Traditional Brands vs. "Audiophile" Brands

No, you cannot assume that an audiophile brand of more or less the same price is superior to these "traditional" brands. Try the traditional brands first. They usually come with better return policies, so if you don't like the sound, back it goes. I've heard some great traditional stuff and some bad 'audiophile' brands. Keep Onyko and Interga on your list. They present great sound and value. Don't be con'd by the 'audiophile' label. Its meaningless, your ears are the decider.

can't speak for all traditional brands, but the new yamaha 2 channel line is outstanding value.

$500. is not audiophile no matter the brand. BUT: the audiophile brands do have a different philosophy than big names. Big brand names are trying to incorporate their own 'expensive' options: that is 'bells and whistles' user options. Whereas audiophile brands may(?) try to keep 'audiophile' philosopy options such as 'good sound', and leave off the standard bells and whistles.
So, as one poster said, use your ears, but if you can't just go try a bunch.. I would buy an audiophile brand. Even though scale of economy says the audiophile brand will offer less for the money.. The stuff left over may be just what you are after!!
PS I have a Denon 4806 reciever, so I bought the big name.. because that particular rec was made for idiots like me)

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Aptquark, you had me laughing out loud for five minutes!
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Interesting opinions. I would say that for pure music listening, the quality of the sound is pre-eminent, but when you get into HT, there are codecs not available to the small guys that the Denons of the world would get first. I wouldn't put a price floor on what is considered "audiophile," since the term itself is vague, and, at least to me, if the argument is "whatever your ears tell you," then adding "as long as it is expensive," or "as long as it came from a boutique audio store," weakens the one core notion of being an audiophile that matters, which is loving the sound. I think we need a new term for some in the community, which I hereby coin, as "gearphile," one who yearns constantly for new gear, supposedly in a quest for the perfect sound.

***Can folks think of brands that you would absolutely trust and those that you would absolutely flee from?*** It is important to note that unless you live close to bigger cities, listening possibilities for a variety of equipment is impossible, and brands then matter very much indeed. The only guidance is forums such as these and reviews. Next question. ***Whose reviews do you count on?*** I tend to like whathifi as they are mercifully brief.