Is it important to long demo or own HIGH END gear to have a fair accurate view about it?

High end, perfectionist, mid fi and others are marketing terms.  Don't take them too seriously.  If you have a passion for well reproduced music then you are by definition a music lover and an audiophile.  Additionally, you don't have to be an audiophile to have music touch your soul.  Your average human can do it with minimal quality equipment.

Short term listening can easily reveal differences between equipment, but long term listening is useful in figuring out whether you really enjoy the differences.

@calvinj  was that 12 year sentence of listening to cables served in the Fed system or was it in a state penal system?  Either way it sounds like a violation of your human rights!

Most of us "seasoned audiophiles" here have developed pretty sensitive antennas over the years and can do a fairly comprehensive evaluation of a prospective audio component in less time than it takes to do an oil change at Jiffy Lube.

But, there’s no substitute for a long-term audition at home when all the factors come into play. Resonant frequency of vessel holding preferred beverage, breed, size, and weight of dog at our feet, cushion material and height of favoite listening chair, orientation of slats/grain of flooring materials. You know, all the other stuff.

@onhwy61 i did it initially to learn the difference between them. Once I got really good equipment I wanted to see what the cables could do to affect sound. I wanted to know as much as possible about them. I’m kind of OCD when it comes to sound. I just wanted to educate myself on being able to tell differences. Like anything else research research research. Try as much as you can. Me and 2 of my audiophile buddies went in this journey together. One did speakers. One did amps. I did cables. For 12 years we put system after system together. It was the best of times. Great wknd listening sessions. Unfortunately one of the guys died. He was a great music buddy and a wealth of audiophile knowledge. The music would get so good sometimes he would zone out. It was funny! But the best of times. That’s what it is all about. Being closer to the music. 

@asvjerry …”....I’m still stuck on ’grain in the treble’, and whether is was wheat or oats....”

I would have to say actually more like sandy. I remember hearing about grainy treble. I could not for the life of me imagine what that would sound like until I heard it… you know that feeling when it is as if your blood just turns hot 🥵 and descends down your face making you realize you made a huge expensive mistake? Like that. Sandy. Not smooth… the last big mistake I think I made in audio… that was about 1980. I returned it at a big loss and bought a used Audio Research preamp which the guy guaranteed I would love… I did. I think I kept it for nearly twenty years. Now all my equipment is all Audio Research…. No sand.

@waytoomuchstuff 

OP

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