How much does power amplifier really matter comparing to other hi-fi components?

The strongest part of any system is it’s weakest link. …or something along those lines

50% gear/cables, 50% room treatment and speaker/listening position placement.

That is not COST, it is the importance and true perspective of a TOTAL system.

The cost of gear and cables can be 100% of the cost, but it's still only 50% of the sound. By putting 5-10% ($$) in room treatment you can reduce your gear cost buy 50-75%. The sound can cost a lot of money or VERY well spent money. The well spent money part, usually comes with a lot of poorly spent (learning) money through the years. :-)

I look at it like this TOO.. 300hz and down gets a certain kind of control system (bass control system) fed from an active preamp (integrated or separate), power amp (class Ds), cables and speakers.

300 hz and up gets a very well made versatile valve power amp for 8 months out of the year and class ds for the HOT summers where I live.

When I was finished with one system I was still under 10k and everything was new or freshly gone through and or moded up.. Room included. The front room my wife's system.

I could add in 15K speakers that I have, but the 1500.00 speakers with the brand new cabinets I purchased for 200.00, work as good because of the room size and type of speaker. I could add a 8K preamp I have but the C20 that cost me 1700.00 total with a complete rebuild, and on and on and on....

The NUGGET from all this is:
I can build a 60K system or a 8K system. I have both... 50% is still the room.. at 5-15% of 8K. LOL :-)

ROOM first, speakers second. I'm sorry I work backward than most people. Then the power amp matches the speaker and the room temp issues.. It's a BIG issue where I live..

Source is source pick what ever you like for your Karaoke Christmas hootenanny. :-)

Regards

It all matters...if you did a mashup of all the above posts you would find that "it all matters".  

Assigning percentages to components is a fool's errand, you may like to think about it in those terms, but you'll never match it as you move forward.

My simple rule of thumb is that any component that is a transducer requires more dollars.  That would be speakers (signal to sound), cartridge (squiggles to signal), cd/dac (digital to analog). 

After that you pick the order of spending, but it all matters!

Regards,
barts

This guy trying look for good advices and you send him out like drunk girl looking for quite place to sleep a frat house. but it not your fault because op give very little information.
take money you pay for speaker- Raidho and how much you have leftover. That the question is what do you have after purchase the Raidho? That good speaker I have that in workshop system I just cover that tweeter when use machine because ribbon no like dust.

It is a system and the system will only be as good as the weakest link. You can have the best amp but a bad pre-amp and the pre-amp will not let the amp shine. I my self would consider the pre-amp a little more important than the amp. If you have a budget and have to compromise some where in the system chain the pre-amp would be my last to compromise.