So where does one spend his money in buying a decent stereo system?
I'm thinking about what to tell someone just starting out, not to you all wacked out junkies!

I've seen these types of lists before but of course they varied by whatever the list maker was trying to sell at the time.

I know that some people swear that you spend a large amount on source equipment, you know, garbage in-garbage out. Others swear on the amplification gear, tube over SS or the other way around.
Of course I'm a big proponent of speakers, because changing speakers around seems to make the biggest change to me, but again, I'm a speaker guy.

I'll throw my numbers out there, take them as they are, just my crappy opinion.
25% front end, 40% speakers. 30% amplification, and 5% of cables and such.
Yeah I know that I didn't have any power stuff or magic boxes etc. I consider those things as more advanced stuff that people add as they fall further on down the bottomless pit that is audiophilia.

So tell me what I got wrong, I'm sure that everyone has a different take on this.

@Donnie, your percentages are roughly where my system is at, if you use the retail prices of all my gear. The one thing that throws it off is because I'm primarily vinyl I invested in a great phono preamp, so that skews the front end percentage higher. In terms of contribution to the system, worth every penny.

I too changed speakers a lot until the current Zu Druid Vs. I can't imagine replacing them.

I'm going to break with the crowd a bit. To me the single most important thing to a great listening experience is a well treated room that handles the nasties. Beyond that it's importance the components in your system work well together (synergy) to deliver good tonalty and musical accuracy to your ears. This means matching your amplifier power output to the sensitivity of your speakers, as well as source equipment. Third, if your using a tube preamp and/or amplifier is the selection of those tubes. Don't be shy about inquiring about what others are using. Finally, I highly encourage folks with any kind of system to try out EcoFlow or equivalent home battery power backup units with your amp and source equipment. These units kill any noise in your system and improve sound quality too.

Cheers and happy listening.

HK

Ok this question is very difficult to attach percentages.  So many different individual variables in getting your system sounding how you like it. For me I have 2 systems that have taken 2 different paths that I can share.  Both are equally enjoyable and one system costs 2.5 times $.  First, I don’t include the room since some rooms don’t need or can’t have treatment.  So my percentages assume your room is taken care of to the best of your ability. Also, both of my speakers are DIY which dramatically drives the costs and percentages down.  
             Main System   Second System
Source           44%.             29%
Amplification   36%.             35%
Speakers.             8%.            20%
Power/cables/ 12%.             16%
 Tweaks

It really depends on what they want. Most people I've talked to just want to fill their home with music that sounds better than a Bluetooth speaker.

If they want to sit down and listen to music, that is a different setup.

If they are starting to get hooked, that is another setup.

There is a huge learning and experience curve.

I did a quick rough breakdown of my system.

Room Treatment 36.0%
Cables 15.9%
Speakers 13.0%
Power 7.2%
DAC 6.5%
Amplifier 5.0%
Preamp 3.6%
Streamer 3.2%
Arm 3.2%
TT 2.9%
Phono 2.5%
Cart 0.9%

However I just bought a 845 amp which is twice the price of the PP amp I was running, in that case the amp would be 10.2% Is the amp "better" it's fantastic not necessarily better, it's different going  from a PP to a SET, different sound signature.

Another way to look at the percentages:

Room Treatment      35.7%
Cables      15.7%
Amplification (Amp + Preamp)      14.3%
Speakers      12.8%
Digital (DAC + Streamer)      9.6%
Analog Vinyl (TT + Arm + Cart + Phono)      9.4%
Power      2.5%

Power includes the inverter and batteries as the system is 100% solar powered. Doesn't include panels and other hardware.

If I only did analog or digital the cable percentage would be different along with all the others.

I just realized I forgot about footers...

Room Treatment      33.9%
Cables      14.9%
Amplification (Amp + Preamp)      13.6%
Speakers      12.2%
Digital (DAC + Streamer)      9.2%
Analog Vinyl (TT + Arm + Cart + Phono)      8.9%
Footers      4.9%
Power      2.4%

I've been shocked at how much footers make a difference. I've gone through a lot of footers finding the ones I like the most.

This is all to say that it comes down to experience, figuring out what you want, what is important to you, what you can realistically do in your space and budget.

Cost in hifi isn't very closely tied to performance. Just like adding 5 pounds of gold to a car will make it much more expensive it doesn't make it go faster. If 5 pounds IS making it go faster why not use lead or another dense material?

Experience is so important. I've spent about 25-30% of my new 845 amp on 845 tubes in search of the sound I like most. I'm new to 845 tubes so it's a learning experience. Having the knowledge of the rest of my system, specifically the tubes, As the sound changes with the 845 tubes I've made changes to other areas of my system via tubes to to my ideal.

Budget could be $1,000, $10,000, $100,000 or $1,000,000. If you don't know what you are looking for it's a shot in the dark. I've heard many sub $10,000 systems that are way more enjoyable to listen to that $100,000+ systems.

I get starting out there is so much to learn and having a percentage breakdown seems like a good idea and maybe it is. I'm lost when it comes to giving advice in percentages.

Generally speaking Brian, I would say that what you heard is correct in a basic system, but with added components gain riding can eliminate that problem.