$50k - $80k Budget…Opinions please.

Your budget is good to get a great sounding system. Given your circumstances I would recommend starting from scratch… forget what you used to like. Use all the experience you gained on sound quality and components and start over.

I would start auditioning systems… locally first, then maybe a couple trips. Go listen to a Wilson system, a Sonus Faber system, Audio research, B&W, Magico, Conrad Johnson, Roland, Boulder… Magnaplanar. Don’t worry about cost. Find what connects to you.

Then start thinking about what to buy… speakers first.. but you have the advantage of getting all synergistic components at one time.

I found that carefully chosen component at each level sounds better than the last… so a $80K system will sound very significantly better than a $40K system and not nearly as good as a $160K.

I recommend buying the best you can and do not spend much on cables and interconnects (I buy DHLabs as really good quality budget wire), wait about six months or a year until all is broken in and you know what your system sounds like and then start working on optimizing your system with wire. You can then really compare speaker cables first, then power cord (amp)… then interconnects and finally interconnects for all your components. At the end of this… two or three years you can have an incredible system carefully customized to your own tastes.

@magnuman … “sorry to tell you that you don't know what you're talking about just because the system costs $160,000 doesn't mean it's going to sound better than an $80,000 system ”

Sorry you did not read my post. I did not say you can randomly pick components at a price point and have them out perform components at another price point. You must carefully choose them an make sure they are synergistic and compatible. Did you just fall off the turnip truck? You are clearly trying to act superior… try to be helpful and humble instead. 

@pindac 

Yes, definitely. Carefully chosen requires footwork, listening skills, reading, exposure to different systems, etc. I think each of us with many decades of experience have chosen slightly different paths to be able to evaluate equipment and systems. So, for me, I have listened to different systems for 50 years, read virtually every copy of The Absolute Sound and Stereophile over that time. Through thousands of hours discovered my own values (modified greatly with the knowledge I gained over that time) and am able to judge sound quality of equipment and the synergy they are likely to bring. 
 

This is a pursuit of passion where the time spent is enjoyable and in the long run incredibly satisfying. The great thing is, at the end of each learning / investment cycle one has a testament to what you have achieved.

@lanx0003 

+1

Yes. you have to establish a foundation based on relatively neutral reviews… Stereophile, The Absolute Sound, and HiFi+ are the bases of real Research. So, some recommendations here may point to equipment to do further research on. 
 

After reading these publications for over 40 years I can figure out how the component sounds or the reviewer has a strong bias pretty easily. So I would use specific input here as a recommendation for additional research and listening.

Reviewing this string it dawned on me, if I was to do over from scratch I would actively find a Shindo system and see if that would inspire my choice of direction. I have never heard one, but always have wanted to. 

@thyname 

Thank you for your kind words. 

OP,

Go for it! I am 70 and retired. I spent 50 years learning, reaching, and investing. Now, I am able to listen to my system for three hours a day. It is my most rewarding asset. Well worth the continual investment and work I have put into it. Actually in order of resale value my house is number one, my audio system is two, and my new 4Runner and Lexus is third in value. When I die, it gets liquidated to support my partner or to charity. 

I’m not sure there is a financial rule that best suits everyone. Everyone is different in priorities, values in possessions, risk, and how they manage their life.