Best Forum to hear experienced audiophiles exchange thoughts?

Mapman +1. An open mind and some good old fashioned critical analysis can result in something meaningful here. But it's work! I've always been fond of the thought for a questioner, with all the answers that a post might get, if you don't already know the answer, how will you know who's right? That's were the work come in. This is not a forum for folks who are, primarily, plug and play types. :-)

@mike_in_nc 

I’m someone who thinks that room acoustics are > 50% of the sound and that boutique cables are way, way, way down on the list of things worth spending money on if good sound is your objective.

Agree with you 100%. Many just either can't or don't want to go to the trouble of dealing with room acoustics. A bad room is in direct collision with what good sound actually requires. The result is that many are forced into bad faith -- in other words, they insist that this or that factor (or component) makes a big difference, when in fact they have excluded the room and just become more emphatic to compensate.

Very well said @mike_in_nc I love the Hoffman Forums but find more hardcore gear talk here so I frequent and enjoy both.

Thanks to all who responded. No one mentioned the AGon Private

membership (paid) option.  Anyone tried it?

Now Let me change the question slightly.

What do you subscribe to in terms of magazines?

Which YouTubers do you subscribe to?

Which shows do you attend?

Which retailer do you find to always give good counsel?

Where else do you go to learn what is new?

Thanks

When I lived in L.A. I'd try to get to every audio show within a hundred miles. I made myself a nuisance at every high end dealer in the area, and purchased gear at nearly every one. For a while my wife worked for Todd Garfinkle of MA Recordings and I'd be able to tag along to the gigantic trade show in Vegas (what was it called again, CES?). When I was a kid I'd go with my dad to the yearly High-Fi show in Downtown L.A. It was there where I first heard Stereophonic Sound and later Quadraphonic.

What can I say, I have a genuine jones for well-recorded music.