guido - i'll say that auditioning at a store is just as poor of a guide. i stand by the fact that you have to listen to something for a long period of time, in a system you know to really offer a definitive opinion on the matter. and i post this because i want readers of the shootout results to keep perspective of this. there has been some megalomaniacal sentiment concerning some involved with the shootout, who believe that the results are somehow infallible and universally true. i am just trying to balance it out and hopefully help people keep perspective.
luckily for me when i buy new gear, i know my audio dealer's system very well because he's a friend. so i can spend as long as i like listening to it. and, like he always says "you're not gonna hurt *my* feelings if you don't like it."
and the best part is that he means it. i've told him when i wasn't as fond of something, and he really doesn't get upset. he doesn't want to sell you something you don't like. so, it's completely no-pressure.
the other option, and the one i utilise the most is to buy used. when you buy used, you can hear a lot of equipment, keep it in your system, and sell it for what you bought it for. (more or less) the only thing you're out is shipping costs.
luckily for me when i buy new gear, i know my audio dealer's system very well because he's a friend. so i can spend as long as i like listening to it. and, like he always says "you're not gonna hurt *my* feelings if you don't like it."
and the best part is that he means it. i've told him when i wasn't as fond of something, and he really doesn't get upset. he doesn't want to sell you something you don't like. so, it's completely no-pressure.
the other option, and the one i utilise the most is to buy used. when you buy used, you can hear a lot of equipment, keep it in your system, and sell it for what you bought it for. (more or less) the only thing you're out is shipping costs.