"we all hear and listen to or for different things and may have different priorities"
This is a much under-appreciated aspect of the hobby, I think. When we talk about our own likes and dislikes regarding equipment, it's easy to forget that each of us may gravitate toward a different set of the sonic and musical aspects that make up reproduced sound.
Some months ago, one person compared audiophiles to collectors. It made me think of the various gun collectors I know, one of whom cares only for Ruger products, another for black powder, another for single-shot pistols, and so on. Audiophiles can also be quite different in what they want to "collect," with, for exmaple, one concentrating on things like soundstaging, air, and transparency while another focuses more on pace, rhythm, and dynamics.
Here's a budget-priced example: for about the same money, a person can assemble a Sota Moonbeam II, Jolida JD-202A, and a pair Vandersteen 1C speakers, or you could get a Rega RP3, Brio-R, and RS1 speakers. Both systems are good, utilizing components with complementary strengths, but their musical presentations are quite different, and the systems will appeal, or not, to different people based on each person's unique sound prejudices.
I think most dealers do appreciate this, so they carry multiple ranges of products to meet the quite different needs of a wide range of potential customers.
This is a much under-appreciated aspect of the hobby, I think. When we talk about our own likes and dislikes regarding equipment, it's easy to forget that each of us may gravitate toward a different set of the sonic and musical aspects that make up reproduced sound.
Some months ago, one person compared audiophiles to collectors. It made me think of the various gun collectors I know, one of whom cares only for Ruger products, another for black powder, another for single-shot pistols, and so on. Audiophiles can also be quite different in what they want to "collect," with, for exmaple, one concentrating on things like soundstaging, air, and transparency while another focuses more on pace, rhythm, and dynamics.
Here's a budget-priced example: for about the same money, a person can assemble a Sota Moonbeam II, Jolida JD-202A, and a pair Vandersteen 1C speakers, or you could get a Rega RP3, Brio-R, and RS1 speakers. Both systems are good, utilizing components with complementary strengths, but their musical presentations are quite different, and the systems will appeal, or not, to different people based on each person's unique sound prejudices.
I think most dealers do appreciate this, so they carry multiple ranges of products to meet the quite different needs of a wide range of potential customers.