"I am a relative newb when it comes to this high-end world of audio."
Fix the room first. Take each system home and compare brands in that room. You will hear a difference and be able to decide. Any reputable dealer will allow you to hold a credit card for a few days and let you compare.
I am not a person with a huge income, but love listening to high end systems and comparing the difference between different levels of cost verses performance. Everyone hears differently, and there is no "Golden" set of ears that can dictate "The best" What is boils down to are two things.
1. The "High End" Audio system is no better than the room you set it up in. You can have a $30,000 High end audio system in a crummy acoustical room, and a cheap system in a neutral good room and it will sound better than all that expensive gear. There is a fine line between how much better a $5,000 system is when compared in the same room to a $10,000 system. Is it worth the sound difference? With unlimited funds, why not get the Bugatti.
2. What do you like to hear in your music? It does not matter you impress your buddies, what do you like? Specifications will not tell you how the system sounds. Get the detail, impact, sweetness, timber, bass you like. That is what matters.
