Is it important to long demo or own HIGH END gear to have a fair accurate view about it?

Lower the prices

That’s ridiculous. High end audio is a tough business and few get rich off of it. Pricing is reflective of R&D costs, manufacturing, sales network (dealers or direct), shipping and, finally, what the market will bear. Companies who charge more than buyers are willing to pay are not in business very long.

To Calvin’s question, everyone has an opinion and since this is the internet, they are going to share. I filter what I pay attention to and prioritize those who have direct experience (preferably owning but at least hearing) the equipment/speakers/tweaks they are posting about. It also helps when I can see their virtual system to understand the context of the system they are listening to. Even then, their partnering equipment, their room, the type of music they enjoy, and personal preferences all play a factor in what people hear and what gear they like best. These same issues apply to professional reviewers, who don’t always get it right or view it the same way that I would.

@noromance @bigkidz

+2

I cannot think of a time in the past 20 years when I have been wrong on my first impression of a component/speaker after trying it in my system. Sometimes in the "first 5 minutes" and certainly within the first couple of days.

There have been a couple of times I deluded myself into thinking I liked something based on its reputation or what it cost but in every case I always circled back to my first impression being the correct one for me. Embarrassingly, in some cases this took months or years but I have become more confident in trusting my gut (i.e., first impression). @mijostyn provided some good advice to "beware of two traps, the cool looking trap and the costs more trap."