I used to do the standard thing of reading reviews and forum posts. I also bought and sold a lot of gear in the past 5 years and heard them in my space. That all worked well but these days when I need something I first check on the Schitt web site to see if they have what I need. I have sold off a few pieces that cost a lot more money than the Schitt item that replaced it.
For example, the 2 Yggi+ DACs, 2 Aegir amps (headphones), Mjolnir v3 preamp (headphones). That is over $20k in expensive gear replaced by under $5k in gear.