I use the guides in S'phile, and Ab Sound, etc as an informal guide if I am looking for something. A place to form some ideas of where to begin. Then I have to see if any dealers in my area (100 miles) carry the equipment. What do others say about it on the internet. How long has the equipment manufacturer been around. What else have they made that has been heralded as 'good'.
Some equipment manufacturers seem to not want their stuff reviewed, and consideration of those items is more complicated. (and if there are only four dealers in the U.S. and the stuff is made in Paraguay by a new company founded by an eccentric Tibetian monk I never heard of... it may fall off my short list of stuff to look for...)
Some equipment manufacturers seem to not want their stuff reviewed, and consideration of those items is more complicated. (and if there are only four dealers in the U.S. and the stuff is made in Paraguay by a new company founded by an eccentric Tibetian monk I never heard of... it may fall off my short list of stuff to look for...)