Go to many stores, audition lots of stuff. The first time i bought speakers, I only went to one store. I didn't have the speakers for very long. Ignore Stereophile's classification system. As a reference, it does not apply well to real stereo-assemblage situations. I also think it's important to be confident, not letting others dictate to you what is good or bad. The first time in a audio salon was a little intimidating for me, and i let myself be led by the salesman. Now, I've found that i get a lot farther by being friendly with the salesman while taking control of the audition/purchasing process. I put too much stock in the reviews, pro and amateur. Doing that can result in wasted money. Obviously, I've made lots of mistakes; thank god for return policies. Having fun is the most important. Screwing up in audio is much more difficult than getting good sound, so just relax.
If you knew then, what you know now...
WHAT would you have done differently in your path to "audio nirvana" ??? Given that most of us have spent WAY more than we realized until just recently : ) this might be a good way to help others out. They might be able to learn from our mistakes without having to spend as much money to get where we are at today. Sean
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