Question: What are some of your best pieces of advise to someone new to the hobby?

• The sound we like is extremely personal...you choose what you like
• Speakers are very room dependent, and you’re listening room is unique
• Buy speakers you love the sound of, and that work well in your room, then buy an amp that drives them well
• Home equipment trials are best
• Treat the room acoustics as needed
• Placement is critical, and experimentation necessary
• Listen to better gear than you can afford, then buy the best you can
• Keep an open mind about what effects sound, specs don’t tell us how something sounds...use your ears.
• Audio is a journey, and it's unique to you...enjoy!

Experiment for fun at no cost...

Read about acoustics science... VERY IMPORTANT....

If not you will not know how to recognize all aspects of sound...

A dedicated room value is way more than any upgrade...

This hobby has nothing to do with "price tag" nor with "upgrades"...

This hobby is about embeddings controls ( homemade or at low cost ) of the three working dimensions ,mechanical ( vibrations and resonance), electrical ( signal/noise level) and especially acoustical one ( speakers/ears/room ) for ANY systems at ANY cost...

Look for synergy first creating a basically low price system commensurate with your wallet , then learn about all three working dimensions before any upgrade..

At the end the best system in the world in the scale optimal ratio Price/S.Q. will be ours and it will be the best,but why?

Because it will be more the result of your own creativity in learnings than the result of a big bank account ..

Experiment and dont listen anybody save acousticians and some top designers when they dont spoke about their products..

Users reviews in bulk have greater value than any pro- reviewer opinion...Read between the line and add all opinions details in various columns and analyse... This is especially valuable for low cost good vintage products...

Dont fall in the actual  dac money upgrade race  pit...😁

Human are designed by evolutive habit to recognize speech and musical designed sounds in a time oriented dimension not noise and non musical sounds ... Then learn music from all mankind not only music from your own culture.....

Music is the unspoken and silent speech of the soul.... The sound/body live and die but music is forever ...

Beware about the kind of music you will put in your head... music is vastly more powerful than you think and you will became what you will listen to...

One more about reviewers: If they say the sound is slightly anything, you can bet it’s actually a lot more than that. So, slightly warm = dull, a little bright = searing, dry sounding = etched and colorless etc.

Pay no attention to forums like this.