How Do You Live The Audiophile Life

If it happens again in the fall, I recommend taking a weekend trip to Capital Audio Fest (conveniently located on the red line of Washington, DC Metro so you do not even need a car). It is a quick and simple trip and it is a fairly large show. Much better than the one in New York City. Nice experience even if you are not in the market for buying something.

I echo what @freediver said about becoming familiar with live music in real spaces. Live acoustic music is priceless for understanding tonality/timbre, smooth vs grainy sound, soundstage, rhythm/pace, other issues you’ll run into in audiophile systems; electric live music is priceless to assess dynamics, dynamic range, and bass.

An equally important piece of the puzzle is you developing your research skills...learning how to amass and triangulate the streams of high end audio reviews (Stereophile, Absolute Sound, HiFi+) and user comments in threads like this. You learn to sift through all this, looking for clues as to how a given audio product sounds.

The only way those clues will make sense is if you understand your own sonic preferences--really know (just one example) that you really appreciate, or really don’t appreciate, lots of detail, "accuracy," and resolution (which some hear as bright, etched, clinical). Or whether you appreciate, or don’t appreciate, the same natural weight in the lower midrange and bass that you will consistently hear in live music.

Early on I learned to snatch knowledge from unexpected places: a recording heard on the radio (which became a trust demo CD); a friend’s audio system (I liked something I heard & checked out what was in the chain); and of course, visits to high end audio stores.

Glupson, you really think Johnny Rotten will move out when he's 17 and someone less obnoxious—like Justin Bieber—will take his place? Thank you for the ray of hope. If I hear "Pretty Vacant" one more time . . .

But I'm not sure. Luke, my son, adopted his Johnny Rotten personna very easily. And, like the kid in the Exorcist, not someone who is going to give up easily.

Speaking of music—Pretty Vacant! Never gets old.

A lot depends on where you live and the dealers there.  Reviews are misleading because it depends upon how much the manufacturer discounted the equipment to the writer.

Audio  shows are helpful.  However, how many years before we have one due to COVID.  Thank you China for not telling the world you had it for 2 1/2 months.

I read a sh$t load of reviews, and because there are so few audio boutique stores within 100 miles of me, I buy blind. However, due to my own research, I've been lucky and have assembled my best system to date, at least to my ears and taste. I think it's all about synergy and how one component compliments another, but what do I know ...