How do you determine how much to spend on speakers

I'm with Uraniumcommitte's 1/2 to 2/3 of total component spend, as a rough rule of thumb for speakers/sub (excluding room treatments and very small rooms). Distortion figures for speakers often make them the weakest link in the chain.

I am in general agreement with Shadorne but there are some special cases. One that I am familiar with is Maggies, where a pair of MG1.6, for example, fit well with electronics costing four or five times as much (and that is not including vinyl playback which would run it up to at least ten times).
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That is a difficult question that has many variables. Price is only one. You have room acoustics, tubes or solid state, type of music, etc. I have found that system matching is manditory if you want the best possible sound. If you unbalance your system with one component then your overall coherancy is thrown off and is disjointed. This won't be glaringly apparent, it will just be a feeling that things just don't mesh. When this happens, you start listening to the sound rather than the music. This is my great judging factor in audio. Is it musical?

There's a lot of responses already, so I'm sure my opinion here will die, ignored, in the ether... I don't think there's a percentage of a budget that you can copy/paste into making a system. What I can say is what _I'd_ do with $5k.

As little as $500 for used Vandersteen 2Cs or as much as $1,500 for used MartinLogans (SL3 or Aerius i are in that range).

Somewhere under $1,000 for a used amp.

Somewhere under $500 for used source components.

Throw in some interconnects.

Buy a used dirt bike. Probably a KDX-220.

The main idea is that I don't think you can build a permanent system in one fell swoop. You need speakers that speak to you personally. You're going to be staring at these things for years (probably) and that alone can fill your mind with doubts that'll affect your opinion of their sound. (Not that it's right, but it happens.)

Listen around, read, take your time and find the right speakers. Then you can find the right amp for them (I'm sure most of us can tell you the joys of the right speakers and the wrong amp... IT SUCKS!). However you do it, I'm sure you won't be anywhere near the $5k proposed... either 2/3s of it or 3 times it. =]

I realize now what my future speaker will be. I orginally had my sights set on the Tyler Linbrook Sig Sys. In fact almost bought one used this weekend. BUT as my brother in law pointed out that speaker is 4 ohms, which my new Jdais Defy 7 could drive , but even better is to stay with the 8 ohms as are my current Seas Thor speaker. So I have made my final decision to go with the Tyler Linbrook Super Tower with 4 W18's per cabinet!!!! My orchestral collection will be taken to new even richer fuller sound stage over my current fantastic Thor speakers. I bought the kit for $1800 and honestly have not heard anything to compete with it for any price. Except Tyler's Seas line of course, as both use the smae drivers.
So since I could not sell my Thor's at $1200, I'll try again later this summer when I have some cash to get the Lin Super Towers. Can't wait!!!!!!
You do not have to speand $$$$$$$$ to get first calss sound. Many lines are wayyyyyyyyy over priced.They have to pay ad costs.