Five "Golden Rules" of HiFi?

1. Don't overspend. You can combine correct componants,appropriate for a particular room, and do well for a reasonable amount of money. You can spend spend an unreasonable amount of money,put together the wrong combination,and have something that sounds bad.

2.Make sure the equipment is appropriate to the room,and deaden the room enough that a hand clap does not echo.

3.(I'm a panel nut.) If you like box speakers,you can buy speakers for fifty cents on a dollar from Madisound.

4. Electonics are so good now that if you choose to buy new,you can safely buy from AVA or Odyssey,based upon specifications,knowing the pieces will meet or exceed the specs,saving what you would have to pay for the retail step-including sales commissions.

5. Remember that listening is passive,that playing is active. Learn to play,or get better at playing an instrument. Play activly at least as much as you listen passively.

4. Don't buy secondhand speakers (bad experience!)? Just asking why not second hand speakers, I have not had a problem in this area.Is it the weight when it comes to shipping and many not having the original box for this application to protect them during transportation.

My five are similar to yours, with a couple of modifications since I have had excellent experiences purchasing used speakers, and most of my purchases have been of used equipment that I couldn't listen to first. Here are my 5;
1. Protect your hearing,
2. have fun and enjoy both the eqipment and music aspects of this hobby,
3. interact with others about your system and music,
4. don't overspend, rather build a system within your budget that sounds good on your music, and
5. maximize system effectiveness - through room treatments, vibration management, and clean, protected power.

1. Research gear and set a reasonable budget accordingly.

2. Listen to as many live performances and audio systems as your can to help develop your ear and define your tastes and priorities.

3. If possible, connect with an audiophile/music lover community, preferrably local and/or online.

4. Determine whether you're a last 2% person, be realistic with repect to your given room and system components.

5. The room can be half the battle.