Have you ever duplicated another system that you heard?

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.  

First and only time was a Magnepan Tympani 1a system, with ARC electronics and a Technics TT. Bought the speakers and then gradually upgraded the rest to ARC. Glorious.

Learned enough from that system to upgrade piece by piece, and now DIY piece by piece. What a journey!