I've purchased a ton of stuff based solely on reviews. I haven't heard the Ref 9 and purchased one for my center channel (as my Lexicon/Bryston won't drive it loud enough). If I don't like it, I'll sell it. On the other hand, it's hard to buy one-channel amps. There aren't many monoblocks out there that aren't ridiculously expensive.
Similarly, when I buy my overhead/front projector, I'll never see one in action. I don't even know where you can look at them in CT. I'll just go by the reviews and see what happens. I can always sell it later.
When I read reviews, I look at the measurements they made (if any), and also look for comments about physical things (requires two people to move, has sharp edges, arrived broken, it broke after a month, etc.) and also anything about the maker's design philosophy and how well they stand behind their product.
I skip all the hoohah where they talk about playing different recordings and noticing that the bass is dark brown, chocolaty, and attracts ants. All of that garbage boils down to someone trying to describe that which can't be described. Hell, I could probably sit down and study some audio mags and then crank out a review a day too.
There are some subjective comments that are warranted and that I'd read. Unfortunately, the majority of reviewers get really carried away and put me right to sleep.
As an example, for a typical Stereophile review, I'll read the beginning and the measurements and (typically) JA's comments on them. If something there seems fishy, I'll read the reviewers summary at the end of the review.
Maybe Sterophile is a bad example. They have me paying $12/yr and I've decided not to renew after the first year. I wind up reading maybe a 1/4 of the mag and then toss it.
Another bad thing about reviews is that they're sticking something, let's say a preamp, into a system that's an unknown to me. They don't really no what the interactions are. Maybe the preamp has trouble driving the really long gonzo ICs that this reviewer uses. The resulting review may not mean much unless you have the same equipment and room the reviewer has.
I listen to people who own the equipment in question. If you felt it was good enough to spend your hard-earned money on, then that gives your comments some weight. I listen to what the maker says. I want to hear their design philosophy and how they solve problems. I talk to the maker if at all possible. I also greatly prefer a money-back guarantee.
As far as CT, I'd think there would be plenty of places to get most anything. New Haven and Bridgeport seem like big cities.
There's also plenty of money in the ex-urbs, so maybe there would be stores there. Finally, you can always take the train into the City. Even Boston isn't out of reach. You're in a great place. Just think about poor me here in Ohio. It's a wasteland for audio and video.
