Don't get it, why anyone would ask others "what sounds best"?

This - asking what’s best- almost never comes up. But now I am going to upgrade the crossovers in my Tekton Moab speakers. Total massive upgrade. Might sound crazy to some, but it is just like building a system from scratch. Only instead of amp, speaker and turntable the components are caps, resistors and inductors.

Which are the best? Who do you ask? People with experience. They help me winnow down the field, and put the reviews in perspective. Reviews? Of caps? Resistors?? Inductors???! Yeah. No kidding. http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com/Cap.html

So there’s your answer arizonabob, use others to help you find stuff you might otherwise have missed. Then DYODD. Always.

for a number of years i did rely on reviews and feedback from others for guidance. and it got me to a dead end of Mark Levinson electronics and Wilson speakers.

Just about the juiciest, tastiest, most awesome sentence I have read on this site in years. Maybe ever. I would say pin it to the top of every page but after a while it would lose its sparkle and that would be a shame, it truly is a gem.

Me, I can only stand in awe at your Zen-like power to flip the tables toppling Levinson and Krell from the peak of the pyramid to a dead end. Which they are, but I’d be attacked for saying it while Mike Lavigne on the other hand will come off smelling like a rose. Seriously, seriously awesome!

Doctor Porsche, the first one, said he could not find the car he was looking for so he built one. To please himself. To satisfy his own personal requirements of what a car should be.

What was it Sinatra said? "I gotta be me!" Only way to fly. One might almost say, there is no substitute.

A huge amount of what passes for critical component selection is really nothing more than following the crowd. It is by no means easy learning to listen and evaluate. It took me a good full year just to get to where I was certain what was what between things like CD players. In the beginning I could hear no differences whatsoever. Seriously! Not the only one, either. Was in Definitive Audio one time they demo'd 2 CD players for this guy, after which he said hate to tell you not hearing any difference between them, at all!  

That was the case for me. That was the case for this other guy. I have been to audiophile club meetings and done enough demo's to know this most definitely is the case for a whole lot of people. They never want to admit it, but it is. Seen it in action. Definitely a thing. 

So I totally get it. 

Yet all these people, every single one of them, they all want "better sound" or at least failing that they want a "better component" or a "better system" or room. They haven't learned to listen, or evaluate, so they have no idea what this is or how to get it. So they ask others, what is best?

And wouldn't you know it, they get answers. From others equally not adept at listening and evaluating. And round and round it goes. Where it stops nobody knows.

As a relative new comer I still continue to wonder why 'audiophiles' continue to ask for opinions on what sounds best. Best sounding amps, best sounding speakers, best sounding cables, and on and on. Everyone has their own opinion, why don't you people put on your ears and listen for yourself and decide what sounds best to you?

This is the least of it. This at least almost makes sense. Asking another person what they like, it is kind of like asking what is a good restaurant? You have no idea what that person likes. They may be vegetarian and telling you all about this great place serves nothing but lawn clippings and seaweed. Usually when this happens they are equally clueless and never bother to mention, "Of course this is all vegan food no one in their right mind would ever eat you have to be mental." So you go and .... 

My wife actually did this. Dragged me into this great new ice cream parlor in town. I went because, how can you screw up ice cream? I'll tell you how! Stock zero normal ice cream flavors. Instead have only flannel, lentil, lavender. I am not kidding. People were actually buying this stuff. I asked for a sample just to be sure. Flannel ice cream it turns out tastes exactly as you would imagine. Stick a flannel blanket in your mouth suck on it like that kid in the cartoons.   

There's audio gear heads just as bad. Some of these guys, they swear up and down imaging does not exist- except with their magical speakers that have wonderful imaging no matter where you are in the room. Probably image even if you are in a different room. Probably the imaging I'm hearing from my speakers is an artifact thrown off and projected through space all the way to Redmond where I am hearing it and thinking its mine.  

Who knows? Point is at least these are people. There is some small chance every once in a while another person has a similar experience and they both get something out of it, jump to all the wrong conclusions of course, but at least they get something out of it.  

So you see this at least makes sense, kinda sorta. 

What I don't understand is all these people asking what should I get for my component? Instead of asking another person what restaurant should I go to, these people are asking the food what it should go with! Nonsense on stilts. Happens all the time. But, why?!

(My wife informs me, Lavender is gone. Replaced with Balsamic reduction!)