[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1394020018' post='2386932']
They're a reminder that you can become rich without being smart. There's hope for us all yet
[/quote]
Thanks for that, and thanks for that.
There's no need for me to restate good points that have already been made, but to add to those points:
When I worked in Hi-Fi, we organised A/B-testing in a concert hall, with the equipment hidden from view. We only did it once. The enormous, partly aggressive, debate about what we'd actually heard came as a total surprise to us. Seemingly, not only do people have very different ears, but also have different willingnesses to accept their own ears as the only ears that are worth anything.
As to the room in which the set has to operate:
Great point! I personally gave up Hi-Fi when we moved to our present house. All the sound quality we'd enjoyed in our old living room suddenly was not present anymore - no matter how we placed the speakers in the room. Analysing what we had to do to make it sound good again, we found we were not willing to do that, and sold the expensive system.
That said, good Hi-Fi equipment does exist. Happily though, before becoming a Hi-Fi nut, I was forewarned by a shop owner who told about the other nuts who'd only listen to a very select few recordings with great sound quality rather than listening to music.
From that day on I've always reminded myself that for me it's about the music.