Five "Golden Rules" of HiFi?


Tough question, but if you had to list your 5 most important "Golden Rules" of hifi, from your own experiences, what would they be?
To start things off, mine would be:

1. Protect your hearing; without it, the rest is pointless.
2. Use a surge/overvoltage protection power board
3. Read lots of reviews and forums like this one
4. Don't buy secondhand speakers (bad experience!)
5. Never buy gear without listening to your own music through it.
carl109
Add to the list: Enjoy live music as often as possible and support local musicians.
I like rule #1; but that's about it, from this list. Chris' "hearing as many different systems" would have to be modified to "owning,same"/for me.
Trying horns and set amps taught me a lot. While horns and set-amps have their pros and cons;they taught me a lot about what my previous system wasn't doing. BUT, I had to live with this system for a while and experience it. What I had before set me up for this experience--then what you gained from this helps you on the step after. I guess many don't have to take the baby steps I require. While I am quite happy now, I don't expect I have reached the end of my journey.
I object rule #4 and #3 as well
Instead #3 repeat #5 twice.
#4 replace "speakers" with "phono cartridge"
1. In six months of buying eggs and stapling the cartons to the wall in your listening room, plus buying a throw rug, you can do more than buying the most expensive cords.
2. The best gear is not always the most expensive, or coolest looking gear.
3. Power conditioners work. Really.
4. If you can't have a conversation about music with your hifi dealer, find another dealer.
5. Reasonable budget, over the longest term.
1. More money doesn't always equal better sound.
2. Before spending a dime, consider the room where the gear is going to be and understand how the room contributes to the final sound at your ears.
3. Think of speakers and amplifiers as one circuit that needs to compliment each other and avoid poor matching characteristics.
4. Proper speaker placement within the room is essential to good sound.
5. More often than not, a change of a component will result in a different sound, not always a better sound. There is almost always a trade off.