New to this hobby please help me

Hey, Wizard,

I've been through your journey with HT and now it's music, and I've combined the two pretty successfully (a no-no for many here, but by no means all).  I started with an out of the box Encore 5.1 satellite system and Denon receivers  back in the late 90's, and kept swapping out w/ used gear, eventually climbing to separates (used, like Acurus), to get a taste of real power.  The Encores moved out for Definitive Technology floor standers, up to the flagship 9080 towers (best damn home theater speakers I've ever heard in my room).  

Well...that seems so long ago now. 2020 and Covid:  I clean out the garage to keep busy and find a well packed box of LPs. I bring those in the house and check them out and they're in pretty good shape, but I have zero turntable.  So, off to Amazon (mistake one-I should have done what you're doing: ask questions here). But  luckily,  its was a Rega P2, so not too bad of a start.  Switched out the standard cartridge (not bad, but not great) for my first Ortofon (the Red) and I was off to the races and haven't looked back.

I'm now 95% music and 5% television/film.  Though I need to update my profile you should check it out to see how I've integrated the two  systems.  I just got a used pair of Legacy Focus speakers that are the best sounding speakers I've ever heard, bar none (been to many many audio shows by now).  They are the front end. I kept the DefTech center and surrounds and two subs (the center will be changed out for a Legacy).  

I live in Long Beach, Ca.  Not too far from you. You're welcomed to stop by and see how I've done it, but more importantly, you can here a good set of speakers (no, I'm not saying they are the best of everything, just well suited to my room, which is the point everyone wants you to get).  Private message if you'd like.  And to anyone else here who lives locally to Wizard, I suggest letting him check out your system.  Since we've lost most of the commercial listening rooms, we can be of help with ours.  Good luck, Wizard!

Take your time. Recognize you'll probably upgrade sooner because you'll likely be unhappy with what you're listening to.  So stretch upward as much as possible to avoid losing money later on.  Talk to lots of people and get their views so you can avoid being unhappy with your purchase.

Read lots of commentary from this forum because there's a lot of really really smart people here.

Look at alot of reviews . Best is to listen for yourself but im far from brick and morter stores and its sad. I have the golden ear same as t66 with the marantz 8012. I do use the small fans on top as  it does not overheat and go into protective mode. I think the best bang for the buck is the tekton moab in your price range. They are efficient work well with stero and avr.to me they sound better than my golden ear. They have a 30 day trial.study hard it will be productive.

I went trough a new speaker quest a few years and rejected a few pairs for either re-stock fees or simply selling them, ending up discovering the ones I had were better than my experimental choices. A learning experience for sure. Recently went with the "parts by mail" Pure Audio Project Duet 15 Horn 1 pair and they're fabulous. A serious high end speaker for a reasonable price.

Wow, talk about feedback. I’m also in San Diego, you know about Stereo unlimited on Sports Arena right?  They have alotta options. Good guys too. 
Best Buy in Mission Valley isn’t a joke, lots of gear some high end too.