It's still a form of snobbery to assume that the wilfully ignorant don't have valid ways of choosing home audio. For example, they might listen at a dealer or having an item on home loan, products may be narrowed down by the size of their listening space, or whether products are aesthetically acceptable in their home. I was always mindful of how long a product has been on the market and the ratio of used/new price - both good indicators of long term popularity.Of course we should help those who don't know but who wish to learn. sadly, too many who don't know also don't want to know. The wilfully ignorant, as I call them. Best leave those to the other forums, where they'll find solace in the similarly ignorant.
S
It is also prejudicial to assume people rely on forums. Of those that buy from audio dealers, my experience, is that the vast majority don't visit forums. The only item I bought based on a forum review was a Zorloo DAC reviewed by Amir - and it broke fairly soon after it arrived.
I had to buy my son a pair of earbuds yesterday, he lives abroad and I need them by Friday. I know nothing about earbuds. We went on a site called Headphonics, they've reviewed just about everything, checked the sales figures on Amazon, found something that seemed to fill the bill for £130 and they arrived today, inside 24 hours. If he doesn't like them, I can send them back. No science involved, but that's how people buy stuff these days.