I think Bob mellowed out after the audition. For some people (including myself) buying speakers can be hugely stressful, since outside of a good GTG it's almost impossible to hear all the speakers that interest you in the same environment.

The only option is to make a decision based on the opinions of a bunch of people who may have different tastes from you... and for anyone with a "work it out for yourself" kind of nature that kind of dependence-on-well-intentioned-strangers can drive you crazy.

It does seem that Bob's room was part of the problem, although not all of it. I suspect that he would have been pretty much as unhappy with Studios in that room, but that's just a guess from the comments in the audition thread.

AVS member Nuance kicked off what turned out to be a 219-page thread outlining his audition experiences and conclusions. Probably a good read if I ever find the time ;\)

M60ti, VP180, QS8, M2ti, EP500, PC-Plus 20-39
M5HP, M40ti, Sierra-1
LFR1100 active, ADA1500-4 and -8