Does hearing the best in high end audio make your opinions more valid?

Being exposed to an alleged quality requires acceptance of someone else’s opinion of the very existence of that quality. Validation of that opinion requires acknowledgement of a reference state. So I’ve got issues with this proposition.  

Short answer: No. 

I just think you have have to hear more gear to have better reference points.  I’ve heard those super high end systems and I think they provide a good foundation for what’s possible. It wasn’t just the cost of the gear it was also set up properly. But to each his own. If I’m going to take advice from anyone I would rather them have heard really good high end gear that was set up properly. 

No.

Not necessarily. If it did matter, anyone could win any argument simply by claiming he’s heard the best of high end equipment. At its core it’s really a logical fallacy. Case in point, go to a big audio show sometime and you can observe just how difficult it is to get great sound out of the best of high end equipment, including speakers and cables.