"And now I just want to be content and happy with the wise long-term investment."
Investment it is not IMO, just a thoroughly enjoyable system for you and yours.
You will be gone, so you won’t be aware of the diminished value, difficulty of selling, parting out, international competition from hifishark, fear of shipping, thus lower prices because reduced buyers via local pick-up ....
You cannot even count on passing it along to your children. I bought 3 R2R machines, me and 1 for both sons. To play the many R2R tapes they will inherit. They gather dust, anf the JSE Model II Speakers they both loved while growing up: the wife says ’their too big".
I was closest to NYC, helped my Grandmother deal with my uncle’s NYC apt after he died, so she ’randomly’ gave me his Fisher Console and R2R tapes. It weighed over 300 lbs. Anyone else in the family might have said ’no thanks’.
Happy listening, enjoy it while you can, I’m ’done’ as you are. Done is a slippery slope.