The only way I know of to build a system to one's satisfaction is in-home trial. Not always easy for a given component and even when available, does not always allow enough time to live with the component, 'dial it in' (by making other system changes including set-up in room). I think I have pretty 'quick' ears in discerning sonic differences resulting from a change in component or wire, but even if you can isolate the particular product's sound in another system by eliminating the variables, it isn't going to tell you how it will sound in your system, in your room, with your components.
I don't know that there is any 'easy way' to do this. It is one thing if you are building a modest system, and your expectations are 'good sound' (whatever that means to you) and once bought, you are pretty much going to leave it at that, and quit fiddling.
But, I've been around this game for decades, and like others, have fallen into the trap of listening to the gear, not the music, because something is 'lacking' and I want to achieve some incremental improvement. If my real love is endless tweaking and upgrading, fine. But, to be able to sit back, without audio nervosa, and enjoy what you have (and assuming you aspire to something that can give you the verisimultude of real music at some level), you are going to have to do some work to get there. That may mean trying and rejecting components after living with them. Buying used, because the tariff on brand new is too high. And recognizing, as others have already said, that no one system can do everything well.
So with that lengthy preface, I guess my list of things to avoid in system building is:
1. Believing that any one system can do everything well, on all source material. (Ultimately, if the system is at a pretty high level, you are a victim of the source material, how well it is recorded and mastered, not the playback gear).
2. Believing that any one component is going to make a night and day difference in an otherwise well thought-out system. We are building a complex system from individual components, usually from different manufacturers, wired together with cables from yet other manufacturers. That is, it is a 'system' and has to be treated as such.
3. Believing that costly components allow you to ignore best practices in room set up, a-c power and the like.
4. Being unwilling to experiment with set up changes and small tweaks that may not be terribly costly. This requires more time and effort than money.
5. Not being able to enjoy what you've built- which is a means to listen to music, not an endless quest for absolute perfection, which is virtually impossible.
I don't know that there is any 'easy way' to do this. It is one thing if you are building a modest system, and your expectations are 'good sound' (whatever that means to you) and once bought, you are pretty much going to leave it at that, and quit fiddling.
But, I've been around this game for decades, and like others, have fallen into the trap of listening to the gear, not the music, because something is 'lacking' and I want to achieve some incremental improvement. If my real love is endless tweaking and upgrading, fine. But, to be able to sit back, without audio nervosa, and enjoy what you have (and assuming you aspire to something that can give you the verisimultude of real music at some level), you are going to have to do some work to get there. That may mean trying and rejecting components after living with them. Buying used, because the tariff on brand new is too high. And recognizing, as others have already said, that no one system can do everything well.
So with that lengthy preface, I guess my list of things to avoid in system building is:
1. Believing that any one system can do everything well, on all source material. (Ultimately, if the system is at a pretty high level, you are a victim of the source material, how well it is recorded and mastered, not the playback gear).
2. Believing that any one component is going to make a night and day difference in an otherwise well thought-out system. We are building a complex system from individual components, usually from different manufacturers, wired together with cables from yet other manufacturers. That is, it is a 'system' and has to be treated as such.
3. Believing that costly components allow you to ignore best practices in room set up, a-c power and the like.
4. Being unwilling to experiment with set up changes and small tweaks that may not be terribly costly. This requires more time and effort than money.
5. Not being able to enjoy what you've built- which is a means to listen to music, not an endless quest for absolute perfection, which is virtually impossible.