Welcome!
Moving upscale is much more about having more knowledge than money. It's never been a better time to reach 90% of the ultimate for 10% of the cost.
Avoid buying the latest and greatest (including the reviewers favorites). And avoid "investing" in thick faceplates, fancy veneers, and unknown companies. Best value is in buying used (from familiar sources) and sticking with gear from manufacturers with long histories and deep resources (R&D and production). Those companies include Benchmark and JBL just to name a couple.
Knowledge means keeping an open mind to new ways. Keep in mind of the importance of the room, if you're listening in-room of course. Having a decent sized, non-square, insulated, and dedicated room will yield huge benefits. Most audiophiles way over buy for the given room and frankly should go with headphones if such a room is not in the cards. Another consideration should be CD quality streaming (way cheaper than buying CDs and legal too). Finally investigate active monitors for their solid design, sonic, and price advantages. And don't get hooked on tweaks which I'd include all wires, racks, room correction, and footers.
Suggest reading Floyd Toole's "Sound Reproduction" 3rd edition, the consummate audiophile guide to understanding how speakers behave in-room. In it you'll learn that virtually every room has huge bass peaks/dips and how to deal with them (via use of multiple subs). When auditioning take a wide range of your musical favorites, take notes (so you'll be forced to really listen and can recall later exactly what your impressions were), and limit yourself to no more than 4 pieces per day (to avoid listener fatigue) without changing ancillaries/room. The ultimate test is to hear what it all sounds like in your place.
