HiFi audio is a hobby with difficult expensive choices to make. Also expensive mistakes and buyers remorse. HiFi is all about listening and experiencing a music piece with its all details. You will hear same piece from different system with different details pleasing your ears. The difference is all about listening music with all those details as musician intended and recording revealed. When you listen same song on an ordinary speaker feels like looking at Mona Lisa behind a dirty glass. More expensive the system not necessarily is a better experience. As prices goes up definitely returns are very diminishing. So everyone settles with a system that please them, some with deep pocket goes through a journey of constant changes and updating of these systems.
Buying process can be very very frustrating due to complexity of putting an entire system in one store. Sales people, a lot of time reluctant and lazy to create ideal listening conditions during buying process. It is nearly impossible to experience to try and audition different systems at one HiFi store. That is why attending few HiFi conventions like Axpona can be excellent opportunity to audition all these gears at one place by focusing mainly on gear within budget. It really feels like a candy shop for HiFi enthusiast. Also you meet many very knowledgeable people from industry to improve understanding of different gear. I built my system after a such experience. I had many other preferences before, and ended up with completely different systems which I never imagined. Today I am very happy with choices I made, I think I created amazingly good sounding system with in my budget. Today when I go to these conventions, I don’t feel like missing much from other more expensive systems. So my glass is clear enough to experience the art in details.
Hi-end audio is a big zero
This is no knock on dealers, It's just how hi-end audio is.
I go listen to some speakers. He has them set up like crap - jammed between 3 other pair. Running on electronics I would never choose so I have to try and compensate for what I imagine they are contributing to the sound. Then after 30 minutes, I am expected to shell out the $4,500.00.
I narrowed it down to two transports from an online retailer. And who knows if those 2 are even a good choice? Told point blank, I am not allowed to buy both and return the one I don''t want. Just pick one and buy it. Shell out $1,000-$3,500 based on what?
One e-tailer will allow purchase 3 speakers totally $12K and return the two I don't want. Sorry, i have a conscience and can't do it to him.
Read all you want. Talk all you want. Listen at dealers all you want. But unless you listen in your own room, it's all meaningless. I'm talking even just 5 to 30 minutes can be all it takes. But that is basically impossible.
Sure you can buy and sell on A-gon or Ebay if you find what you want have the time to go through the process.
If the prices weren't so high or I did not care about sound quality maybe it would not matter.