First of all...RUN!!! Get out of this hobby ASAP! It will leave you bewildered, obsessed and broke. Otherwise it is really cool! Seriously, my advice is as follows:
1. Trust your own ears. Never let anyone intimidate your opinion by making you feel like you "should" have heard something.
2. Enjoy the music. If you let it, this hobby will turn you into a tech-oriented buff that only plays test CDs. The audio system is secondary to the music..always.
3. Impress yourself. It is nice to impress your friends, but, this can lead to purchases that don't suit you the best. It does not have to CRANK so the neigborhood can hear it to be impressive. In general, those systems aren't.
4. If you are into LPs and turntables, then the front end is the most important. Otherwise, the speaker/room and speaker/amp interfaces are the most important.
5. I like tubes. It is just my preference. I like sensitive speakers, even before tubes. You must find what you like and then forget the upgrade path for a while.
1. Trust your own ears. Never let anyone intimidate your opinion by making you feel like you "should" have heard something.
2. Enjoy the music. If you let it, this hobby will turn you into a tech-oriented buff that only plays test CDs. The audio system is secondary to the music..always.
3. Impress yourself. It is nice to impress your friends, but, this can lead to purchases that don't suit you the best. It does not have to CRANK so the neigborhood can hear it to be impressive. In general, those systems aren't.
4. If you are into LPs and turntables, then the front end is the most important. Otherwise, the speaker/room and speaker/amp interfaces are the most important.
5. I like tubes. It is just my preference. I like sensitive speakers, even before tubes. You must find what you like and then forget the upgrade path for a while.