Quote Originally Posted by mlsstl
The only catch is that, in my experience, people who buy things are just as emotionally invested as those who build their own. One only has to spend a few moments with a BMW owner to realize their pride of ownership would lead you to think they supervised the pour of the engine block casting themselves.

In fact, over the years I can think of several DIYers I knew who were considerably more modest about their gear than those whose sole contribution was taking their purchase out of the box. The latter are quite proud of their superior taste. Not everyone is capable of making such a refined and subtle choice! ;-)
I think everyone is biased to some degree or another when they buy or build something. I have bought many items over the years. And I have no problems admitting that I am a FAN of Audio Note gear. Not because I own it though I am glad that I do. I owned a LOT of audio products before Audio Note and still own other products. I am not necessarily a "fan" of those. For me it has to make me a fan. I have never owned a car for example from the same manufacturer. I have had one Ford, one Pontiac, one Honda, one Toyota, one Kia and it's not like I am tied to any one of them - although I certainly disliked some of them and probably would not buy from some of them again.

There are audio products I like from some makers that overall I have not liked products from, and there are products from Audio Note that I don't like - like the AX One speakers and some I am not excited about - they're not bad but not great like the SORO, OTO PP, and some that I think are good but I think would make more sense to buy separates at the price like the Meishu which is pricey and doesn't exactly save space. It's a fine amp but at the price one can buy separates that offer more. My dealer is pretty honest about all the gear he sells and would skip the M1 or M2 preamp. People have a right to express their opinions but it would be nice if people actually auditioned the gear they opine about.