I find my dealer sponsored in-home auditions to be invaluable. Every VAC piece I now own went through 1-2 home auditions each before I decided to buy. Of course I supplement this with "buy and try" via audiogon/etc - especially with phono cartridges, which are extremely hard to arrange audition.
How did I find this? I built a great relationship with my main local dealer over the years. I asked reasonable questions, didn’t tire-kick, didn’t constantly waste their time and then run out to buy the piece for cheaper online. And when they want a favor from me - e.g. to host one of my pieces a few days in the shop to demo, or have the occasional customer around to me place to demo - I happily oblige.
It works great - I eventually stopped building Frankenstein systems like some muddy "brand stew" comprised of audiogon hand-me-downs and "vAlUe oF tHe CeNtUrY" internet/factory-direct components, and started crafting a coherent synergistic high-end system tailored to my own preferences. The revolving door of gear has slowed to a crawl, hopefully soon to end for good!
