When my brother and I were in high school we used to try to convince my father to buy a better stereo, and he'd reply, "Who needs hi-fi if you have lo-fi ears?" Words of wisdom. I tend to have equipment that makes the music sound good to me, and it's just bog-standard consumer electronics stuff. Anything more expensive would be wasted on me, despite the long years and untold suffering an artist devotes to getting a good sound.
In college, some twentyfive years back, a roommate who worked at a hi-end stereo shop and called himself an audio buff, had a stereo that logged in at at least a grand and a half plus - chichi stuff for college.
Open up his LP cabinet and there were the "Best of the Doobies" and the "Eagles Greatest Hits" ... all two of 'em!
Never spend more for the goods than the goodies.