Your fav online resource for high end gear is....

That really is the truth; set up is up to half of the sound of a system. Since last fall I have made several changes to my system, new [used] amp, 2nd sub, and a newer version of the speakers I was using. Most of the improvement I have made, which according to friends was considerable, was not due to these but to new interconnects, isolation systems, speaker and power cables and room treatment. Just finding the best placement for speakers takes a long time; haven't tried the computer programs yet.

The best currently is HIFICRITIC. In theory I agree with Kurt, in practice the last thing I bought on personal audition was a pair of Fisher XP 10 speakers in the early 60s. Even when I lived in Chicago and New York in the 60s and 70s and later in DC I can't remember hearing a demo at a dealers that impressed me. I hope things are better now. In the years I have spent as a dealer I bought on reviews and reputation of the company or after trying samples at home. I attended the Chicago show every year for over a decade but it was very hard to make judgements about sound as the rooms were generally difficult to work with. I did buy all 17 pairs that Monitor Audio brought over the first year they exhibited at Chicago but it was more because of the obvious build quality and the reputation of the designer than the sound at the show. There really is no subistute for having a product at home where you can listen long term and make adjustments in associated equipment. I have a considerable amount of experience and trust my ears and it still takes me a very long time to evaluate GOOD equipment. I purchased a pair of Mini Utopias last spring as a proxy for the development that had taken place during the 14 odd years that I had been inactive in high end and I still haven't decided how I feel about them compared to my long time references. I find the constant questions about which is the best --- at a certain price point to be equally amusing and horrifying. I am currently listening occasionally to the systems of five of my friends, they do not sound alike nor do they sound like mine. All are good but they were chosen to maximize the aspects the owner feels most important. All of us hear in a different manner and critical thing is to recognize this and try to become familiar with your own taste; the thing that drove me crazy as a dealer was trying to help someone with a system who was constantly changing from one component to another with a completely different sound. Krell and Audio Research are equivalent in quality but sound quite different. Just assembling a group of highly rated components is not the same as putting together a complementary system.