Have you ever duplicated another system that you heard?

Yes. I always tell people that ask me for advice, to go out and find a system that they would like enough to buy. Building a system in your head never sounds the same as the one you build in your listening room.

True. My build turned out great for me. Just depends on a number of factors.

I, too, am in this process. Happy Listening!

Yep....

I saw and heard my present high-end "A" system first at a dealer.... it impressed me enough to re-audition it several times over the following 2-months.

I eventually traded in my current "A" system gear at that time, and I cheerfully bought the same system components in the dealer demo system.

I did mine from the components all the way down to the power conditioner and cabling.  I had actually loaned the guy me source and the rest was his system and it sounded glorious. So I took my source and just finished the re- creation.