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

Awesome tips so far everyone! Appreciate everyone who has answered so far. There's quite a few basic tips that are popping up very frequently in the replies, which echo a lot of what I was thinking too, which is great!

It can definitely be an overwhelming hobby to jump into with little background knowledge (we've all been there at some point), but having a robust community such as this one to pick the brains of for tips, advice, and guidance is super helpful to eliminate some of the 'noise' and cut through some of the marketing shenanigans.

Look forward to reading more!

Listen, and I mean really listen - you'd be surprised how many people don't.

"I have a friend who is interested in putting together a system"

Not knowing much about your friend, it’s difficult to set priorities about what is important to them: Mac/PC? Dog/cat? Internal combustion/EV? Zappa/Hank Sr. Etc.

I would start by putting your friend in front of the most amazing system you’ve ever heard (within a reasonable commute from your home). This should create a strong emotional response (or, perhaps even loosing control of basic bodily functions) to illustrate what the the "ultimate system" looks and sounds like when it is finished. If the response is similar to the watching the first 12 minutes of any RomCom, perhaps he/she may want to pursue another hobby?

Second, I would make sure they have some "skin in the game." The pursuit of their system has to mean more them than it does to you. The more vested they are in the project, the more they will appreciate it. The more they appreciate it, the more they will enjoy it. And, the more enduring the hobby will be over their lifetime.

.......maybe to first learn the difference between ; advice and advise. In which you could actually do both here with your friend in order to help them build their system. Good luck and have fun doing it.   

OP,

You didn't mention a price range, that could certainly define any recommendations in the upgrade path. If the budget is $4,000, then a $2,000 DAC wouldn't be a good choice.