How do you pick your gear? Tips and insights are welcome.

I actually went on a HIFI spending spree this year. I spent more on two components this year than I’ve spent over the last 49 years of participation in this hobby. That’s not completely true. For about thirty of those years I was an absentee “audiophile”. The equipment required to produce what I thought was the sound I wanted was out of both my budget and incompatible with my living situation so I just changed focus to whatever is good enough.

Over the last decade as both my living situation and disposable income increased I learned thru experience how wrong I was about what I valued in stereo equipment. Big power amps and tower speakers didn’t sound as good to me as a SET tube amps and horn speakers. ( For over forty years I thought horn speakers were the devil and were better used for removing paint from the walls. )

So how did I purchase these two components. I basically thru reading forums such as this, watching youtube and reading reviews of all kinds of equipment for over a decade, I taught myself what type of products produced the sound signature I preferred. I had gone from Raspberry PI DAC, to an MHDT tube R2R DAC to a PSAudio MK1. After reading all the posts about upgrading this DAC I was sure that replacing the transformers and all the tweaks was the way to go. I actually tried to buy one but had such a bad experience with the seller that it made question his credibility so I went another way. In my research I read a paper about how Mojo DACs output was different than other types of DACs and it was on sale so unheard I spent double of what I had planned on spending for the MK1 upgrade.

I also spend a lot of time listening and tweaking and researching why this tweak changes the sound and this other tweak makes no difference. For reference I’d gone to several high end audio stores imposed on several Agon members just to listen. After I’d confirmed I was really on the right track of what I preferred I actually went to the builder to listen to what I thought I wanted. He of course first played a different amp (at double the price) of what I thought I wanted. At that point I couldn’t go back. So I bought it.

So after a short novel.

I research experiences not gear.

I go with my gut. If the experience doesn’t feel great I move on.

Study, compare, read, read some more and don’t rush

Follow the rabbit trail. You don’t have to agree to gain insight

Don’t be a sheep. Make your own trail it’s your stereo after all. It’s all about what sounds good to you

Have an understanding wife. Everything is expensive in the long run an equitable plan will allow you to get a lot more enjoyment if everyone is on board.

I used to do the standard thing of reading reviews and forum posts. I also bought and sold a lot of gear in the past 5 years and heard them in my space. That all worked well but these days when I need something I first check on the Schitt web site to see if they have what I need. I have sold off a few pieces that cost a lot more money than the Schitt item that replaced it.

For example, the 2 Yggi+ DACs, 2 Aegir amps (headphones), Mjolnir v3 preamp (headphones). That is over $20k in expensive gear replaced by under $5k in gear. 

I read as many reviews from as many different places as I can, focusing on objective measurements first followed by a listeners impressions. Where I live there are no serious audio stores within 3 hours from me, so auditioning is not really an option. That means everything is being auditioned in my home and I am nearly always buying new so I avoid the unforeseen problems that can occur with buying used. Warranties are a good thing if the company is good, often not worth the paper they are written on. I have read so many horror stories about poor customer service from companies like Denton, Yamaha, Marantz that I have written off most of them as unacceptable risks. That said, because sometime over the next year or two I will be replacing almost everything that was in my home with new, I am reading as much as I can and also rethinking how to do things so I end up in a better place than I was before the fire. Sometimes less is more and I am likely going to test that idea and see how it suits me.

@oberoniaomnia

RE: "Listening is a pipe dream".

Upscale Audio is one CA dealer that offers a return policy.

There are plenty of others online.

Audio gear purchasing need not, by definition, be a "shot in the dark" -- it’s your choice, ultimately.

For me, buying without a home demo does happen, but it's extremely rare.

Not saying what you ought or ought not do, just pointing out there are options.

I have auditioned every piece of equipment in my system in my home and every component came from a dealer in another states with the exception of my speakers. It can be done. Naysayers are foul o the crap and did not even try to do the work. Home auditions will save a tone of money and earache.