Two stages?
1) spend as much as you can building the system of your dreams.
2) read about how to get great sound out of your system and room.
3) ...but completely ignore everything you’ve read about how important the room is.
4) thinking that all that money spent with shades of improvement means you just didn’t spend enough on equipment.
5) accidentally finding out how important the room is by moving into a much older house.
6) quietly knowing it’s all about the music but still running toward better sound.
7) acceptance: enjoying your system, your room, your now aging ears and your music collection for what they are: imperfect but pretty damn good and immensely enjoyable.