What I wish I knew before starting my audiophile journey

@tonywinga Estimation of audio journey and tiers of audio very well stated! Audio just like nearly all human endeavors in that complexity nearly always in upwards trajectory. Questions never end, answers are discovered. The one thing I'd add to the upper tiers is the many paths available within those tiers, for example SS or tube, high power, low efficiency speakers, low power, high efficiency speakers, and then we have variations within these paths such as Class A, A/B, and now D for SS, SET and push pull for tube. All these paths can have great variations in cost to reach the highest tiers, for example high power usuall means higher cost. And then we have sound preferences within those tiers, highly doubtful all would find any particular system within that tier to be satisfactory, some may even doubt it's placement within that tier.

So, we see the complications never ending, for those desiring to reach the highest tiers be prepared to enjoy the process otherwise this is all tedious and a burden. I've thought more than a few times along this journey how satisfied a normal person would have been with sound quality I had attained at certain points, in those moments doubted my will or need to reach for more. I should have been happy! In recent years I've been contemplating on the idea I'm nearly at an end in this journey, with recent parcel of purchases all things on my audio bucket list have been exhausted, nothing left on short term list and only some nebulous plan for another diy custom build streamer in the future. The question becomes are we really ever done, I'm at point I'm about to find out.

@tonywinga Good call on the OLED. The promise of true blacks is now a reality.

In defense of "hifi" for your home theater:

Things are happening on the screen at the speed of light. It takes power and precision from your audio system to keep up. Although we all enjoy the fireworks, sound effects and great musical score during our movie watching events, the "being there" feeling during conversations at simple restaurant scenes can be lost with mid-fi systems. To fully communicate what the director intended takes an investment.

@tonywinga 

Audio: It is the best of hobbies and it is the worst of hobbies. It starts with a love for music but that quickly leads to obsession.

It's this transition from the love of music to the love of gear that separates the true audiophile from the herd.

However you decide to travel, whichever fork in the road you take, the destination is usually the same.

Peace to you and now your heart is full of gladness because you can get back to the music. Or maybe you simply run out of money and can no longer fund your voracious appetite for more and better upgrades. A very sad ending for many of us.

In any case, the OP's opinion on the importance of loudspeakers and sufficient amplifier power is correct.

It has to be.

There's nothing wrong with using 20 watt per channel tube amps if you prefer their sound but you'd probably want to pair them with a pair of reasonably efficient/easy to drive loudspeakers, wouldn't you?

As for power conditioners, room treatments, isolation etc there's no doubt that these might be useful in some circumstances but it's difficult to generalise here since rooms and equipment are all built differently.

@dman1974  Thanks for sharing your story. Posts like yours can often cut to the chase in a faster way any amount of reading reviews ever will.

@pwayland   +1 on building around the speakers.

I didn't start until 20 years ago but here are a few...

1) Don't buy anything you can't demo in your room, with your components and your music and return, if necessary.  

2) Trust your own ears but give any component plenty of listening time before making any final decisions. The mind can play tricks. 

3) Realize that each time you introduce a new component you may have to re-establish system synergy which may be simple or not so simple. 

4) If you ask for advice, be prepared for a wide range of responses

5) There's an advantage to being born an ardent music lover (someone who HAS to listen to music every day, even if it's on a cheap boom box) and having a relatively modest gear budget.