Words From the Wise

first piece of advice--listen to the "music" and not the equipment"--let your ears guide you as opposed to a commission oriented sales person. Also--"The Audio Beat"
is a great on line publication by Marc Mickelson--he always has great advise and responses-------tell him if u email him sheldon simon referred you to his site

1. Buy from long established manufacturers (e.g. B&W, McIntosh) with good QC that will be around to service what they sell - avoid the latest garage-based Wunderkinder.

2. There's a lot of snake oil out there - not everything works as advertised. If you can't hear a difference, don't buy it. Watch out for the power of suggestion.

3. Be aware of bang-for-the-buck and diminishing returns. A one thousand dollar amplifier will almost certainly sound better than a one hundred dollar amplifier, but a ten thousand dollar amplifier may or may not sound much better than a one thousand dollar amplifier, depending on your ears, your system, and the alignment of the planets.

4. That said, buy the best you can afford and then don't mess with it- avoid the temptation constantly to upgrade.

5. Are you the kind of audiophile that wants great sound without a lot of fuss? Or the kind that wants great sound but also enjoys geeking around with the equipment, experimenting with new stuff, etc.? If the latter, then consider ignoring # 4.

1. Its hard to spend enough on equipment to compensate for a poor listening area.(ie don't spend a ton of money unless you have a good space)
2. Spend the time required to position speakers and equipment properly.
3.Buy used equipment or demos from brands that have been around a while.
4. Be careful to match speaker efficiency with amp power

Oldears, I had no real choice in our 1500 ft2 place in New Mexico mountains. It is 10 x 13 x 8 and must also on occasion serve as a bedroom. Fortunately, I discovered the Zilplex cups. I still remember listening to Diana Krall's 'A Case of You' without them. It was okay but obvious that I was in a small room. Then I put the eleven Zilplexes up where the instruction said. When I resumed playing, I was shocked to hear myself at her concert! I had the eerie sense that were I to stand and walk forward five feet I would fall out of my listening room.

This is not to say, of course, that the irregularity of many rooms means they can be made easy to work room with the Zilplexes, but neither will spending more money on your system.

1- establish a baseline of what you like and don't like
2- establish a baseline of what is more important and less important
3- never audition gear with unfamiliar music
4- trust your ears above all else
5- if possible, try to find and buy gently used gear

I've found these rules work well for me

I don't like hyper-detailed- it just sounds bright to me
I'll always choose solid bass over spectacular 3D imaging
I've used Graceland to audition gear since the 1980's
I once listened to a very costly (5 figure) Pre which I thought was a dog, though it garnered raves - I prefered the same manufactuers other Pre which was 1/3 the price
Half my system was bought used. Now it's all used.