Five "Golden Rules" of HiFi?

I'll remember that in my three quarters of a million median market Dweller. Very helpful. Have you heard of earphones?

1. In six months of buying eggs and stapling the cartons to the wall in your listening room, plus buying a throw rug, you can do more than buying the most expensive cords.
2. The best gear is not always the most expensive, or coolest looking gear.
3. Power conditioners work. Really.
4. If you can't have a conversation about music with your hifi dealer, find another dealer.
5. Reasonable budget, over the longest term.

No - I could probably afford a condo in SF if I wanted to... but, I have this thing about the Chinese supporting American banks with funny money, and housing bubbles popping. Not to mention all the internet tech people who paid with confederate money IPO notes, and are currently going into foreclosure making banks harder and harder to deal with for everyone. Not everyone on 'Gon can though buy a house thoug, or live somewhere like Manhattan and I don't think any audophile company's attitude should be "Screw them". And there are many, many great solutions for apartment dwellers, not the least of which is a thousand dollar pair of headphones and a headamp in the $1000-2000 range, which will, I guarantee, kick the crap out of every $100,000 system on 'Gon. Seriously, you don't like headphones? It was really just sort of a joke - but you know, pro guys wear them for a reason, and they are single unit diaphragm, and the expensive ones go down low and up real high, so they have no crossover problems, and no phase or time coherency problems. With some single ended tube equipment they will knock your socks off even if you're jaded like you or me. It's real, real hard not to like them. It's real real hard to like even a good pair of electrostatics by comparison which come the closest. I was talking as much about space as money.