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

@mapman I do agree with going to listen at live venues as well. That is also a very important reference point. I think you get a bigger sound in live listening. I think the soulutions gear even though it’s overpriced provides a big sound with big images. 

enginedr1960

For most of us the most expensive part of our systems and the one thing we cant exchange is the room we listen in . I have heard some very good rooms .

>>>>Fortunately, whatever generic or gawd awful room we are dealt we are able to completely overhaul it sonically, as there are a boatload of audiophile products to choose from, from Tube Traps, Room Lens, Marigo VTS Dots, Helmholtz resonators, clocks, tiny little bowl resonators, diffusers, Echo Tunes, Shakti Hallographs, Mpingo discs, isolation stands, crystals, what have you.

I fully understand where you are coming from . I have been in a room with 9 pairs of Shakti Hallographs and countless other tweaks .What works better then tube traps is 4 subs = Distributed bass

@celander 

Validation of that opinion requires acknowledgement of a reference state. 

Exactly. So, is the reference state based on price tag, measurements, opinions of self-proclaimed golden ears, public opinion, ear of the beholder, all of the above?  Is the reference state subjective and individualized, and therefore not universal?  Who is in charge of validating?