How do you determine value & performance?

Hi All, I’ve been an active audiophile for about four decades. Over that time, I’ve owned products from many different companies and have done business with many “brick & mortar” shops and online merchants.  I’ve never had a truly bad audio experience except for damaged shipments, but my priorities for assessing value and performance have changed significantly over the years.  

In my early audio days I focused on the pursuit of sonic performance to the exclusion of most everything else. I was drawn to the latest “hot”products and the dealers that carried them. Considerations such as a product’s aesthetics, ergonomics, reliability, warrantee/service, resale value, etc. weren’t that important. Also, I wasn’t particularly concerned by an audio shop’s after sales support (general education, system trouble-shooting, etc.). Rather, I was concerned about two things - what products they offered and the competitiveness of their pricing. 

Today, a product’s non-sonic characteristics such as reliability, quality, aesthetics and resale value are at least as important to me as the product’s sonic performance. Similarly, the dealers that I’m drawn to today are those with strong reputations for honesty, dependability and high service levels and not simply those that carry the “hottest” products or those that offer the lowest price. 

How about you, what are your thoughts on determining whose products you purchase and which dealers you do business with?

Thanks, Mike.