Dawgfish's advice is good IMHO. Another approach, not hard to take where I live, is to visit a few audio stores and decide where you feel the most comfortable. Then start building a relationship.
This can be done several ways, not necessarily by making a major purchase. Do buy some smaller things, an LP or two for example. Check out the used and demo items. Ask to hear a favourite recording on the best system they have.
The objective is to hear the best systems you can and discuss ways to get there eventually. This will be of enormous help as you make your initial choices, because you will learn what qualities and features are most important to you.
Although buying new gear from a store is more expensive than any other way to get it ( except being scammed on the Internet ), trial and error can cost you too. In the long run knowing what you want may end up saving you more than you thought.
One thing to avoid like the plague is auditioning an item at a store and then going out and buying the same unit used, for cheaper, on the Net.
Finally, I have a preference for listening to systems where money is spent on the source first. This is because you can hear a good source through any downstream gear, and I find that more fun to listen to than an ordinary source through great speakers. So if I were buying with a view to later upgrades, that's how I'd balance things.
This can be done several ways, not necessarily by making a major purchase. Do buy some smaller things, an LP or two for example. Check out the used and demo items. Ask to hear a favourite recording on the best system they have.
The objective is to hear the best systems you can and discuss ways to get there eventually. This will be of enormous help as you make your initial choices, because you will learn what qualities and features are most important to you.
Although buying new gear from a store is more expensive than any other way to get it ( except being scammed on the Internet ), trial and error can cost you too. In the long run knowing what you want may end up saving you more than you thought.
One thing to avoid like the plague is auditioning an item at a store and then going out and buying the same unit used, for cheaper, on the Net.
Finally, I have a preference for listening to systems where money is spent on the source first. This is because you can hear a good source through any downstream gear, and I find that more fun to listen to than an ordinary source through great speakers. So if I were buying with a view to later upgrades, that's how I'd balance things.