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

Remember, everything matters but nothing is required. Play it loud.

Stay out of the hot sun.

It is a marathon so don'tbe impatient.  This is one of the things in life where the journey may be more fun than the destination.  

As long as we're giving advice here, my advice to someone who's brand new to this hobby and wants to get their absolutely biggest bang for their buck ... the is pretty bold but bigger than anything anyone has mentioned yet ... is to save your pennies until you can score a nice used Lyngdorf tdai 1120. Of course, you'll need a source also ... but one nice thing about the Lyngdorf approach is the way you can utilize the different optional modules as needed for streaming or phono.

Two other nice things about the Lyngdorf approach is that their Room Perfect software will immediately, and to great effect, remove whatever "room issue" you will have otherwise. And it will make (literally) whatever speakers you decide to use sound as those speakers were meant to sound by the manufacturer.

From there, you can figure out your position on the cabeling issue and save your pennies to improve your sound. But it will already rival a lot of the people's systems who're commenting on this thread.

Thanks for the question, mmcgill829,

Starting fresh in our hobby, I would first consult with a professional...one experienced in tuning rooms for 2 channel stereo and sound studios.  I recently established contact with James of GIK Acoustics in adding a diffusor/absorber/bass trap to my studio.  Even with much prior tuning, the results are stunningly good.  I would also suggest reading "Good Sound" by Laura Dearborn...seemingly dated, but continues to be some of the clearest, useful basic advice available.  In print, used copies are also available on Amazon.  

Nearly 5 decades into better sound, like some have mentioned here, the loudspeaker / room relationship is the starting point.  Money spent tuning the room for audio is the most cost effective and sensible way to begin.  Once in place, ALL efforts to better your sound will play out.  

More Peace!   (bold print for old eyes)    Pin