Curious .. What is the compared price of your tt vs spkrs

My cartridge cost the same as my speakers (in my "reference" system) and both cost me more than any other component, by a lot. The turntable adds more, and cost more than the speaker cables, so in the end the analog front end cost a bit more than speakers.  

I didn't set out to do things that way, but in hindsight it probably makes some sense. The cartridge and speakers are the two transducers in the system, and changing energy from one form to another (mechanical to electrical and back again) is arguably more difficult to do well than passing the signal along and amplifying it. So if that's true, then spending more on those two components would be justified.  

Spending as much on a cartridge as on speakers would not be my approach, that's for sure.
Anyway, room first is the best approach, I guess. And the most expensive one.

14x16x10' exposed beams ,6" thick solid wood timber frame , carpeted cement floor one reclining sofa and a 2:1 and a rack lol

I think that the front end should be no more than two times the cube root of the cost of the speakers, if the room is built to the Golden Mean.

"Inna, Spending as much on a cartridge as on speakers would not be my approach, that's for sure."

What is your approach? Do you have a formula? I have never really thought about it that way. If I hear something that sounds great and has synergy in my system I will usually buy it. I have three primary cartridges. Each one is about 1/3 the cost of my speakers. So based on what I have done, without thinking about it ahead of time, is that each of my turntable/tonearm/cartridge stumps cost about the same as my speakers, not including tonearm cable or phono preamp.

I would be interested in your thoughts on this.