"If you want the lowest possible price then use the resources provided by those lowest possible price sellers to evaluate them, i.e. no Head-Fi and no HeadRoom site. This is the resaon that if I audition a product at a brick and mortar store, I buy it there instead of using their resources to decide on the product and then running off to search the Internet for the lowest price."
I've got to agree with gplamer on this one - at least in principle - although I must admit that this is quite easy to lose sight of and on many occasions I've done my share of internet searches to try to find the lowest price possible. Nothing wrong with that either. In the future, I'll still look for the lowest price so that I become an informed consumer, but will always consider Head-fi sponsors as well, and will buy from them if, in my judgment, they are in the same general ball park in terms of pricing. In the recent past I've bought items from Jan Meier and Todd for this reason, as well as Slappa (which offers great, and unique, products at competitive prices). This is my "when in doubt, support head-fi sponsors" opinion for what it is worth. Yet, if the price difference is too hard to swallow, I'll buy it elsewhere. As others have mentioned, price is a consideration, but so is loyalty to those who help to make head-fi possible.
I've not personally benefitted from the HeadRoom world tour, for instance, but know that many others here at head-fi have. I also know that this love for the hobby comes at a great personal cost to folks like Tyll. When I first started in the hobby (before finding head-fi, I remember reading the HeadRoom website extensively and found it both interesting, informative and - in a sense - passionate. This is much appreciated.
I also know that it is costly to try to help others along in the hobby. People who have hosted meets like Bozebuttons, Hirsch, and Tuberoller to name just a few, have done so at a personal cost. Amp makers like Mikhail at SinglePower Audio and Ray Samuels at Emmeline Audio have travelled to meets, sent thier products in advance, and have generally gone way out of their way to help others. Sure, this is motivated, in part, to promote their business, just as HeadRoom's informative website and their World Tour helps them in the long run. But what is easy to miss is that the financial costs of doing such things often outweigh the financial benefits to them in terms of increased sales and there is what in economics is called a "free rider effect" whereby you learn from the HeadRoom website (for instance) and then buy elsewhere - just like with gpalmer's example of doing this with brick and mortar places. It just feels creepy when I do this at an audio shop, but somehow it becomes less personal when I do it with a website. This is simply to say that what folks like Tyll, Mikhail and Ray have done with thier businesses is, in part, motivated by their enjoyment of the hobby and their interest in helping others, even if this does not result in personal gain. I know this is true of Tyll, Mikhail, and Ray, and many others that I have not mentioned - and this is worth something to me.
Does this mean that I would (or that you should) automatically and without thought buy their products? That you should do so blindly without considering what the more impersonal, detached, and purely profit motivated competition offers in terms of pricing? No. But in my opinion, it is appropriate to at least keep them in mind when making a purchasing decision. This is precisely why I will commission Mikhail to build a Blue Hawaii amp for my Omega II's rather than searching around to see who else might do it for a little less.
Having said all of that, I realize that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and there is nothing 'wrong' about anyone's views that I've read in this thread. In other aspects of my life, I don't feel such loyalties - such as where to buy gas, groceries, or other necessities that I feel less passionate about. When it comes to the audio hobby, and the very small high-end headphone market in particular, I really appreciate what certain people have done to help advance it to where it is today.
