Does hearing the best in high end audio make your opinions more valid?

True if you are listening to the equipment. It isn’t high end. The music coming out of it should have all of your attention. As far as the high end shops being snooty and not showing gear I go through the same thing here in Dallas. Audio concepts ones this thing where they take your name down. Come in more than twice without buying and the music is cut off. They don’t show you anything or pay attention to you. I went in there for a 4th time before I bought my Gato speakers and they way they acted turned me off and I politely took my big speaker purchase to Audio Emotion in Scotland. The guy there Gary gave me advice for years and I hadn’t bought anything. He deserved my business so I bought from him. He told us about Gato and how it competed with speakers 2 or 3 times the price. We trusted him and we are glad we did. I think it’s also important to a great sales guy to work with who first enjoys the hobby then the sales some naturally. As far as reference points I,think it’s very important to hear the high end gear if only for a reference point. I think you learn more that way. The more you hear the better. The better you hear the better.

glupson
I started growing up listening to records on Dual 1225 turntable. By any means, not anything to brag about these days. No fancy power cord, no unidirectional interconnects, nothing of that sort. Well, the thing was magic.

>>>No unidirectional interconnects? Are you trying to reinvent audio terminology? 😛 But you’re right, nothing to brag about these days. Or any days, for that matter. No offense intended.  [Note to self: There seems to be a very large gap between the high end and those who got stuck back in the 80s and other assorted backsliders and mossbacks.]

AAhhh Geoff, up early and at it this morning?  It seems today promises to be another installment of the stratification of the true audiophiles, the Rolls set if you will, versus the rest of us, the Chevy set.  That whole discussion seems kind of 80's in and of itself.

Oh, my! Looks like I touched a nerve. 🤗

The sound you LIKE is almost certainly not the same thing as the sound you WANT. That’s because our IDEAL of what great sound should be, the one in our head, keeps changing. Nobody, well, besides Jitter and Glupson, strives to recapture the magic of their youth in the 80s or whenever. There is no glass ceiling.