I choose the hen. Not that you can say for sure logically speaking, the fact is that even not knowing what came first, we know that we have a hen and we have a hen's egg. We know where the egg came from and can't really be sure where the hen came from. So, obviously, the hen came first otherwise the hen's egg could never exist.
Then again, if the post title has nothing to do with your question and it seems obvious that it doesn't, what you want to know is 'how can I waste as much money on this hobby as possible and still convince myself of an audibly favorable change'?
That will definitely happen because you have 'skin in the game'. Unfortunately, only the strategic repositioning of your speakers in the room and the listening position related to that will offer the most significant difference. Room treatments, if at all necessary, by commercial means will be no more effective than a thick blanket tacked to whatever wall is perceived to be doing the job.
Another problem with this attempt at optimization is that it will change more than you care to deal with depending on the source of information and those specific colorations (based on your choice of components and their playback options) involved in vinyl, digital, internet radio, etc. because they will sound different and not necessarily in a good way without having to make corrections to what you thought were the perfect location for speakers and listening position.
That is, for instance, the correct speaker position for listening to vinyl is not the correct speaker position for listening to streamed hi-res files. This accounts for the endless audiophile controversy of one reproduction source vs another without ameliorating those source colorations by a simple change in perspective by changing your impression of what you hear in a slightly different part of the room which is different and noticeable when that perspective is changed by only 1db at any measureable range of frequencies. This is why every vaguely descriptive and subjective interpretation of differences of component and speaker evaluations based on a single and randomly chosen best location cannot be taken seriously. Long term, days to weeks, listening sessions are needed to get a handle on just exactly what you hear and not an immediate direct double-blind A/B comparison of two speakers that cannot be set up properly to prove their true reproduction capabilities.
The more you know the more you will question not only the fringe realm of hi end audio but include the mainstream and the ridiculous claims based on either the subjective impressions (not valid from what I previously claim) or a measureable superiority of something that was never audible in the first place.
Source material resolution can be a boon or detriment to listening enjoyment because it was recorded properly, or not. This has nothing to do with the objective performance of the equipment used at the time and more to do with the location and expertise at the time. A recording from 60 yrs. ago on a scoring sound stage with the technology available then will sound more realistic than all of the digital manipulations, near-field listening, golden-eared engineers and zero noise and distortion playback available now.
The industry is a gigantic swindle at any level. The fact that there will never be agreement about accuracy of music reproduction, even if measurements are beyond reproach or the personal opinions of listeners are no longer questioned the industry will come up with something new and revolutionary to peak the interest of the impressionable masses.
Basically what I'm saying is that you can do whatever you want and not get anywhere. Give it up for your own sake while you still have the chance.
