Where did you sink the most cash into?

Turntable/tonearm. Spending 50% on speakers is not old school, it is only one of popular approaches. Old school is to creatively and individually approach the subject but never have a weak source.

Cabling should equal 10-20% of total system cost!

When I started out the conventional wisdom was 50% on speakers! And with my first system, all of $400- a $75 turntable, a $125 receiver, were complimented by $200 speakers! 

IMO, it used to be that the loudspeakers took a bigger percentage of a system's budget because good speakers cost more relative to the source and electronics that what you can get now. Loudspeaker research has really paid off, as it costs relatively little to get pretty darn good ones now, don't ya think?

Based on msrp, once my system is complete, this is the order in which I will have spend the most money. My expenditure on cables is still max 50% of the cost of the connected components, however the total expenditure on wire puts that at the top of the list.

In order -
- Cables (total for all cables)
- Pre/power amp 
- Speakers
- Front end (cdp)
- Isolation
- Conditioner
- Racks/tweaks

Speakers vs amps breakdown -
- Pre/power amps - 55%
- Speakers - 45%

I feel like i’m sticking to my guns and following my ’balanced system approach’. I believe that is the right approach to achieving the best sound.