Why is it beyond belief or beyond a reasonable doubt that someone might find a less expensive piece of audio gear or system more to their liking (or even better sounding to them) than a more expensive one?
For example, I've listened to different speakers at different audio retailers (most around these parts won't allow home auditions) and I've found some (usually the smaller stores) to have fairly well set-up listening rooms. I have also found differences/preferences going both ways in terms of lesser/more expensive gear.
Most of us have limitations in a financial sense and so that also plays a big role in our audio experiences. Most of the time I probably won't even bother to listen to equipment that is more expensive than my upper budgetary threshold (don't want to let the genie out of the bottle). I recently listened to a $5,000 pair of speakers and a $4,000 pair. I preferred the latter. I mention this because its not a huge difference in price, although some might say that 25% is considerable. I could probably stretch the budget if I really preferred the more expensive speakers, but I didn't.
The good people at the 'Gon are frequently suggesting/recommending to newcomers that YMMV, listen with your ears, make up your own mind about what sounds best to you, etc... Why shouldn't this also apply in relation to the $$$'s one spends on gear?
For example, I've listened to different speakers at different audio retailers (most around these parts won't allow home auditions) and I've found some (usually the smaller stores) to have fairly well set-up listening rooms. I have also found differences/preferences going both ways in terms of lesser/more expensive gear.
Most of us have limitations in a financial sense and so that also plays a big role in our audio experiences. Most of the time I probably won't even bother to listen to equipment that is more expensive than my upper budgetary threshold (don't want to let the genie out of the bottle). I recently listened to a $5,000 pair of speakers and a $4,000 pair. I preferred the latter. I mention this because its not a huge difference in price, although some might say that 25% is considerable. I could probably stretch the budget if I really preferred the more expensive speakers, but I didn't.
The good people at the 'Gon are frequently suggesting/recommending to newcomers that YMMV, listen with your ears, make up your own mind about what sounds best to you, etc... Why shouldn't this also apply in relation to the $$$'s one spends on gear?