For me the only personally valid method of determining if any audio-related expense is worth purchasing is actually listening; real, calculated, focused. Therefore, to me, a product must be returnable for at least 30 days. I must say that certain adjectives used when describing ANY audio equipment are an immediate red flag:
-liquidity of timbre
-macrodynamics\microdynamics
-inducing goosebumps
-“my ears are alight”
-clean\crisp\warm\cold\ inky\noisy\hazy
-Class A\D\A-B\Hybrid\Tube\Valve
-solid\agile\neutral\greyer\mechanical
-emotional\walloping\enveloping\palpable\weight\texture\presence
-reach-out realistic
And, my all time favorite: speaker wire\cables emblazoned with arrows to ensure that they are connected with audio signal travelling the correct way.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night 
Hi Rick,
Just by coincidence my first name is also Hans.
In my opinion the only measuring factor is “does the music stir you emotion”. This can happen in any “Fi” situation be it low or high or high res.
Merry christmas and a happy 2023
I think that apart from doing live sound recording and attending many concerts in different auditoriums or concert halls, or listening to the instruments live at home, no one can know what the real sound is or what comes closest to its veracity when reproducing sound, regardless of the equipment used, the creativity of the inventors, the measurements, etc.
I have my truth about sound and everyone has theirs.
The rest of the discussions here should already be called “snake oil” because none of the arguments can be fair to the neighbour’s. Unless he has been sitting next to you in the same classical concert hall for many years.
Merry Chrismas and Happy New Year.
My usual red flag is the use of the words “significant improvements” and or that previous the system was “extremely noisy”. Surely if this were true then the compounding “significant” improvements that abc or xyz product has mades over the years would mean even someone who was completely deaf who be able to hear the improvements over say a system from the 1970’s. Usually the only subtle differences that can be heard (if at all) can be attributed to slight differences in volume, and who’s to say that the differences perceived may actually be a be a degradation and not an improvement.
I wish your statement matched my experience. It would make buying or building audio equipment much easier. Unfortunately, in electronics, I’ve found that some gear that measures just a little bit bad can sound very good, while some gear that measures extremely well actually does sound bad (particularly in the upper mid and treble regions). I like to see measurements as well, and I agree that there is a lot of snake oil in audio, but eliminating my hearing from the equation seems counter-productive since I buy audio equipment in order to listen to music.
Valid points - THX 
The question is, how get to the product that sounds great. If you would like to buy product A and there are 12 products in category (including budget etc.) how to choose? It would not be possible to test/listen to them all.
Happy new year
Torben
It is so much easier. You never buy anything without having heard it. In YOUR room, with YOUR gear, with YOUR hearing. Paying with YOUR money. Afterall. If you hear a difference, than there is a difference. For YOU. And. There is no perfection in High End. You can buy new, very expensive gear. It could sound terrible. Because it doesn‘t fit YOUR equipment, room or hearing.
Sure - your absolut right. But who do you determine what to buy? And what not to buy? You can’t test 10 switches, 10 ethernet cables, 10 power cords (just examples)
Happy new year
Torben
A happy new year to you too.
Wel. You definitely need a very good HiFi dealer. I never buy on internet. Just because it seems to be cheaper. Than you have companies like Buchardt. If you are not satiesfied, you have several months to send them back. Others let you pay and you have up to a year to decide. Wel I don‘t like to buy on internet anyway. Now I have a new house and I search for a total solution. Together with three dealers. And for the service I am happy to pay even a little bit more. And what is the most fun. The search for…on the other hand, I listen to my music, not my gear. But that is MY approach of course.
I do not have
I do know 3 HIFI shops, price on the internet is the same as price in the showing room (sometimes in the showing room I get a minimal discount, online only if I phone call for advice)
I would have not been able to pay for all my gear in one payment
that is reasonable, I would do that
Well, it will take a year or so. And yes, I am fortunate enough, to be able to afford all that. After a lifetime of work and building up capital. But that is another point. I could go out there, put 200.000 “on the counter” and give the guys “carte blanche”. It would’nt be a guarantee, that I would get the system FOR ME. I look for a much more affordable set up, which sounds great to me. Listening all kinds of different music. From 13.th hundred choire music to Classic, from Jazz to Metal. Most of the times we listen to “Mono” anyway. In the Car, on our phones, in Pubs…In short. I listen a lot, before I buy, trying to get the most out of it at the lowest possible cost. And THAT is the fun for me.
