Welcome!
Half of the enjoyment of audio is musical enjoyment. Most of the rest unfortunately is in the hunt. Unfortunately because most hunt pretty cluelessly for visually impressive trophies (lots of big components with flashy faceplates and expensive veneers). You've waited, while others have hopefully learned from their climbing the ladder of improving sound quality. Hard to replace experience, but education can come in other forms. Your goals are admirable.
IMO the most important component is speakers. The second most important component, and the most neglected, is the room. Most way "over gear" for the given room to the point of being ridiculous. The ideal room is relatively large, properly shaped, well insulated, and dedicated for listening. Suggest reading Floyd Toole's "Sound Reproduction" 3rd edition, the consummate audiophile primer for learning how speakers/subwoofers behave in-room. The book explains how nearly all residentially sized rooms have huge bass peaks/dips and the best way to address them - via use of multiple carefully placed subwoofers.
When we built 16 years ago a dedicated 8ft x 13ft x 21ft basement study (size limited by available ceiling height and holding to proper ratios) was included. It is drywall walls/ceiling, no windows, and well insulated without spending much. The front of the room is all audio, the back is my office space. Setup is mid-field, with 3 subwoofers, 10 absorption panels, and 3 tall randomly filled bookcases on side walls to act as informal diffusers. I also use DSP (Digital Signal Processing) as the "icing on the cake." Short of a such a room a bucket list audiophile should probably stick with headphones and save a ton of hassles/money.
