What I wish I knew before starting my audiophile journey

@antialiased interesting observation re:generational priority differences. It makes sense. 

Also, I'm going to second having a good, reputable dealer who' s NOT a chain and/or who DOESN'T also specialize in home theater. 

Thanks all for the comments. As tonywinga lays out the tiers, I would say that my system will be mid fi (actually as I think about it I’m pretty much a mid fi person in most respects, not a bad  place to be). My intention, since as I said I am older, is to err on the somewhat more expensive side as my plan is for this to be my first and last system. I am not unaware of the “rabbit hole” possibility. When the pandemic started and I spent a good amount of time at home I started buying headphones. Three years and a dozen pairs of headphones later … . 
I’ve read a lot and my thinking at the moment is to choose between the Naim Uniti Atom (thanks curtdr for the reinforcement) and the Lyngdorf NAIS 1120, the latter because it apparently has very good room correction and my system will be in a large (14’ by 37’) normally furnished living room. That introduces the frustrating ambiguity in these audio decisions: from what I’ve read the Naim will likely sound better than the Lyndorf, but everyone says the impact of the room on sound performance is enormous so that pushes me toward the Lyngdorf. But then the question is will the Lyngdorf’s room correction be sufficiently beneficial to outweigh what I understand (?) is the Naim’s superior sound quality. Further, I bough these speakers for their rich mid range and the Lyngdorf is reported to allow the speakers’ tonality  to be retained while the Naim reportedly has its “own” sound. And then there’s the issue of whether both of these have sufficient power to get the most out of these speakers (the speakers’ specs are: 8 ohms; 87 db’s impedance; recommended amplifier power of 50-150 watts), and the Naim’s and Lyndorf’s power are 40 and 50 watts respectively. When you read the reviews and the comments in audio forums some say it’s not enough to optimize those speakers while others say of course they both have plenty of power and that’s not at all an issue. Then there’s the issue of my need for simplicity and ease of operation as I am not technically facile, to say the least. (Some say the Naim is very easy to operate, but they don’t know who they’re dealing with here). I think my solution to that may be to purchase one of these amplifiers and if I really find it difficult to operate easily to add a Blusound Node, which everyone says is very easy to operate, to the system. Now I know the answer tomuch of this to find the appropriate dealers and go there and listen. But then people say that the only way to really to get an accurate picture is to audition them in your own home. But as everyone here knows that’s easier said than done. Moreover, if I decide on the Lyngdorf I would buy it new, but as the Naim is more expensive I likely would buy it used so I don’t want to take a Naim dealer’s time. And finally, because I’m just not a real audiophile, maybe I’m just overthinking this and any choice would be fine.  Oh boy. 
Sorry for the long rant and while I know it doesn’t come across here I am actually finding this to be fun. Thanks all.

A couple of additional comments that I’d like to add about ultra hifi and mid fi. Ultra hifi is music reproduction on a grand scale. It creates life size 1:1 imagery as well as clarity and realism almost beyond real life. I once heard an ultra hifi system set up in a ball room. Four large panels, maybe six all powered by separate large ARC ref amps. The orchestra was laid out before me on a life size scale in 3 dimensions. I could pick out each and every instrument in the orchestra- better almost than if I had been standing in front of a real orchestra. That was in 1989. Very impressionable on a young engineer like myself.

Mid fi is not a derogatory term. At least it should not be. It describes very musical and enjoyable systems that can be assembled on a much more reasonable budget. My HT system is mid fi and I think it sounds great. It is perfect for me for watching TV. I’m not interested in going hifi with my HT although some people are. I will even listen to music in 2 channel mode on my HT system at times. For sure my HT has benefitted from trickle down from my stereo system and I appreciate the improvement in sound. I keep my obsession focused on my 2 channel system.

I recently got an OLED TV for my HT.  I have to say, that is the TV I have been waiting for all my life.  But that is for a different thread…

Interesting thread. What do I wish I had known sooner?

1. You need power to know what’s going on. When I started using 200 watt + amps, things got easier to understand.

2. Cables and tweaks do matter, but not all the time. I remember getting some brass feet as part of a deal and putting them under a Cyrus CD player that was pretty good. Wow, what a difference. Not to mention my Gaia iii footers!

3. Speakers are important but not as much as you think. Necessary but not sufficient. I’ve changed out amps and preamps and cables but haven’t had much desire to change out my speakers. Once I got to a level that worked well I really concentrated on other things. The lesson for me here is to get some good speakers early on the journey and call it a day.

4. (Biggest revelation). It takes time. When I was working I had little time to listen and changed our way to frequently. Since I retired I listen all the time and have learned to slow down the changes and really identify well recorded reference content.

I have about $12K in my system, as follows:

31% speakers

12% cables

16% amplifiers

18% preamp

18% sources

05% tweaks

My system is strictly digital. I’m my turntable days, it would have been much mi source and tweak intense.  And this is a humble mid-fi system.  At a $40K level, I’d be much much more focused on speakers, I think. 

@tonywinga Estimation of audio journey and tiers of audio very well stated! Audio just like nearly all human endeavors in that complexity nearly always in upwards trajectory. Questions never end, answers are discovered. The one thing I'd add to the upper tiers is the many paths available within those tiers, for example SS or tube, high power, low efficiency speakers, low power, high efficiency speakers, and then we have variations within these paths such as Class A, A/B, and now D for SS, SET and push pull for tube. All these paths can have great variations in cost to reach the highest tiers, for example high power usuall means higher cost. And then we have sound preferences within those tiers, highly doubtful all would find any particular system within that tier to be satisfactory, some may even doubt it's placement within that tier.

So, we see the complications never ending, for those desiring to reach the highest tiers be prepared to enjoy the process otherwise this is all tedious and a burden. I've thought more than a few times along this journey how satisfied a normal person would have been with sound quality I had attained at certain points, in those moments doubted my will or need to reach for more. I should have been happy! In recent years I've been contemplating on the idea I'm nearly at an end in this journey, with recent parcel of purchases all things on my audio bucket list have been exhausted, nothing left on short term list and only some nebulous plan for another diy custom build streamer in the future. The question becomes are we really ever done, I'm at point I'm about to find out.