Mr. Big is not guilty of claiming to have owned/auditioned 250 pieces of gear... I am. Think about "auditioning" the pieces at a single CES or similar show. How many? At least 100 per show, no? I readily admit the rooms are generally not optimized, the gear is/was mostly unknown to me, program content unfamiliar, etc. Still, one can get a "sense" of speakers, amps, and the like. Clearly not a disciplined approach to evaluating gear but, again, a sense, FWIW, of the kit on show. Otherwise, why would purveyors exhibit? For those who would criticize any claim(s) made re: gear "auditioned" under such conditions, you'll get no argument from me. I readily accede. But, given that one cannot own anything like a broad spectrum of equipment there is simply no other way for personal "evaluation" to occur. Hence, my comment that after many years of auditioning equipment in stereo stores (yes, they once existed [for the younger audience]), shows, audiophile friends' homes, etc., I now claim to have reached a plateau where audiophile nervosa appears banished to far-off horizon. And, again, with perhaps the least expensive gear I've owned. I credit, in no small part, my satisfaction to the Sapphires.