I've had a Creality Ender 3v2 for almost 2 years. I assembled it a year ago and finally started using it last night. I had to replace a plastic part on the extruder right from the start as the plastic one that came with it broke. the metal replacement works great.
Software - Cura (slicer), autocad fusion 360 (free) for development - I havent done anything beyond install the fusion 360 though. Thingiverse is great.
If you think audio is a rabbit hole of minute details and wasted time and money, you haven't seen anything. 3d printing is nuts. It's probably a good idea to create a 3d printing thread if there isn't one already. There's a lifetime of youtube on the subject.
Ha, yes, I keep looking into 3D printing but as you said this is a deep rabbit hole of which I have no bandwidth for. Looks so cool though, lots of fun options.
Arc Audio is nice, I have not bought or heard there stuff in a while but I did enjoy the KS mini I had in the Jeep about 6 years ago. This new amp/DSP they have may be the solution for you. Small footprint, powerful and enough channels. Have you tinkered with their DSP?yeah... I'm about to drop some money I think... The one set I was looking at are $650 stateside. I'm going to start with the cheaper set though because I haven't yet learned the lesson of buy once cry once.
I think the Arc Audio Ps8-50 may be a future upgrade. I'm somewhat familiar with Helix, but the ARC seems to be a better solution for me. I haven't had time to overthink it yet though. Their A-10 / A-12 subs seem decent too.
For BLAM, if incartec is not for you the Five Star guys have a ton of BLAM in stock, or Don at Unexpected Creations sells BLAM and can ship. He sent Chris all of his gear, and he will be a great resource to speak with.