This is REALLY good info, Klaus - Housteau opened a very useful & interesting topic, and both it & your reply are spot on for "required reading" for "normal people" looking to buy gear.
Most people have rely on reviews, occasionally audio shows, and dealers (if they can find one that carries the brands they want to audition, which was never easy "in the good old days", but is now pretty much impossible in most areas). Some are fortunate enough to have a friend who has the means to just collect really high end gear, but the bottom line is that for the vast majority, it comes down to paying attention to someone else's opinions. Comparisons of gear when listened to in otherwise different systems and/or rooms is also almost always meaningless. Sometimes an opinion can be derived from how many different people love a unit in their system & room, and frankly I think that's where most of us land in these days of hundreds or thousands of internet postings - we end up giving equal credence to someone we frankly don't even know for sure has ever even heard the product he's talking about, much less whether he knows good sound when he hears it. We just have to hope we get really good sample info and average it. Even then, without taking the time to really learn how well the preferences of the reviewers at the trade rags align with our own, etc. we're just rolling the dice, while trying to "weight" them with some hopefully accurate info. I have been following JV for a long time, and feel I can trust his opinions pretty well. By using the word "trust" I'm not commenting simply on honesty - I would hope, but doubt, that's always a given for all the reviewers - I'm talking about trusting that if he likes it, I would too. It constantly amazes me how many people are quick to disparage all trade professionals on the basis that they're "paid shills", then completely trust someone they know nothing about and has no "skin in the game" whatsoever - they can change their username and be a completely different person tomorrow, or even be 5 different people at the same time today.
Anyway, with all that said, and despite all that, I bought a used Khartago Stereo SE+(?), based heavily on JV's review, at least initially. It came out in 2009, the unit I bought was made in 2020, and I had read extensive praise your work in the intervening years. (I was saving up to buy a new one while looking for used ones & found this one - maybe an upgrade to monoblocks is in my future one day, if it can still be matched by then) My roll of the dice came up perfect, because the Khartago is exactly what I was looking for in a power amp. Thank you Klaus!
