Specifications VS Sound Quality

I was prompted to start this thread by a friend who is as extremely knowledgeable Audio manufacturer and audiophile who looked at the specs of my new amp and said that it was one of the best amps of its class available. He also heard my rave comments. I liked the encouragement but wonder what the basis of his remarks.

The main value  of specifications to someone who knows how to interpret them properly  is objectively deciding which components to try ie which components are likely to work best in a specific system with others.   You will get to a better place faster if you learn to assess and use specs properly.  Otherwise deciding what to buy is a total gamble with nothing concrete to validate buying decisions other than hearsay or pure guessing. 

In most of the cases specs are just the last part in the page. You read those you are interested in as to have a better picture.

mapman:

"The main value  of specifications to someone who knows how to interpret them properly  is objectively deciding which components to try ie which components are likely to work best in a specific system with others"

The above makes sense to me but this next part of your post I find confusing:

"Otherwise deciding what to buy is a total gamble with nothing concrete to validate buying decisions other than hearsay or pure guessing"

Seems to me that listening is very "concrete". And it's not unusual for reviewers to state that a component sounds really good even though it does not measure ideally in some regard. 

What is it I'm not understanding about your post?  

@stuartk You can of course listen to hear other places before buying and you should listen to as much as you can both live and otherwise to train your ears. Listening is always the best evidence. But it’s the system making the music and in that room not any single part alone. You can hear what each piece is capable of but that does not tell you what things will sound like at home in your room. So either replicate the system exactly and hope it works as well at home or understand what makes each piece work and work well together including in the room you heard. That’s where specs help to achieve your goals faster and more cost effectively. Only then can you can possibly compare apples and apples correctly when making buying decisions.