You definitely should not listen to people that have tried different things in their system(s) and can provide commentary and comparisons based on actually having owned those various pieces and lived with them for a while.
It’s much better to operate on conjecture... "well, I read this review..." or "I heard one at a show" or "it uses XXXX technology, so I think it would be better than XXXX". Or "I’m a fanboy of _______, they can’t be beat".
I have 4 systems. Things have changed a lot in my main system, it’s been an ongoing progression of trying different things. Rarely have I made a backwards move. I went from a VPI to an Acoustic Signature turntable recently and it was a sideways move. Lesson learned. Now I have a Sota Sapphire, which is a major improvement. The other 3 systems are pretty static at this point, other than perhaps an occassional hand-me-down from the main system.
So, let’s say you’re considering a couple of those tables, I can provide an informed commentary on what their strengths and weaknesses are and what I heard in my system. Your tastes may not be the same as mine, your room is different than mine, the rest of your gear is probably different than mine, so I can only provide so much help, but would you rather trust someone that has actually owned those pieces (or something very close) than conjecture?
Wouldn’t you rather listen to a "flipper" like me than someone who has only owned one or two pieces and says "________ is the best" because that’s all they’ve heard?
I recently sold my Modwright LS 100 (which for a long time I thought would be a "forever" piece). When one of the guys that was interested in it told me he had a Herron preamp, I told him he should stick with what he has. Why? Because that’s what I upgraded to from the LS100. Someone else bought it and for that person it will be a nice upgrade.
I'm still learning. Hopefully I never stop learning. What better way to learn than by broadening your horizons and trying different things. I'm not the "audiophile authority". I'm just one voice, and you should take many, including reviews, into consideration. I often buy things without ever hearing it beforehand, based on extensive research.
Filtering is important. If someone has only owned one phono preamp, they may get filtered out. If someone claims that whatever they're a fanboy of is vastly superior to other similar products, they get filtered out. A lot of what I read in reviews gets filtered out.
For the most part, I buy pre-owned gear and typically flip it for what or near what I paid for it. I don't have an unlimited budget and I would like to reach a place where I am content with everything I have. I'm pretty close, but it's been a journey. Should I have just stopped at some point? Or spent more initially without having any idea if it would be worth it?
At the end of the day, I really just want to enjoy the experience of listening to music. It's not about the gear, it's about the experience, but you need one to have the other.