In the middle of a pandemic, Stereophile reviews ~ $30K equipment

"C’est la vie! as they say in Brooklyn."

You mean "se la vie"? Or "sa la vie"?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_diaspora#Brooklyn

poko-well put, agree on your post! 

I suggest we blackmail the rest of the world so they would pay for us. As much as needed. We are so slow and timid. Incredible. Quicken the spirit, step on it and get it movin' !

I like to read about the stuff that’s out of my budget. Sometimes you stumble across trickle-down technology that is in the budget. Hi-fi sleuthing.

With some reviews of high-end equipment, I feel that they're talking to someone else and I'm just in the room.  I remember 20-30 years ago, it ALWAYS seemed that they were talking to someone else, with their reference to music selections that I'd never heard of, reviewing equipment that I was sure I would never see in my group of friends or anywhere else, for that matter.  Today, even with a limited budget for gear, I never would've dreamed that I'd spend so much for equipment as I have so far.