favorite independant audio dealers/designers

Dan Wright-Modwright

John Tucker of Exemplar Audio.

Chris Hoff of Balanced Power Technologies (cables and power conditioning)

It is hard to beat emailing or calling a manufacturer and talking to someone whose main concern is helping you get the best performance from their gear...especially when that person is the designer of the gear and owner of the company! In my experience, two who should be on your list are;

Steve McCormack, SMc Audio - amplifiers
Michael Kelly, Aerial Acoustics, speakers

There are many others who have helped me over the years, and who could also make the list but, for me, those two stand out.

+1 to all of the above. Add Kevin Hayes from VAC. If you're not put off by his sometimes less than warm "phone side" manner, add Richard Vandersteen.