Welcome!
Audiophiles are music lovers who want the best sound. Warning - that quest for good sound can become a life-long obsession. The good news is that there has never been a better time to get into audio. Thanks to the internet for learning and streaming music very affordably plus all of the digital advancements. Check out the Cheap and Cheerful circle for ideas.
But the laws of physics still reign for in-room listening. Proper room size, shape, insulation, and setup are essential for decent sound. Suggest reading Floyd Toole's "Sound Reproduction" 3rd edition to learn how speakers/subwoofers behave in-room and the inherent hugely significant bass peaks/dips all residentially sized rooms have. In it you'll learn about the above room attributes plus the key to taming those peaks/dips: careful placement of multiple subwoofers.
Speakers are largely a matter of personal taste and the downfall of most audiophiles. The obsession I mentioned above raises it's ugly head in the form of the big game hunter mentality. Most audiophiles continually hunt for the next prize for their big impressive trophy collection. Sadly, few ever share it with others who value it. Their trophies are bought based on size, thickness of faceplates, glow of components, and richness of veneer versus the enhancement of sound reproduction. This is especially true of speakers which come in a variety of forms.
Audiophiles largely become vexed with their own ideas of what good sound consists of. These ideas unfortunately have little to do with what actual music (the best standard is always un-reinforced live music) sounds like and instead they go after any number of distortions most call colorations. Warmth is probably the #1 attribute after the initial newbie impressions of boomy bass and zingy highs. Exaggerated imaging is another popular distortion as found in dipoles (which includes open baffles), bipoles, and vertical arrays. All this provides artificial forms of entertainment.
But coming to the rescue are active monitors, the same speakers used by the same studio professionals who record, mix, and master the pre-recorded music you listen to. Active simply means that one channel of amplification drives each driver. Low voltage signal is sent to the monitor's crossover, which can be much more sophisticated than in typical passive speakers used in home audio. The basic design is superior, overall cost lower, fewer cabinets without veneer, and most importantly exceptionally accurate sound. Professionals can't tolerate distortions in their daily work.
