I went to college. We slept all night using a turntable that kept playing. Abraxas or DSOTM. Heard all the Yamahas and Advents. Good sound? Sure. And we had the best ,music, mid 70's rock. Kept the bug. Very nice store here in town. Bought a Sony VFET and Polks. Played the hell out of them.
WIF=no stereo
Bought a house. Now we're talking. My friend kept bringing over his amps that he made or fixed. Some classics. Quatre, Ampzilla. Paradigm speakers. Could never get them right.
I got banished to the basement. More iterations. Then due to work, it just all sat in a pile.
My son talked me into seeing if it all worked. Buzz in the preamp, poor connections, CD player drawer broke.
Here we are. Retired, I love music, I have time, started buying stuff. I got lucky and/or informed and bought pretty good stuff for my tastes. I kept telling my wife. Man, this thing sounds good. Buy another addition, Man this thing sounds good. On and on. NOW, I think it is really good.
The point is: each time, I thought I had really good sound. Each time I added something it sounded better. Kept scooting speakers around, etc etc. Each time it sounded better. How do I know? It's in my head. The few times I went to hear the $$$ rigs were disappointing. Let alone remember what they sound like. So, it's what sounds good to me. PS never liked tone controls. Don't want to fiddle with every song.