I have a friend who lives in the boondocks who is without question the foremost expert in this Country on a certain vintage turntable. I will leave the particulars out so as to avoid making him the focus of this discussion or letting someone else figure out who I am talking about. He said something to me recently that I always knew on a certain level but have not seen "transparently" until his comment. His statement is this; "audio magazines including Stereophile are useful for birdcages and if you run out of toilet paper and nothing else". This was in the context of discussing Mike Fremer's preference for 9" arms. I have concluded that he is absolutely correct, but only for those who have the guts to really dive into audio with open eyes and willing to expend the effort to focus all of their attention and for lack of a better word, devotion, to figuring out the truth for themselves. This person I speak of has unquestionably done that. He has engineered his own products that make his turntable of choice as good as it can get. He thinks outside the box. Convention or "accepted thought" mean nothing to him. The analogy that comes to mind is wine. I know of many who will not buy a wine unless some critic has given it a 90 or above. When someone points out how silly it is to rely on published numbers from someone they don't know, they claim that they rely on experts and numerical ratings because they lack the patience, time and resources to taste wine options for themselves. What it boils down to is intellectual laziness. I intend to filter out 100% of what I read in magazines and even audio boards as absolutely unreliable. I have no doubt that I will fall short, but it is a lofty goal nonetheless. We all ought to forge our own trail(s) with sweat and effort and open minds and avoid laziness. Apologies to those who don't appreciate sermons.
@glupson- don't freak on @geoffkait - he's an interesting, quirky character here, and I doubt he meant anything personal by what he said. You were just the target of convenience for his humor, which is actually pretty funny sometimes if you spend long enough in these corridors. I think most people try to get or contribute what they can and just disregard the rest. I'm not making excuses for geoff, just suggesting that his sense of humor is a bit out there, and you shouldn't get upset by whatever is said here. The nice thing about the Internet is that you can turn it off. :) Nite.
Checkout the latest TAS. Four full-page ads for wire: Morrow, Kharma, WireWorld, Kimber and Ansuz. Pricey ads, I bet! Propaganda, for sure! Audio jewelry for the well-heeled! Get out that Platinum card!
I haven't subscribed to any audio magazine publications for a good number of years, but I do believe that publications like Stereophile, Audio Review and others, helped gel my interest in audio - going back to the early 80s. Back then, aside from a good and helpful audio dealer (some 90 miles from where I lived) there was not allot of sources, other than the audio mags, to find the latest in audio equipment, music reviews, dedicated articles regarding the love of audio etc. There was no audio forums, no information on a particular manufactures latest piece of audio gear - at the click of a mouse and little in review of good music. While I read their reviews with some skepticism, I found the audio mags. (as I do today's audio forums) to be a helpful, interesting and sometimes controversial source of opinion and information. While I understand the OPs point of view, there are a good many who do not live in, or near, an area that makes auditioning a large variety of audio components, feasible. Any info. that helps to narrow the search is helpful. Just because I have an interest in audio, firearms, photography etc. and have over and enough of my own opinions, doesn't mean that I can't or shouldn't, value and appreciate the opinions or experiences of others...Jim
geoffkait thinks that his posts are brilliant and funny. He doesn’t care that most people don’t share that opinion. He loves to get into back and forths that provide no useful information or humor. Unless you enjoy going back and forth with him, just ignore him. He will never stop insulting anyone who engages with him, so it’s up to you to decide how much of that stuff you want to read.
Thanks for your thoughts guys. We are pretty much on the same page and I mostly ignore geoffkait, too.
However interesting his character may be and limp sense of humor he has, he does cross the line often.
In another thread, he called for a person’s death {"drop dead"), made fun of another member’s cancer, ridiculed me through my parents, etc. And all of that on an audio-hobby chat forum. He gets by with that because he is "quirky". I do not respond to his direct insults to me, but above-mentioned examples are what should not be allowed in these threads.
His posts about audio-topics became irrelevant long ago (in two posts, they frequently support opposite views), although there may be a word or two that is worth thinking about from time to time.
I have always thought of these forums as a bar you can come to and chat, argue a bit, leave as you wish, and forget about it as soon as you step out. Having said that, there are behaviors that would not get you far in the bar. If you are lucky, they would get you thrown out of it.
+1 last comments by glupson, tomcy6. I don’t think comments made by geoff are propaganda or have to do with propaganda. They always strike me as childish fits, like those of a 5 yr old boy, meant to draw attention to HIM. There are many people here at AG who don’t really care about the topic, they just want others to notice them, talk about them.
Another bloviating manure spreader joins the fray. But why? He doesn’t ever actually say anything, other than lob dud grenades at your friend and humble narrator. Oh, well, what’s another stalker or two? If I was baiting you I did an excellent job. 🐟
@glupson- This place is relatively tame in my experience. I did a lot of legal work in the era when the Internet was first exploding, and I dealt with a variety of characters, from hard core hackers to people involved in various crimes that would fit into the ’cyber crime’ category today. Don’t take any of it personally. Just find your niche here-- there’s plenty of give and take where you can get good information or exchange ideas. Audiogon remains a good forum despite it’s somewhat kludgey format and the moderators seem to be ok too- not too heavy handed unless really necessary. Most of Geoff’s pokes and prods aren’t particularly nasty-- I wouldn’t read too much into it. I think the philosophical threads are an open invitation to controversy but really, I don’t see this thread as particularly harsh or venal. That may not be worth anything to you- just trying to help put this into perspective.
High end audio is an interactive sport. There’s no time for sitting around and flapping one’s gums. He not busy being born is busy dying.
Made the scene Week to week Day to day Hour to hour The gate is straight Deep and wide Break on through to the other side Break on through to the other side Break on through Break on through Break on through
the guts to really dive into audio with open eyes and willing to expend the effort to focus all of their attention and for lack of a better word, devotion...
And I thought listening to music was supposed to be enjoyable
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hey on hwy 61. Thank your for your sense of humor. Gave me a good laugh
What about the OP comment of "filterering out 100% of what I read"? Whats the point of reading at all.
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