I'm here for the sharing, not the snobery

Agree with your post erik, sharing info is indispensable and a nice free gift.

@stuartk , And, that is absolutely fine for you. The problem Stuart is that hearing is so subjective that it is difficult for anyone to relate to what someone hears especially when they do not really know what they are listening too. Measurements do not tell you what a system sounds like either and in what room? Certain issues are objective and easy to ascertain such as build quality. Sometimes there are obvious physical characteristics that affect a units performance. This is very true for tonearms as an example. Many people actually buy equipment based on what it looks like, not sounds like. I saw this over and over again when I worked selling Hi Fi. My point is relying solely on what some one hears is a mistake. Take it into consideration sure but with a grain of salt. 

The building stuff side of things always interested me.  I like to know how something works and why it sounds the way it does.  I have DIY’ed lots of vibration control, power conditioners, cables of all types, and more.  That may be why I avoid stuff where the advertising seems to unrealistically stretch the boundaries of science.
I built my first pair of “higher quality” speakers 45 years ago when I was 19 and still remember the helpfulness of the man at the lumber yard who worked with me to find the right birch plywood, the care I took in adding internal bracing and finishing the cabinets, and the knowledgeable salesman who let me into the attic storeroom of the local stereo shop to pick out a pair of Jensen 12-inch triaxial drivers......I couldn’t afford the ALNICO version unfortunately.  Anyway, your point about helping the younger generation build kits and systems struck a chord and reminded me of the excitement of building that first pair of speakers that got me through college and beyond, and the helpful people that made the experience a positive one.
Yes, I still have the speakers.

Measurements do not tell you what a system sounds like either and in what room?

No but they'll tell you if an amp is going to struggle or not at different frequencies to drive a certain speakers load.
And it doesn't matter what room you have, it can't fix that problem.

So you need to "understand and absorb" measurement's and bench tests as well. Just because you you don't understand them, do not write them off, make an effort to learn how to use them.

After all every piece of equipment you have was designed using them.

Cheers George   

Hear, Hear...