So, what I’ve gotten from reading this forum over the past year is that the equipment someone new to the hobby and not an ‘audiophile’ first buys is all that’s really needed. Not to necessarily equate quality with money (although that’s usually how it works), but one should buy the best amplification, DAC, and speakers that one can afford. All else is irrelevant to a greater or lesser degree.
Obviously that’s always been true, but to me it becomes more apparent that ‘audiophile’ cables, USB signal enhancers and fancy, super duper, extra special sauced endpoints are just a waste of money that should have been spent on real audio equipment.
Thanks for the input.