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

Two more:

- Ignore the cynics.

- Be careful with the opinions of those who never mention the music. 

" Cynism and sarcasm are often the money of those who borrowed too much and never repaid"-- Anonymus

My brother is almost deaf and he once told me after seeing my audio system and almost laughing at me that we dont need an audio system to hear Bach... 😁

@secretguy 

"Pay no attention to forums like this."

I assume this comment is tongue in cheek, but just in case it isn't, I have a  different take on this.

I believe there is gold mine of information available on this site, if one is capable of parsing through the comments and gleaning what is truly useful.

Comments that are based on educated listening and years of searching for better sound are very valuable as a way of benefiting from the experiences of others, without all the related costs and heartache. I often search the historical database before making a purchase as a way of shortlisting components or getting a sense of what that component offers sonically. One can even get a sense of how components work together by analyzing certain members "virtual systems".

Speaker placement (minutely adjustable) in the room has a greater impact upon the ultimate SQ than anything else. Just make sure that the amp(s) can drive the speakers to your desired volume.

Home auditions are beneficial.

Read and learn all that you can but don't substitute what you hear with what some review says is good - your ears are the only criterion for excellence - if you can't hear a difference on a new piece of gear you just spent thousands on based on a third party review, you wasted your money.  If it sounds better to you, then the money was well spent.