Changing audio beliefs

These days I enjoy hearing most all recordings in any genre  for what they are.  Musical discovery!
 

Used to be I was way more strongly biased towards “audiophile” recordings and fewer genres.  These  days I still am biased towards high quality recordings to some extent but mostly with just classical music.  

Current beliefs - and since I started with this hobby just more than a year ago. Once decided on the electronic components (amp/pre-amp/DAC), I stayed within the specific ecosystem. All components and interconnects including speaker cables, provided by the same manufacturer or cables recommended. 

The front end components - streamer and turntable - are the only variables for upgrade in the future.

Audio beliefs, like many other beliefs I held as a young man have changed. 

I am less susceptible to advertising claims, peer pressure, and the need to please any man. 

Like my progression in understanding wine my audio tastes went from Bartles and James to Domaine de la Romanée-Conti over 50 years.

@zavato 

"Are there any audio beliefs you once held to firmly that you no longer subscribe to? 
I was an ardent believer in cables. I still believe cables matter but now not so much. Beyond a basic level of competence in the cable and connector, in my opinion, the rest is smoke and mirrors."

Most individuals in this and other forums simply parrot marketing hype and desperately want to believe it when they shell out hard currency based on these superfluous claims without ever doing any substantive discovery to dispel as you said, the "smoke and mirrors".

I am not sure on the topic of Audio Belief, but when I was a child I watched my Father alter our domestic ring main by making all the wire run twisted pairs and replacing them in the sockets.  As an Engineer I follow his example and the difference is astonishing. So the Belief is that wiremen do the best job possible, when in actuality they do not. Sort of beliefs we are given which are false.