Name brands that are not so well known are skipped

By the time I would do a keyword search on Audiogon, I will have already spent much time on the forum, reading reviews, and otherwise researching the product. For me it would be the end of the search (I'm in buying mode), not the begining. When I scroll the listings, I'm looking for equipment I am already familiar and want to see if it is available - I don't want to learn about gear in a classified ad (where most equipment is "incredible" and "crushes" the competiton) from the person selling it. I learn about equipment in the forum discussion, online and print advertising, and online and print reviews. The fact that a piece of gear is from a small manufacturer, building by hand, doesn't matter too much to me - most of this industry is a cottage industry with the exception of a few "giants" - 10 or more people? Most of my equipment falls into that category (many one or two person operations), but these small companies are strong brands due the quality of their gear.

I agree that point-to-point is more reliable, easier to repair, and easier to modify; not sure if one approach is any better or worse for sound quality. I imagine one advantage to circuit boards would be consisteny from prototype to units on the market and less variance between units due to more precise duplication of circuits from unit to unit. You do make a very valid point (no pun intended) that point-to-point gear eliminates much possible obsolence in repair down the road.

P.S. All my gear non digital electronics is point-to-point.

I don't think the problem is that circuit boards tend to go bad (not good ones), but if they do they are not easy (possible) to repair. Of course if you own ARC you are not likely to have to worry about a replacment board. I'm not sure you hear many argue that point-to-point is inherently better sounding - don't know about that on way or the other.

I hear what you are saying, but great, new products are discovered in many ways, by other means. If you have a story to tell, a classified listing is proabbly not the first approach I would rely on for being discovered - sponsored ads on the site, maybe. Classifieds can be a part of your "mix", but don't count on it to get the "word" out.

Does Stereophile still adhere to the dealer network policy for reviewing products? One advantage of the "new" online magazines is that they give a much broader class of manufacturers an outlet for professional quality reviews. I do think a lot of excellent products fail to "qualify" for SP based on an established dealer network; I'm not sure that policy, if still in effect, reflects the changing distribution model for high-end gear.