We are buying and reviewing gear all wrong

@dgarretson , 

"My greatest regret in the hobby is an expensive drawer full of commercial cable purchases."

"I can't think of a single manufacturer with whom I would buy into the construct of single-sourcing purchasing-- including Linn, ATC, and Naim."

I'm with you on both statements. I'd throw in Rega too regarding the latter as I fear they've lost the way a little with their RX speaker line. 

I guess it's difficult but if anyone can crack it in the future it will be ATC. Their loudspeakers (especially actives) have been amongst the most highly regarded for decades.

One company which CAN sell the whole line and folks buy... Is McIntosh. Plenty or dentists, doctors and lawyers have all MAC systems.  
My problem with reviews is they never compare anything. Some guy was 'up in arms' because I refused to (formally I guess,) review a product (just for his pleasure) but to me, without other equally valued products to compare it to... No way can I state much about the one I own except. I like it. And that is a fact for all the magazine reviewers too. Maybe they think it will alienate manufacturers? But a shootout is the only way to compare stuff .And in more than one person's home! So to do a real review, one would need several equal items, and at least two separate listening rooms with really sorted high end stuff. Maybe even multiples of electronics. The Reviewer 1 gets the test items for a few months, then the second. They each write up their own reviews. published at the same time. They would have to pay those guys a lot more...  And as Stereophile does, do tests and publish them too.

@cd318 I’d like to believe in ATC as a full-service supplier, were it not for a dealer demo I heard several years ago with ATC speakers fed by an ATC preamp. The combination was opaque and sterile, whether owing to the speakers or the preamp I know not. Maybe they are outside their depth in the preamp space. There are few if any manufacturers that can cover all bases.

@bdp24 

02-19-2019 7:40am - "Assembling good systems is what being a hi-fi retailer is all about. At least it used to be." bingo!

The problem with finding a good Hi Fi retailer is differentiating the folks selling something to get rid of it, vs the ones who can really help the customer.
My best example if last year. I bought new speakers from a local dealer I have known a long time. Naturally my thoughts went to new amplifiers. He said no, you do not need a new amp. And only because I knew him a long time, I believed him. A few months later he suggested I take home to audition a SACD player. So four days to play with it. Yup I wanted one. So he really guided me to better choices. Sadly if it would have been a dealer I did not know, I would never have trusted them enough to believe anything they said.  
So for a stranger to go into a shop and trust someone to just pick from scratch a whole system??? Can I sell you a bridge in New York?