Rules of getting best audio ? maybe..

"Old man, how is it that you hear these things?"

"Young man, how is it that you do not?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbNCBVzPYak

@dougsat Two separate systems worked for me for many years. Downsizing has resulted in my 2 Chanel system getting all the resources:)

If great sound is your final goal, then start with #6. Don't spend some time .. spend a lot of time and good money on room acoustics and learn or hire someone. I would take good speakers with a good set of electronics in a great room over a great set of speakers and electronics in an average room any day. It wouldn't even be close. Most audiophiles have not been exposed to a really well done acoustics set up. Trade shows have about the worst acoustics you can find. It is rare to even find high end dealers with a really well done room with properly placed speakers. 


The what I feel is distorted spend on various equipment in the modern audiophile world is in my mind not going to get you to where you want to be the most cost effectively.  Again I would take great speakers with a reasonably good amp, over the very best amp and not so good speakers. Your speakers and your room are the #1/#2 or 2/1 weak links in your system (almost always). If your speakers are so so, no matter what you spend elsewhere, you will be limited in your outcome. Get good speakers and you can upgrade other components over time to match.


I agree completely with noble100. The optimum place for two speakers for upper bass, midrange and highs is unlikely to be the same as deep bass in most rooms. As well controlling room modes for deep bass requires large bass traps or smaller narrow band traps that may not be ideal for your situation. Multiple smaller subs I feel are ideal for most people. Put this into your speaker spend.


Most DACs, SS amps sound similar. Not the same, but similar so hard to tune "to your ears". Diminishing returns much quicker than speakers (and acoustics). You may prefer a more traditional tube sound so definitely compare. Good turntable setups take a significant investment that will take away from other items. If you don't have a big quality vinyl library now , you may want to pass.

@romney80 --

... I am sure many of you here have much more experience in this arena and have gone through your journey. Some mistakes made, lesson learnt, but still it is ongoing journey.
I have set up my stereo as well as home theater, spent great deal of money and have learnt some valuable lessons and thought of setting up some guidelines/rules, so that if I could go back in time, I wish I had these steps in mind and followed these "rules" instead of doing costly trial and errors.

It’s tempting to think one could’ve learned from the initial get-go with a list a rules hereby avoiding "costly trial and errors," but it would seem the process of these things and actually working through them is vital to attain some measure of experience that can then lead to important realizations - insofar one is open to acknowledge them. For this to come to fruition my advice would be to go with a hunch along the way (crazy or "mercurial" it may be), think out of the box, and be skeptical about the "audiophile" industry and its mechanisms. Because, let’s face it, this milieu is what we’re lead into and wade through for what’s likely to be many years, while navigating in a sea of marketing B.S., conjecture, restricting paradigms and dogma even. From my chair we must be careful not to be too infected and play along with the tune of this melody, and instead develop a critical mindset that doesn’t cater to the often hive-minded nature of this environment.

Share your "mistakes" and "lesson learnt" moments if you agree: if you don’t agree, ignore this and don’t trash please. Constructive criticisms are always fun though.

I won’t comment on your list specifically, but if anything my lesson learned is slowly unwinding myself from audiophilia in a sense and go more in the direction of a "brass tacks" approach where physics can have their say, certainly in regards to speakers so to accommodate the fact that sound can’t be (successfully) miniaturized. High-end speakers that are big are insanely expensive, but do they need to be that costly from the perspective of sound quality alone? To my ears: no, not even by a long shot. My current speakers, bought used, are build for pro cinema use, and if the drivers housed were put into fancy cabinets with elaborate, passive cross-overs and sold through the typical dealer network they’d cost a crazy load of money, not to mention these speakers would be a niche product due to their size alone, further elevating their price. But do pro cinema speakers sound properly in a domestic environment? Depending on the size of one’s listening space it is important not to "overshoot" with the specific speakers used, but once fitted to the space allotted they can sound fantastic, and at a fraction of the cost compared to big, high-end speakers that couldn’t even approach the dynamic capabilities and ease of sound to begin with. Pro cinema speakers are big, they’re fitted in "working clothes" and they may have some years on their back if bought used (which doesn’t matter because they’re built to last in a much harsher, pro environment). However, it’s a ticket to great, uninhibited sound for a relatively small amount of money. And that’s just one example of product category..

You think you have a list! :)