have you ever bought stereo without listening first

The fact of the matter is high end stores may be accessible in big cities but high end components never are. By the time we drill down to exactly what we want and even if we find say a dealer who carries Synergistic Research he will never have in stock the ones we want to audition. No dealer has any Swarm or Tekton in stock- impossible! Is there anyone here lives within driving distance of being able to hear a Raven, Onkk Cue, Schroeder, or Herron? 

This is why all the guys I know who have actually heard a lot of the good stuff, they are like willgolf and have flown all over the world. This stuff is just that rare and hard to find. It seems like there's a lot only because the internet makes it so easy to find anything anywhere no matter how rare. Great for electrons, perfect for pixels, don't do squat for listeners. 

When my dealer - who had flown all over listening to everything, for years and years- retired and I lost my connection I had to learn how to use the internet. Its a different approach but it has been working just fine for me. I do like big_greg and search with a plan, read everything I can find, and usually as the final step and whenever possible talk to the builder. Following this approach I have not only never been disappointed, I have actually never failed to be satisfied beyond all expectation.

Do it right and I don't think it matters where you live. Internet, UPS, and a brain- all you need.

How about two outta' three?

Personally, I have not heard the new Belles amp. Currently, the Belles 150a Reference V2's in mono configuration are driving the bottom half of my Legacy speakers. The Belles are great. I bought these in the blind. Nearly all of my purchases are components with good street cred/no audition. Where could one possibility go in this new world to audition a unit anyway? If in doubt, purchase from a company with a liberal trial and good return policy. That Audible Illusions is a wonderful unit. The only reason for selling mine years ago was the lack of remote control. Your system looks to be a winner!

I bought the original Soliloquy 6.3 speakers in I think 2003 unheard. The square corner not rounded and silk dome tweeter. Every other piece of gear and cables has been replaced but the Soliloquy's remain. A good review.
http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/revequip/soliloquy_63.htm

Yup. Pretty much everyting except speakers the last 20yrs as all the audio businesses have either transitioned to custom home theater and don't demo anything, only sell super high end and carry very little stock, sell online only, or have gone belly up. I had to drive 2hrs to listen to my speakers before buying.