[dabtpa]

It amazes me that so many of us try to make permanent buying decisions by just asking opinions from people who own or have heard the equipment we are considering. Other Head Fier opinions are important, but the best way to go is get the items in your home and listen to them on you equipment in your environment.  Let me start by saying I am not rich, but I definitely have enough disposable income to narrow down my purchase decision to 2 items and order both. Get them home and A/B them for a couple of weeks. Most sellers have a 30 day return policy and restocking fees have almost all gone away (thank goodness) so all you have is the return cost which is minimal on small items (even headphones). This strategy does not work on most speakers because of their size and weight.. This strategy also isn't so great for some products from Asia because of the lengthy shipping time and cost (however I got my Topping NX1 for $26 in 2 weeks.) Let's get a little creative folks!

 

[toolio]

Many of us live where this is dificult. Unfortunately, we are not all in "BigCity U.S." I'm writing this from Brasil, a country where returning anything for exchange or refund us a foreign concept (literally). I have no doubt that most of us are not this far from the center of the universe, but many people live in smaller North American or European cities where your suggestion is difficult to implement.