If there’s an audiophile exit ramp, this ain’t it…

You let everyone tell you what they think is best for you.  You didn't take the time to learn what satisfies your wants/needs and develop your own opinions.

@OP,  I've been there!   There are so many good suggestions above.  

One thing that works for me is actually hearing the gear I think about buying.  That's harder to do with brick and mortar industry on life support and the pandemic.  

I made my first trip to AXPONA in 2019.  It was revelatory.  I was able to hear so much gear.  It was helpful to hear things like you refer to--five figure speakers, amps, etc.   It was great to find out that (estimated) 90% of the stuff I was hearing sounded no better than my system at home.  And, the 10% that sounded as good or better was way beyond my budget;  I would need a home equity line to purchase it. 

Even if you've never soldered a thing, you may want to dip your toes into this pool.  It's like knitting for audiophiles! So rewarding, relaxing, fun and virtuous.    If you're looking for a foolproof kit, try Elekit's offerings.  Bar none, the best directions out there.  You can do a 15 minute YouTube soldering course and you're good to go. 

Marketing is like the news. It is so dishonest it is not worth 2 seconds of anyone's attention.

Hi Fi and music are two completely separate issues that just happen to interact. Hi Fi is analytical. Music is emotional. 

Soldering is easy. The key is a hot iron and speed. You want to complete the connection before you burn everything. Wiring is an artform. Watch this http://www.atma-sphere.com/en/index.html. 

Many of us do this a-s end backwards. We make changes expecting something, anything to improve. It is best to analyze the situation, identify problems and formulate fixes for these specific problems. Institute the fix and see if the problem goes away. You are done when you have no more problems. 

I’ve been able to control equipment purchases over the years (raising a family will help tremendously with that mind set because no matter how much $$ you make, it’s never enough), but have a real problem controlling media purchases, especially SACDs. When we asked Nationwide what was covered, the stereo systems were fine but they wanted at least a thousand a year at that time to cover the cds, external computer drives, etc. as there are so many.

mijostyn

Soldering is easy. The key is a hot iron and speed.

@mijostyn issues so many mistaken pronouncements that it’s hard to keep up, but this one’s a real Dusey.

Soldering is a tricky business. The keys are an iron of the proper temperature (hotter is not necessarily better) and patience.

Many of us do this a-s end backwards.

Your words, not mine.