New to the game. Need some beginners advice.

ill second that: Read Read Read Read...

orpheus is right, i would have saved a ton of money and time (and i certainly wouldnt have a few closets full of gear) if i had taken the time to "educate" myself on the basics. when i started , internet was ICQ for chat, on a 28k dial up connection.... and Netscape was the browser of choice (what ever happened to them?) so we didnt have google back then to key in the words "bad hi-fi" and get Bose as a top result.... no offense to those that think Bose if high end... i did too once upon a time.... and i still have my 901's in one of the closets... or maybe in under the house in the crawl space with my old pentium 286 with MMX technology!!!! whatever that was.... sigh!!!!

I wish to EXPAND a bit further on my rather negative comments made previously.
the real watershed moment for me was the day i bought a (used) pair of B&W 801 speakers. from then on, the music i had sounded much better - and in some cases WORSE. because of their far superior accuracy at reproducing nuances
that were always present but glossed over by my previous speakers i could hear so much more detail it was truly amazing. but then of course i had to resolve the problems raised by such a far superior transducer. a better DAC, a better preamp, a better transport (with a special digital interconnect), a levinson stereo amplifier (good Lord what a huge improvement over my SAE amplifier!). and finally wires (i went with audioquest at first). i remember coughing up $800 for a pair of used speaker cables- very necessary, and very difficult to work with garden hoses.
but as someone else mentioned here, piano recordings had a richness and clarity that helped me differentiate between the sound of one brand of piano from another. other instruments would leap from the speakers into the room. a Martin guitar would sound
so convincingly real and just like what i would hear when i got to play one in person. the female voice would no longer be a part of the "system" but would take on a life of its own. a really REALLY good system will take you step by step into the studio or the concert hall and sit you down with the people making the music.... AS LONG AS there is no crappy cheap electronics and/or a deaf engineer that screws up what you should be hearing.
i guess the final word on all of this is whether it becomes an "obsession" to get the best possible results OR at what stage you're willing to call it quits- which will vary for each one of us. as long as you can take the sound of a pair of $150,000 speakers in stride (or get freaked out and have to buy them), you must measure your ability to remain rational and objective as to how good they REALLY ARE, regardless of how wealthy you are (aren't).
like i said, stick to mid-fi. good night, sleep well...

If you are truly just getting started, do this:
get polk lsi15 speakers used for around 650 a pair, get a used or new harman kardon hk3490 receiver 299 new. get a marantz cd player cd5004 350 new. some well make 12 / 14 gauge wire off amazon, I got raptor. total around 1500 dollars. then listen for a while, not a week or a month but a year or more. buy music all the while. you now have a good system and a 'baseline' to compare any other equip with. and any time you don't like the sound, move the speakers back forth, side to side and up and down.
this will change the sound. Anyone tell you a more expensive piece will improve your sound, ask them how or why. good listening.

Polk speakers give the biggest bang for the buck, and Marantz CD players are good but electronics such as preamp, and amp should be top notch. These, or this in the case of an integrated will be the essence of the other components. They should be the best you can buy.

I would take the best electronics and "good" speakers as opposed to the "best" speakers and average electronics, any day; but it really depends on what kind of listener you are. If you get deep into the music, electronics is very important.

Spend lots of time listening to different speaker types (sealed box, ported box, open baffle, horns, electrostats, combinations, single driver, two ways, three ways, etc.) and decide which type of sound you prefer. Drive around, fly around, do whatever you are able to experience as much as possible. Reading this forum and reviews is fine, but let YOUR ears decide, not someone else's. Once you decide what type you prefer, then pursue that type. But also make sure that type can work well in your room, or if not, pick another room where it can (verify with manufacturer).

Then zero in on a specific speaker to purchase. Once you do, you can then purchase proper amplification for that speaker (again, verify with speaker manufacturer).

From this point you will have a very good foundation on which to build/tweak and eventually upgrade if desired.