesting to view the system from this perspective. I have long considered the front-end to be the most important part of the whole. I did not expect the Amplifier and Speakers to make up such a large percentage of the total cost.
Speakers = 18.75%
Amplifier = 18.75%
Turntable/arm/cartridge = 11%
CDP = 11%
Pre-amp = 14%
Phono Stage 12.5%
Interconnect/speaker cable 14%
Do I win anything? Am I well balanced? Am I single ended?