@jjss49 said:
"[S]o a word to the wise here, especially newbies, please beware when folks here are trying to ’help’ you by recommending x-y-z, be it equipment, tweaks, cables, fuses ... sometimes they are actually helping themselves even though it looks like they are being generous and kind...".
This is very good advice. I’d take it a step further--leaving aside dealers who use the forum to try to garner sales, or "shills," some people may, with good intentions encourage a product because they like it/bought it/use it in their system when it may not be the right choice for someone else for any number of reasons. That can happen even when the poster promoting the product isn’t getting any financial return from a sale.
Which take us into the whole subject of system matching and the dreaded "synergies" or complementary components. I’ve been doing this a long time and don’t have a holistic view. I think I would add that short of listening to the precise equipment you intend to buy in your system (one of the possible benefits of the direct sales model as long as there is a right of return that doesn’t involve exorbitant repackaging and shipping fees), you are shooting in the dark. Yes, there are some well known combinations of equipment that a consensus of users like and use, but to borrow from MC’s philosophy for a moment (I know), it may be good to be an outlier and try something different from the rest of the pack. Where each user draws the line in terms of risk, financial exposure, equipment churn, etc. will vary. I think some people just like to try different equipment. I’m not necessarily going to condemn that, though I’ve pretty much managed to buy and enjoy long term. How did I do it? I can’t really point to any guru-bestowed wisdom. I think it is exposure and seat time as much as it is talking on forums like this one.
I’d also say it is good to have a mentor, but they will undoubtedly have biases too.
At least it’s cheaper than collecting old Ferraris, or buying vintage WE 300B tubes.
Bill Hart