The vast majority of my components were purchased second-hand, most often without hearing them. Rarely have I been disappointed with this type of purchase as I do a lot of research and try to find everything I can from both professional reviewers and actual owners. I try to pick through all the fluff and pay close attention to comments about the character of the piece and comparisons to other components, especially if they are ones I'm familiar with.
Some of the few times I have been disappointed were when I auditioned something in person that I hadn't researched. I really liked the audition, but then after listening to it in my system for a while discovered shortcomings that weren't apparent at first. Things I would have avoided had I paid attention to other people's impressions.
Buying second hand allows me to flip things if I outgrow them and get close to what I paid for them, so if I do end up getting something that seems like it would be a good fit, but isn't, it's not a big loss.
