David@FrankHarvey said:
Because a quality speaker sounds better when it is partnered with high quality electronics. Would a £3k pair of speakers sound as good on £3k's worth of amplification?
That's not what's at issue here: you're muddying the waters. The question is how to divide up a £10K budget, not whether a £6K system sounds as good as a £10K system.
But in answer to your question, I think in all but the most extreme cases (playing music very loud; speakers with vanishingly low impedance) a £3K amp (such as the Hegel H360, or some Hypex monoblocs with something like a Benchmark DAC/pre) would be capable of getting the very best out of a set of top quality speakers.
I spent a long time trying out amps, going up to about £8K, and found the best results (for my £10K electrostatics) were with a power amp that sells for just over £3K.
David@FrankHarvey said:
And don't forget the 272 is a streamer as well, so a chunk of that £7k is effectively a source. And a DAC.
Yes, perfectly aware of that, which is why I suggested the Devialet 200: a similar, cheaper and better package.