A number of online retailers offer a return policy, which is a good way to minimize the risk of audio purchases.
Thank you for all your excellent and helpful counsel.
My recent journey (about 12 months) through the consumer products, like dongle DACs and earbuds/IEM's and cables, has been enlightening. The thrill of discovering how much superb listening could be had for what is truly astoundingly inexpensive outlays, has been promising. No regrets. I've bagged a few bargains, which far exceed in value, how much I paid for them.
My gripe is, I've been let down by a few products, IEMs predominantly. Bought 4, and not satisfied 100% with any of them. Of course I'm responsible for the products I chose to buy.
1. CCA CRA - still have it and it's my back up IEM, but the KZ ZVX and the ARTTI T10 opened up the world of even better sonics, so my initial love for the CRA has been readjusted. It still holds the place of the 1st proper IEM I bought. Not bad for the price. NO regrets.
2. KZ ZVX - loved it when it arrived, but paint began peeling within the 1st 24 hours, loved it so much I decided to keep it for the improvement I heard over the CCA CRA, then a few months later the stereo balance went really bad, no longer usable. Could be user error. Had in in my ears while I slept, and thereafter the stereo balance became unacceptable.
3. CCA Polaris - my copy was most likely dead on arrival. Thankfully I did not spend that much on it, so no regrets. Chose not to return it.
4. ARRTI T10 - absolutely love the sound. Superb device for listening to everything. The clarity is out of this world. The best listening device I have ever heard, for personal listening, in my entire life. Knocks my AKG K702 out of the park easily, for outstanding clarity, frequency response, its just a superb listening device. My 1st planar magnetic. On a good day when the stereo balance is not too lop sided, its listening heaven. Have not figured out why the stereo balance is dynamic, i.e changes over time, for reasons I can't figure out. Suspecting that it has something to do with vents, or driver flex, it has two vents in each earpiece, compared to a max of 1 vent in all my other IEMs. Some days, it's somewhat acceptable, but this stereo balance can change, without notice. Could be my ears, Could be the DAC dongle, which occasionally when I disconnect and reconnect, the stereo balance improves - I know - sounds implausible, but it could be that my leaning forward to do this, may change the air lock/fit or release some air in the IEM vents. Makes no sense that a DAC could have variable stereo balance. At other times, no matter how many times I connect or disconnect the DAC dongle, the stereo balance in the T10 remains unacceptably one sided. On some occasions like right now, the stereo balance is almost perfect, and any variation, is probably a reflection of a possible imbalance in my own hearing, requiring only the slightest adjustment of stereo balance, in software. Those are the good days.
Always tempting, the promise of a lot, for not much money.
5. A 7hz Zero 2 is on its way. Had to get it, especially as it's also available with exceptional discounts, down to about £15(including tax + free shipping).
6. A KZ EDC Pro is also on its way. Hoping this can replace the CCA CRA, as my "budget" reference IEM.
When I add up the costs, of all the "test" purchases, which have allowed me to dip into the currently available lower cost products, it does add up. The allure being, one does not notice the cost, of the individual purchases, but it does add up.
Going forward, now that I have what I would consider a foundation of the lower priced items, its time to leave the budget category, and resist the temptation, of the never ending new product releases. Like KZ which will do a version 2 and a Pro and an X version, or the new ARTTI T10 Pro, which does not indicate in the available marketing blurb, any sonic improvements over the T10.
My thinking is that at the budget end, it is a bit of a gamble. But there is a lesson in this. The two products that I am about 95% satisfied with, the Apple dongle DAC, and the TempoTec Sonata BHD, have something in common. These are major players in their market segment. So going forward, will pay a bit more attention to the brand
Going forward, the wish list will include, 1 more bigger budget planar magnetic - e.g Hidizs MP 145, and maybe a dip into the hybrid segment. Maybe. And when I can afford one, a HIfiman over the ear planar magnetic.
Right now the ARTTI T10 is behaving itself, or could be my ears !!. These are the days of sonic heaven, days truly worth looking forward to, when everything heard from the IEM sounds stunningly clear, if the source was well recorded, mixed and produced, and every flaw is also effortlessly discernible.