Is advice from a constant upgrader to be avoided

@mid-fi-crisis , It might seem that way but there are many of us who keep equipment for decades and only jump to a new piece went we know it will make an improvement. I would venture to say we have much more expensive generally better gear and the incremental steps are have  less obvious improvement and are much more expensive. 

many of us have heard gear in our travels and may also comment based on design.

Just try to get the best from what you already have before moving on. You may discover that there is no need to move on.

Frank

Unless, you learn how to read them

This is the key one who the players are know their strengths and their weaknesses know the ones who know what they’re talking about and the ones who are just bsers. learn to read reviews. If you see common traits spoken about the product then you can be assured that that is what you’re going to get from that product if if most of the people say that it has extended highs then you can be pretty sure that it’s got extended highs now that doesn’t mean that it’s going to have extended lows to go with them it means that you got a possibility of adding brightness to your system do you need breaks if you don’t need brightness and you struggle with that this is probably not a piece that you want this is how I have been able to make steps that have been positive and at this point in time like Miller I don’t think I’ve had a bad guy in the last 20 years have I made mistakes of course. But you need to learn to know the players and who’s going to give you good advice and who’s going to BSU.

As for the constant upgraders I actually miss them. I am one with a limited pocketbook and limited funds especially now living in retirement and I’ve always found it helpful that these guys create a market and a place where I can buy equipment more affordable price I could never afford equipment that at the retail prices that they want to charge. I have too many hobbies too many interests but I do miss those because I’m looking for a tone arm now and apparently nobody’s getting rid of their high-end tone arms.

Sorry for the poor grammar. New toy that I'm trying to learn

I must admit, I used to be in a "constant upgrade" cycle, but lately I've really slowed down on my purchases.  I found an elixir from Scotland which is brown in color that seems to treat that affliction and it seems to have worked for me...

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.