Do you listen to gear below your budget when you go equipment shopping?

The reason this question comes to mind is because of the number of professional reviews I’ve read where the reviewer is totally blown away by the quality of a ‘budget’ component. I wonder how often reviewers or even consumers with ultra-expensive setups listen to entry level gear. Is it possible that these reviewers are just so out of touch with the quality that is available at modest prices, that they swoon over the first good piece of budget gear they hear???

I’ve often heard the argument (especially in relation to discussions like ‘Diminishing Returns’ in audio) that people who buy budget components need to hear a ‘real’ (real expensive anyway) system before talking about whether it is a waste of money etc… I agree that it is silly to comment on the audio quality of a $200K pair of speakers if you’ve never heard anything remotely in that price/quality range. On the other hand, I find it funny that many audiophiles will dismiss entry level gear (because of their low prices) without even listening to it first. It’s like a Toyota Camry owner complaining that Mercedes is overpriced and a waste of money, while a Mercedes owner says all Toyota are inferior crap, but the Toyota owner has never driven a Mercedes and the Mercedes owner has never driven a Toyota.

Saying that 20 years ago, when you started your journey as an audiophile, you used a NAD Integrated, so based on that you know what budget gear sounds like, really doesn’t count you need to have listened to some current gear.

So my question for the poll is whether you listen to gear below your budget when you go shopping and I mean far below your budget, not 1% less than what you plan to spend or some joke like that… so for example: If you plan to buy a $5K pair of speakers, do you also audition a pair of $1.5K ones or if you want to buy a $2K amp, do you also check out what $400 will get you? If you go to audition that $12K DAC/Transport Combo, do you also check out the $900 Marantz CD Player in the front of the store?