There are several problems which keep confusing the issue.
The first is bling. Lots of audio things are built as “audio jewelry”, ridiculously-priced luxury goods which are not primarily about the sound – hey’re primarily about possession and/or decoration. They may or may not work well, but that’s not the real point – the real point is that you have them, and that other people can see that. Truly audio jewelry. In the “show us your stuff” thread, many of the pictures of racks showing off the owner’s accomplishment are testaments to that, not really about the SQ, but rather saying, “I can afford this!” Of course, to humble-brag, you need to claim it’s all about the SQ, I suppose. “Well, yes, it was expensive, and I suppose it does look all right, but really, it makes a noticeable improvement to the sound.” Uh-huh.
Another problem is the frankensystem effect. We buy all these various pieces from different vendors and stitch them all together with pieces from still other vendors. Then you’re supposed to “listen” to one of the pieces? How? With all that other stuff in the way? And really, are you any good as a systems integrator? Do you understand the engineering tolerances of each separate piece, how it’s supposed to fit together with other things? No wonder, with such a Rube Goldberg (Heath Robinson to you Brits) system of audio reproduction, that people are continually tinkering, trying desperately to bash a system into submission, a system which they really don’t understand. Sure, why not put a linear power supply on a digital computer, if you don’t really understand what that does? Why not buy super-expensive fuses (which aren’t even seen!) if you don’t know how pointless that is? Etc.
The third monkey wrench is audio buddies. Maybe they’re other posters on some audio web site, or maybe they’re the guy down the block, or some dude you work with. “My friend knows a lot about this, and he has all this high-end equipment in a custom-built listening room, and he says that this or that should be this way or that way.” Unfortunately, often what’s really happening is that your buddy is in thrall to some charismatic charlatan, maybe a salesman, maybe one of these false clickbait Internet prophets masquerading as reviewers, maybe an actual demon in human form, who is selling him a lot of stuff he doesn’t need. And he’s been packed so full of their bovine excrement it’s coming out every orifice as advice to others.
Except pushing Topping Audio no matter what. The guy who is equalizing headphones upping +12dB to fit into Harman curve, why bother listening, has no business advising me on audio.
Oh I like that one, let’s talk about audio and eliminate hearing from the equation. Amir?
“Be Agreeable, Even When You Disagree”
Why?, i disagree so i cannot agree.
Be Polite/Friendly, Even When You Disagree
Just saying 
That’s precisely what is meant:
agreeable
adjective
UK /əˈɡriː.ə.bəl/ US /əˈɡriː.ə.bəl/
agreeable adjective (PLEASANT)
formal
You could start a thread such as ‘Agreeable - YOUR INTERPRETATION”
“Pleasant”, of course, is in the eye of the beholder, so if you have a bitter pill to pass on to a fellow enthusiast, be sure to coat it in a thick frosting of semantically meaningless babble!
For instance, don’t say, “You’re wrong.” Instead, say, “I am so pleased to have the opportunity to chat with such a learned fellow enthusiast! But, I say, old chap, I’m afraid that in my dullness I may have heard you indistinctly, because it sounded as if you were saying {what they were wrong about}. And for a man of your experience, I’m sure you know that {insert actual facts here}. Perfectly innocent mix-up, of course, and I remain amazed at the width and breadth of your wisdom!”
Also, don’t say, “'You’re imagining things.” Instead, say, “Esteemed sir, few people could have the depth of experience and understanding that you bring to our shared topic! What a mind! What far-reaching thinking! Your ability to conceive perfection in audio transcends modern theory! Amazing!”
And never say, “You, sir, are reprehensible!” Instead, say, “Why, bless your big heart, sir! Such an original thinker! You sure said a mouthful, there. It’s a shame other people elsewhere, er, that is to say, more people everywhere, aren’t able to partake of your wit and intelligence!”
Even better, the conman isn’t so much a psychopathic shyster as a misguided cheerleader with an overactive imagination.
Catherine Rampell describing the Harold Hill character in her appreciation of “The Music Man” in the Washington Post.
This also suggests a spectrum along which we might locate various audiophile reviewers.
That may be so but I don’t see any mention of money in the quote. I much prefer this quote from the movie ‘All The President’s Men’: “Follow the Money”