a rant

@curiousjim I built the Hafler kits, DH220 and accompanying preamp. Great value for the money and time spent. It was definitely Class AB, with the huge MOSFET transistors and enormous heat sinks. I used the pair in one system or another for 40 years... They're still in storage somewhere, and they make me nostalgic for my early audiophile days...

OP, I understand what you are saying and it can be hard to avoid. I agree with what many have said about reviewers. I don’t avoid them and find them interesting because I like learning about equipment. I do try to take them with a huge grain of salt, however, and use them only to learn about the general features and design of a product, Not so much sound quality. I like reviews that at least provide measurements although I don’t think measurements tell the whole story. Most of all, whether it’s one of the magazines or a YouTuber, those who publish reviews often, in some cases nearly always, have a financial conflict of interest. It doesn’t make them evil or dishonest, but it does mean the review is rarely going to be objective.

trust your ears more than someone else’s opinion. Try to listen to as many pieces of gear as you can if you are in shopping mode. Remember that most of the advice you get  will be to make the same choices that the advisor made, and that will be great advice if your tastes are the same and your ears are the same. There is a lot to be learned by someone else’s journey, but you can’t learn what you like from them. we all like something different and it is very subjective. on the other hand, you can learn a lot about the general build quality of equipment, the sound characteristics, etc. reviews and advice can be great to help you narrow down the list of equipment that you should try to hear.

When you are evaluating a review, or someone else’s advice, understand the serious limitations of language when employed to describe sound. if someone describes a color as Carolina blue, or black or ruby red, we pretty much know what they are talking about with some precision. On the other hand, if someone tells you a component sounds “warm“ or “bright”  or “transparent” we may have a general idea of what they mean, but it is far less precise. Another way of saying we have to trust our own ears above all else.
 

Have realistic expectations.  I rarely have experienced the “night day” difference from an equipment change, especially from cables, etc., that I read about sometimes. Speakers and room treatments made the biggest difference for me, but it may be otherwise for you. Subtle but discernible improvements have been the more likely result in moving up for me. 
 

I think Audiophiles, more than most, yearn for affirmation of our choices. So if someone, maybe a reviewer or someone who posts in forums, criticizes what we have, there’s a great temptation to jump down the rabbit hole. That might be a good time just to listen to music on your system and ask yourself if you find it enjoyable. If so, you are probably in a pretty good place.

It all comes down to the sound you prefer.  If most of you ever were at a reviewers home and listened to their systems, some of you would laugh at this.  They don't have golden ears ad some of the rooms are, well, not any better than your living rooms.  Most of you still do not know what makes something sound the way it does so you chase different equipment.  If you actually took the time to figure out how sound is produced, you would not chase anything.

Happy Listening.

@sfgak @daveyf

Thanks for the reply. I was pretty sure they were A/B but I just couldn’t remember. I was always broke back then because I was always buying the upgrades. 😀

I have never viewed the hobby as a roller coaster ride because I have always used a systematic process for making improvements.  The systematic process involves a number of steps that I have posted before.  First, and most importantly, listen to live music, especially acoustic music, to develop your “ear” or impression on the sound of  individuals instruments in a live environment.  This requires you establish critical listening skills to discern nuances you consider important to you, such as the ambience of the venue, how the leading edge of the sound develops, dynamics, the sound of the body vs the string or reed of an instrument.  The second step is to critically listen to your current system and set a goal for improving the sound of your system to make it closer to your impression of live music.  Goal setting is critical to not getting on the roller coaster ride.  It is the simple psychology of gratification.  By achieving a goal, you are more likely to be satisfied.  Third, is research the literature to identify potential equipment within your means that may achieve your goal.  Fourth is auditioning the equipment to validate the reviews you read and determining if your goal is achieved.  I have been successful in using this process and making substantially satisfying improvements in SQ, and not changing my system often for the sake of change.  Another important attribute to develop is to be able rob have a critical listening mode and a musical appreciation mode of listening. The critical listening mode is important for equipment evaluation but it can distract you from appreciating the composition or performance.  The musical appreciation mode lets you focus on the composition and performance without distractions from critical listening.  Learn to turn off the critical listening mode and be immersed in the musical appreciation mode.  Finally, it is easy to get addicted to media hype regarding the next best thing.  This is often termed the fear of missing out (FOMO).  In psychology behind this, in part, is termed hedonic adaptation where the initial satisfaction with something fades quickly, and we seek new experiences to feel happy again.  It becomes cyclical.  In my situation, I attribute not being afflicted by FOMO to my goal setting process and being satisfied long term after goals were achieved.  This requires realization that there will be something better beyond my means, but that will not produce a substantial increase in the benefit/cost ratio.