??? How Much Would You Spend ???

A class d Hypex Ncore or Purifi stereo amp delivers top notch performance and can be had for under 2K. They will drive most any speakers to their max. So thats probably about it. Compact design for a small room is the icing on the cake.

The speaker choice is critical to the balance of the expenditures.  I am a Maggie guy and they require much from their amps.  I have 750 wpc bench tested and those are not inexpensive.  On the other hand, if you prefer highly efficient speakers you can use SET amps and anything stronger, giving you a bit more flexibility in your amp budget.

Only when you look at the entire picture of your system can you allocate your budget properly.  Sources also are key as the expense of quality vinyl is different from streaming, CD or even R2R.

It os a complex algorithm and certainly not a one size fits all IMHO

So the last 5 years I have had a Raven Audio Osprey Tube Amp with their Corvus Speakers and I have been really thrilled with what I hear out of this beautiful amp...At 73 yrs old and having tinnitus pretty bad I have wondered if I really could hear much more than I do with this unit..I talked to Raven and they told me they would give me a trade in on 5 yr old Osprey for the Reflection they make..I would be another 14k to get this unit and believe me I had  to really talk myself in..But I finally did and I am so happy I did for the music and detail I hear coming out of songs that I never knew existed all these years even from Oldies songs I am blown away..But it is what you are willing to spend for best quality sound you desire to hear...And those 5 years with Osprey I thought was my best and I have a whole new sound that will last me for years of enjoyment...  

in your scenario you have established the price of the speakers. My personal preference would then be to spend roughly 7-10 thousand on the amp, dac and preamp and I would prioritize the preamp if I had to make choices
 

I would also allocate some of your budget for at least modest room treatments. But that’s just me, and I think the best advice anyone can give you is to listen to the components that are under consideration. we can all recommend that you buy what we have, and that may not at all be the sound that will be most pleasing to you. The way we hear is very subjective. Some people like a warmer more musical sound, but there are others who don’t care for that at all. You may listen to a component that you think is exactly what you want for far less money, or perhaps far more, than some arbitrary figure. It’s about getting the best value for the money you have to spend in terms of the sound that’s most pleasing to you and I don’t think you can really know the best way to allocate your budget until you start putting components together and hearing them for yourself. 

Speaker Selected First = Make a provision for the Signal received to be turned into an end sound that is the best.

Thereare dependencies on all that is upstream and the ambient of the environment to Control this method. 

Source Selected First = Signal produced and sent is the best one can have created for their budget.

This is my choice for a Audio System,