Am I right for this forum?


I’ve been an Audiogon member for some years now; I remember (fondly) "millercarbon," for example, which will mean something to some of you. And I’ve been a lover of audio equipment since high school—so, for over 50 years (I graduated in 1973). And yet...more and more, I find myself alienated from this forum, even though I do still read it regularly.

I do have what I consider a very "high-fidelity" system. I’ve written a very long account of my "audio journey," complete with many photos, but not "published" it on this site. I’m also a member of our local audio club, which includes several very well-heeled members who have systems costing more than most homes (one of them owns equipment valued at nearly a million dollars, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg: his system is housed in a separate structure purpose-built for it that cost well over a million). I play cello and guitar; my wife plays piano, my daughter piano and violin. We play those instruments in the same room occupied by my main audio system, and so I can attest to the "fidelity" of that system’s reproduction.

And yet...my system cost me less than $3,000 in total. I don’t lust after any particular "upgrade," even though I read reviews and all the many accounts of improvements in "SQ" documented in this forum.

So...am I an "audiophile," or not? Do I belong here, or not?


I’m listening right now to a wonderful bit of Mozart. I also love Tool. And Christy Moore. And Eva Cassidy. And so many others. I agree with Nietzsche: without music, life would be a mistake. But am I an audiophile? Do I belong on this forum?

Any sympathy here? Anyone else feel alienated from the "audiophile community" despite loving the miracle of audio technology?

128x128snilf

I think you had overthought all this...😁

But i am very "naive" in public contact i concede this as a fact and my unability to catch subtleties in English speech... But i only gave my opinion for the sake of an audiogon good social health.. 😊

And i prefer to welcome people than suspecting them... It is my nature ... a defect in some case i concede it ...

 

 

the way the OP is written, the follow up system pictures that don’t align with the info provided originally, the meaningless, as far as context is concerned, mention of millercarbon, the claims of feeling alienated, the mention of million dollar system in a million a million dollar dedicated structure…the whole thing smells like trolling. It’s designed to cause a stir. And he accomplished it by the way. Deserves a credit for putting this together so masterfully, no doubt.
May be I’m overthinking this, or you just haven’t cracked the shell yet, @mahgister

I hope you will participate because we need informed people and you appear one...

Then not only i welcome you but i hope for more exhanges...

We are not all defiant people... Trust is basic in human communication ..

 

By the way i beat you... My system is balanced and cost me 1000 bucks ( heavily modified though ) 😉

So, since my motives for this post have been questioned, let me clarify. I do love audio equipment for its own sake. I have for more than 50 years. But...the equipment is ultimately a tool that enables us to hear great music with as little compromise as possible. Speaking for myself, I feel I often lose sight of that; worse, that this site encourages loosing sight of that. So maybe I don’t belong here—even though I do love audio equipment in its own right.

The above was posted before I had a chance to read the response from audphile1. Yes, you are "overthinking this" if you think my post was "designed to cause a stir" or smells of trolling. I've just explained how the "follow up pictures" DO, in fact, align with what I'd originally said. I'm fortunate to have friends that share this audiophile passion, and who have been generous both in loaning me things and selling me things. My "reference system" cost me less than $3,000. That's a fact. I'm sorry if you have not been so successful in your system building.

The take-away for me from this attempt to engage in a frank conversation about our supposedly common audio passion has more, sadly, to do with the contentious nature of dialog these days than it does with the specific topic.

Oh, and about millercarbon. He was something of a troll, I'll grant. Arrogant, in your face—but well-informed, articulate, and helpful with particular problems if one contacted him privately. His posts, infuriating as they often were (and that Einstein thumbnail was just puerile), were almost always interesting and informative. And witty. He was the main reason I joined this forum, even though we almost never agreed. For what it's worth, that's what I think genuine dialog should be: the ability to appreciate someone with radically different politics and worldview than one's own, and to engage productively with such a person in constructive exchanges of ideas anyway.

Hey Op…I totally agree…whatever. This display of ego was like a fart - short lived. Take care.