New to the game. Need some beginners advice.

You need to first learn what you like from your system. No two are alike and nobody else hears what you hear or prefer. Once you undertand that you can move forward. Buying gear that you can resell for your purchase price or make a profit is always a good way to hear what components sound like in your system unless you have an audio club or people close to you who will lend you there gear for you to hear in your system.

Books to me are a waste of time because they cannot teach you to hear. Become familiar with your favorite recordings and what they sound like on your system and then bring those recordings around to see how other systems make them sound. Bass, mid-range, high end extension, height and width of soundstage, depth of sound stage, top end air, placement of instruments and backing vocals, clarity, tone, etc. I like to use piano recording because if the componets cannot get that right I feel that I am wasting my time then. Listen to piano on SS gear and tube gear to see what I mean. You may perfer one over the other so go with what you like.

I heard my speakers no to long ago with a cheap NAD power amp and it sounded very good. My amp is way more expensive and much better but the NAD was musical and enjoyable also.

Happy Listening.