The Absurdity of it All

^^^
Any other nuggets?

These stores use the same old pitch that what they sell is the best, lol.

I always love the ones that try to convince you that they or you can pick out the sonic character of a source or amp or preamp in their store, in their room, and not with your speakers. Priceless.

i think what the OP is saying is that all of this comes down to what you hear or interpret in the music based on the condition of your hearing. How it brings back your aural memories of the live performances or simply past days of listening.   Quality of  sound reproduction is critical no matter where you are in life but the individuals experience is what matters most and that varies from indivdual to individual.  That said at 68 I have yet to reach audiophile Nirvana, but I do have a couple damn good systems, at least to these well aged ears, could and will eachsystem  get better, of course.  We are all addicts to some degree.

"Making this a professional and courteous platform..."

I think this is primarily meant to be a platform (forum) for hobbyists, not professionals.

For those who contend that we only need to rely on our ears - If that is the case, why would we need Audiogon or any other hobbyists forum.  We need it as a source of information or to validate our own thinking.  What we don't need is someone preaching to us or trying to make us look foolish in front of those we look to for help.