It seems that when it gets nasty here, a lot of people resort to standard arguments or some variation on those themes. Avoiding these might be a good start:
1. You don’t hear what I hear because your system is crap, too cheap and not good enough to hear what I hear.” Sort of the audiophile equivalent of saying “your wife is ugly“. Spending more money doesn’t make you right.
2. you are wrong because you just spend a lot of money on equipment to show off so you are an audio fool. My $500 speakers outperform your $30,000 speakers, and I know this even if I’ve never heard your speakers. Spending less money, doesn’t make you right.
3. Any argument in which someone announces something is objectively the “best.” Tubes are the best, solid state is the best, this topology is the best, this brand is the best, this service is the best. I think there is no objective “best” In this hobby. What’s best to you may not be to me. It tends to be pretty subjective. It’s like saying I have tasted many ice cream flavors and have decades of experience tasting ice cream and Butter pecan is the best.. (Of course, all intelligent people know that butter pecan actually is the best)
4. If you don’t hear what I hear, it means your ears are not good enough.. We are blessed to have audiologists who can diagnose people they have never seen.
5. i’m right because I’ve been buying equipment for more decades than you have been buying equipment. To be sure, experience can be quite valuable. I really do Think it matters if there is some context for it to matter concerning the specific discussion. But longevity, in and of itself, isn’t the measure of accuracy. I’m a fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates, one of the oldest franchises in baseball. Don’t tell me the Pittsburgh Pirates know how to run a major league baseball team.
Otherwise, all we need to do is find a105 year old audiophile and refer all the difficult questions to him.
6. Anybody that believes in measurements is an idiot because they don’t even listen to the music.
7. Anybody that isn’t guided solely by measurements is an idiot because they deny science.
8. weighing in with a firm opinion about a product that you’ve never heard, or have only heard in passing.
9. responding to an inquiry with the assertion that the product which you just happen to sell is absolutely the best for that situation, even if your product was not the subject of the inquiry.
10. to me, this is the worst, and you see it occasionally. Somebody buys a brand new set of speakers, amp, whatever. They post about it with obvious pride. And then someone says, “oh, you should’ve bought this. Your choice is really not very good. Those are going to be too bright, too dull, too whatever.“ Why in the world, would you want to step on someone’s joy?
if we avoided these sort of arguments, maybe we would be left with more civil discourse based on actual experiences and mutual respect. But that’s just my opinion, and I’m wrong all the time. I’m sure I’ve violated my own rules a time or two. Plus, it’s the Internet and anyone can say whatever they want.
For now.
