The longer I have been doing this, the more I realize that the gear is just a means to an end. Once you have a fairly 'mature' system that is dialed in, and have dealt with the basics, like 'mains' power, room acoustics and set-up, so much is dependent on the quality of the source material. In almost every instance where I have had an issue with a piece of gear, the manufacturer or distributor has stepped up, and helped me resolve it. I have had very few 'bad' experiences, gearwise, since I started doing this hi-fi thing of ours seriously, back in the early 70's. A few dealers were bad, but my negative experience was usually not an isolated one- and typically, a good manufacturer won't tolerate a dealer that fails to provide service or follow-up.
I also find that there is an enormous amount of knowledge and experience on fora like this, and many people are willing to help a fellow audiophile with a technical problem or set-up question, without reservation (or some agenda to encourage you to 'buy' something). There's a certain amount of 'filtering' that you have to do, as in any web forum, but over the long haul, I think most of the long-term contributors here are well-intentioned and well-informed.
