Where to get advice on a new system build

This is wonderful advice, thank you!  I have plenty of patience, and I will likely enjoy the hunt very much.

lalitk, ghdprentice.  That makes perfect sense. A dialogue with them feels like a good start, see if there is a “ love connection” or move on.  I am an hour away from most places so I would call or see what they offer/ suggest.

I live in the treasure coast of Florida area, I have a several dealerships north, south and west of me, including a few big ones where I can listen to all the stuff I cannot afford, but that may be my best source of used gear.  

I have been using ai to dabble with things, mostly for acoustic treatment advice.  The sound stuff was fun at first, but the desire to listen has come to the forefront.

thanks glennewdick, I will see if i can find a few folks locally to listen, etc.

am I asking the right questions?

@bke1 

If you’re not in a hurry, attending one of trade shows would give you a wide opportunity to see all the latest gear. The next major high-end audio show in America is T.H.E. Show SoCal in Costa Mesa, CA, from June 26–28, 2026, and the Southwest Audio Fest in Dallas, TX, from July 23-25, 2026. 

The elephant in the room..I'm sure lots of folks are positively salivating to offer you complete system suggestions(and hopefully why), but you haven't mentioned your budget(or music preferences, or music presentation preferences, tube, SS, integrated, separate components, streaming, vinyl..etc).  You may get overloaded with suggestions to follow up on, but I'm guessing you'll learn things along the way and get a clearer picture of what you're trying to do.  Particularly with a preference for used equipment. I can't imagine too many dealers that will spend any amount of time suggesting used equipment you may want to track down. Such a task would better fall to the crowd here.

@bke1 I'm a big fan of listening to gear well beyond budget.  It helps establish a good reference of what you like, plus helps you know the gear when it pops up on the used market.  Good luck!

I was thinking about a show or two, I missed the one in Florida a few months back.  California is a bit of trek for me, but may make sense depending on where I am in the process.

I’m good with suggestions, but I will need to listen before I can make any meaningful contributions / decisions.

The room is 14.5’ x 16.8’ x 9.4’, it is dedicated and will be properly treated.  Budget, ~15 to 20k.  Super simple system; integrated amp, streaming of some sort (I currently use airplay, tbh), speakers, and cables. 
 

I like to surf music genres, so just about anything is fair game. I’m currently listening to African r&b. 

 I concur.  Best opportunity with dealers may be to provide them with “awareness of my search list” should something surface.