Hi RooMacIV,
The first place I would suggest starting your research is post #1 here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best choices … and avoid the worst ones.
Stearns & Foster is one of the brands I would avoid. Their luxury latex mattresses use a “smart latex” support core which is mostly synthetic latex (which is the lowest cost version of latex) but most importantly they use fairly thick layers of lower quality polyfoam over the latex core so you would be sleeping on polyfoam not latex. A mattress is only as good as its construction and the quality of the materials inside it and the polyfoam in the upper layers would be the weak link of the mattress and is subject to more rapid softening and breakdown than higher quality materials. The loss of comfort and support that comes from the softening and breakdown of lower quality foam materials isn’t covered by a warranty. I would avoid any brand (major manufacturers in particular) where you aren’t able to find out the quality of the materials in the mattress. Without this information you won’t be able to make meaningful comparisons or make informed buying decisions.
You can read a little more about the different types of latex in this article and in post #6 here.
I would avoid Stearns and Foster completely and brand shopping is really not a meaningful way to shop for mattresses. All manufacturers can use the same or similar materials inside their mattresses. Outside of your own personal testing for PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) to make sure the mattress is suitable for your body type and sleeping positions, knowing the quality of the materials inside a mattress is the only way to make meaningful quality and value comparisons between mattresses. you can’t feel the quality of the materials when you are lying on the mattress in a showroom because lower quality and higher quality can feel the same. The difference is that lower quality materials soften, compress, or break down much more rapidly.
You can read more of my thoughts about Jamison in post #2 here but in general they would be better quality/value than the major brands. A forum search on Jamison (you can just click this) will bring up many more posts that mention them or some of their mattresses.
Since you mentioned Cincinnati … some of the better options and possibilities in the area I’m ware of are listed in post #212 here.
Higher prices and lower quality materials in similar budget ranges is typical of major brands and is part of the reason I would suggest avoiding them. They advertise much more and dominate the market through their massive presence in chain stores and mainstream retailers and most consumers don’t know how to make meaningful comparisons when they purchase a mattress so most people end up buying a mattress based on brand and “showroom feel” alone without regard to the quality of the materials in the mattress.
Phoenix