Why do you give bad advice?

For example some years ago there was a speaker I wanted to hear and I drove from Southern Indiana to Cincinnati and bought them ear unheard as they were in very good condition. They proved to be excellent but not my taste. I sold them to an audiophile in Lexington who ran a large  store for the same price I paid. I have just orederd an amp from Califarnia at a good price. I have never heard one but I know the brand. Start cheap and learn your own taste. With audiogon and others you can experiment.

I look for advice from someone whose taste I share and then look for such a product at a good price. In this way I have been able to even order products from overseas which were not available here. Granted that I am vertran audiophile there is a market for any Good product and I have not bought any produce on personal audition in memory. The conditions are seldom good enough to get a good idea. I use to go to the Chicago CES and remember when one exhibiter took off the mattresses and put them on the walls to deaden the sound. On another I was sitting next to a mag writer who was listening to a speaker with a satisfied look on his face. I found it unlistenable. 

Audiophiles are unbelievably fickle and often sell excellent products for a large loss. Even when I was a dealer I bought most of my personal gear used because I could get better prices that way. I handled products like Krell, VPI, Quad, B&W etc. Sold  out of my basement as I had modified the room to get a good sound. I remember selling a pair of 801s and the customer complained that they did not sound the same. He had one next to a full glass wall. Since the speakers can easily be moved I switched them and the sound switched channels. It was the reflection that made them sound different. A radio station engineer was there once and said he had never heard anything like it. Am I a genus? Hardly but I make an effort. Read one of the room set up books before spending a lot of money.