have you ever bought stereo without listening first

I live an hour and a half from any place where I could listen to any systems so I basically bought everything unheard. I did know from past experience what to expect as I had owned older versions of what I bought many years ago. I found a dealer that would work with me, offer a discount and ship for free. I made one salesman a very happy guy I know. My quest was to listen to a cd collection of 500 I had kept stored away but had little time to listen to them. After retiring I decided to go crazy again and I did.....! I will not go into what my system is as I do not want to get slammed here for what I should have bought. Bottom line is that I am very pleased with my system and my "perfect" speakers.

I was able to listen to my first pair of good speakers before I bought them. Almost everything else, the opposite was true. The integrated amp was the biggest leap for me, probably due in part to it being a big leap money-wise as well. No regrets.

I've been disappointed more often buying something that I heard in person.  In two cases that spring to mind, I was in a hifi store just browsing around and heard something that caught my ear and seemed like a great deal.  I didn't do any research, didn't read any reviews, just relied on what I heard with my own ears in the listening room.  It wasn't until I got home and listened for a while that a particular shortcoming or another reared its ugly head.

Most of the time I make purchases with intent.  That is to say that I'm looking for a particular piece that has certain sonic characteristics, and also has the right connectivity to work with the rest of my system.  I do a lot of research, using both professional and user reviews here and and other places, being careful to "read between the lines".  I'm almost always happy and satisfied with those purchases.  In most cases, the professional and user reviews are based on extensive listening and tend to help me avoid characteristics that are not to my liking.

I worked for a boutique speaker manufacturer in Australia, almost all of his customers are people who either fly in or drive quite a distance to audition equipment (reputation). John Rutan and David Belles have obviously achieved good reputations.
Through my work, I was fortunately exposed to a lot of very different technologies and products, of varying efficacy.

After moving to a very remote part of Texas, I have had to rely on reviews, Agon and other forums to introduce myself to a broader range of products and technologies. The purchase of a Datasat RA-2400 was a lucky (educated) guess, that I hoped if a bad fit for my system I could sell out with minimal loss.

I also purchased a Cambridge 4K Blu-ray player off reviews. 
So I'm in the same boat, informed trial and error!

Wow, a lot of nice comments. I live 2 hrs from any reputable High end store. I also relied on reviews and personal references like  from J. Rutan who I admire for his 30 yrs of experience in the business. That gives me some sort of confidence. Is that feeling you get when you are talking with honest sellers. Regardless, I believe that High end stores are not easily accessible except on the big cities. Maybe times and economic pressures are driving a change. There is a lot you can buy on the web and some allow for  audition at home and return for a small fee if at all. This might be the way for a lot of us. Personal audition is the ultimate test, but I have to agree with one comment, sometimes it sounds better in the listening room than at home. Here is what I can deduce when buying without auditioning, If you can talk to some one that have put together equipment like yours, they have a better idea what are good combinations and give you meaningful advice. at the end is your budget that decides. thank for all your comments.