Speakers First?

+1 John, success can be had either way. My system is built around an 8 watt SET amplitier and the final system's music reproduction actually exceeded my lofty expectations. This SET does limit speaker choice, but speaker first will limit suitable amplifier selection as well( there's always some compromise to accept). I'm certain many people have found satisfaction with following one or the other route.
Charles,

While I very much appreciate John and Charles thoughtful input in their posts on this forum, consider this another vote in the speaker camp. Not that amp speaker synergy shouldn't be a consideration, and the appeal of the SET sound they love is considerable. But that said, I'd at the very least tilt your total amount invested very strongly toward the speaker side. IME the speaker will have the greatest impact on your overall sound, and you will get biggest bang for your buck spending on speakers.

That said, if you do have amp preferences that should be taken into account, especially if you value the SET or OTL amp sound. Those amps will limit what speakers are good matches. But at any price point you can find speakers to match an amp preference.

Barring a mismatch, any suitable amp should give you a good idea of what a speaker is capable, even if that can be improved upon with proper component matching.

The speaker/amp combo is *hardly* the most important interface. That belongs to the speaker/room interface. Don't get that right and there is nothing you can do...

-RW-