"I guess people like the sound of compressed cell phone videos over quagly computer speakers."
Nothing about youtube, but about the above statement. On two occassions, at Harman store when asking to hear different Revel speakers, the source was.......mp3s from a Samsung phone connected via 3.5mm headphone output.
When a place that has access to some decent products (Mark Levinson, Revel, JBL) demoes them that way, no wonder YouTube videos are sufficient to evaluate the sound of tube amplifiers and what not. For some.
You just make your mind up in advance, frequently heavily influenced by price, and then convince yourself that what you hear via laptop is what you want. Win-win-win. (wallet-ego-seller).