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$100K system build - % breakdown of spend

I know there are several such breakdowns all over the web, but each different in one way or another. Thanks in advance for anyone willing to lend thoughts here.

Assuming $100K to build a system (indifferent between new/used) with equal time spent and enjoyment from streaming and vinyl (for now leaving out other digital and other analog), does the following ballpark seem reasonable? If you’d bump something up, what would you bump down?

Speakers - $30K

Subs - $5K

Amp(s) - $20K

Preamp - $10K

TT, cartridge, arm, phono preamp - $10K

DAC - $5K

Streamer - $5K

Cables, Interconnects, Power Cords, Power Cond/Regen - $10K

Isolation Products, room treatments and system rack(s) - $5K

 

Leaving out for now fuses, contact enhancers and the like. 
 

Thanks again for any thoughts. 

coys21
holmz's avatar
holmz
2,328 posts
 

I usually make the rookie mistake of under playing amps… But these throw away slogans like:

If you are interested in high end sound quality and choose good quality and synergistic components… you get what you pay for.

Maketh me wonder

  1. How do we identify quality?
  2. What is synergy?
    1. Is it flaws being synergistic, or what is it?
    2. The room and speaker have synergy.
    3. The tonearm, and cartridge need synergy.
    4. What else?
petaluman
195 posts
 

If it was my 100k, I would start with a dedicated room.  It's by far the hardest thing to upgrade and will never be obsoleted.  It doesn't have to be away from the rest of the house.  However, ideally it's separate from your "TV" room.  If you have your wife's support (and are having the house built?), give her whatever it takes (exercise room? art studio? bedroom-size walk-in closet?)

As for the gear, I'm in the speakers first camp. Spend until you hurt on them.  The amp(s) have to play well with the speakers.  The digital market is advancing so rapidly that I'd suggest you spend more on the analog upgrade, figuring you'll upgrade the digital side multiple times before circling back around to analog.

Unless your new place has bad power, I wouldn't spend anywhere near 10k on cabling & power conditioning.

ghdprentice
8,125 posts
 

@holmz

  1. How do we identify quality?
  2. What is synergy?”

I recommend you start by reading Robert Haley’s Complete Guide to High End Audio. That should help you appreciate the nuances and complexity of high end audio. Also, a subscription to Stereophile and The Absolute Sound should help you understand what quality is and it’s relationship to sound characteristics and quality.  Synergy is also covered in these texts. I would recommend you listen to many components in a system… swapping only one ovation ally. This will help reveal what synergy in audio is.


 

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holmz's avatar
holmz
2,328 posts
 

Thanks @ghdprentice  I have mostly been looking at the “Audio Perfectionist journal”.

coys21 OP
62 posts
 

Thanks @petaluman and all others. Fair point about the room. The room now (and in the future) is not a TV room. I think windows will be the main obstacle. Similar to my room now, I’m probably destined for a main floor room, mostly dedicated to hifi, with some plants, shelves, more seating than just the sweet spot, etc. I’ll have to think about windows/treaments some, I think. Received a copy of Jim Smith’s Get Better Sound over the holidays - haven’t started yet but perhaps I’ll get some ideas from there. 
 

I also appreciate the comment re: power conditioning. 

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