Yeah, each time when deciding what amp to order i spent countless hours listening to youtube videos of the different models i was interested in. You can only glimpse so much from those videos though, so i hear ya. Being able to go and try them out would be nice. BUT, i can honestly say i have never been disappointed with any of the amps i have ever ordered from Ceriatone. I have only ever sold off one of them, and that was really more because I didn't truly understand how to dial the amp in. Once I learned a little more about how all of the features on the amp worked in conjunction with each other, i instantly regretted ever selling the amp.
There stuff really is untouchable IMO, The price to quality is off the charts. Nik and his team build some beautiful amps, that sound phenomenal, and are a work of art on the inside. Have you ever seen gut shots of Ceriatone amps? You can see the quality of the build.
You can also have them customize the amps to your liking as well. Recently ordered a Chupacabra from them, I knew it was based on the fortin Cali mod, so i figured it had to be pretty close layout wise to the Headfirst Cali, so i downloaded the schematics from the Headfirst cali and asked nik if he could spec my chupa like the headfirst, which was a little more vintage sounding, and he gladly accommodate, stating he thinks his component values were closer to the original Fortin layout, but he would gladly respec this one to the headfirst. Amp turned out phenomenal.