Do people tire of audio forums?

I enjoy the variety of subject matter and most opinions but I wish Audiogon would offer an "ignore" feature, and a "like" button. 

+1 @dekay as long as there is plenty of mustard

@knotscott , sure thing. 😉

I've yet to tire of audio forums.  There's usually many knowledgeable people who are helpful to newer enthusiasts who want to learn more about this hobby. 

IMO many members take this site and brand loyalty too seriously. ARC//MAC/Magnepan/JBL/Vandersteen and others are viewed by many as sacred cows. We even have a longtime member that worships Ohm loudspeakers and praises them at almost every opportunity? Currently I think Burmester is making some of the best sounding electronics/speakers but I have no love or worship for the company it’s just another audio component that is open to criticism.

@knotscott Spot on! Between individual preference and plethora of available equipment, topologies, rooms, etc. every situation unique, makes it more difficult to find commonaliity. I recently decided against selling my 1970 MGBGT when out of this world great deal on rebuilt engine came my way, MG and classic English car forums in general are probably the most genial forums I've been involved in. I also have an Alfa, Ducati and Mustang GT, Alfa and Ducati forums a bit more variable, Mustang forums full of complete idiots, reflective of no end of crash videos of this car!

So, the real reason I left the audio forums is that I suffered a shoulder dislocation and torn rotator cuff Feb 3rd, don't ask! Anyway, most painful orthopedic injury ever experienced! No desire to even listen to my system for months, out of sight, out of mind. So then I get back to listening, but desire to engage with forums didn't return, this is when I began to question my need to engage. I now see it as having been something of an addiction, not a day could pass without checking in on forums. Now that I'm more aware of this don't want return to that. I see that some of my contributions weren't worth the effort, sort of like meaningless small talk. Going forward  try to limit posting to more important contributions. I also expect to have less interaction as the rate of change in my system continues to decay. Does rate of change in our systems correlate to level of engagement with audio forums?

+1 to a "Like" button on this forum!

@sns sorry bout your shoulder. Had a severe should injury too...absolutely the worst location for any injury I’ve had...that damn joint has a huge range of motion compared to most, the rest of the arm and hands are attached to it so almost anything you do causes movement and pain to the shoulder.

I have Learned to Read more than Comment. 

@secretguy +1

@jpwarren58 +1 Dude, that's so keen and so funny, at the same time.

@sns Apparently so. I've seen it a few times thru the years.

Sometimes thay come back, sometimes not. 

Anyone remember @tubebuffer ? Sometimes I used to have to literally stop and wipe my tears, so I could keep reading.

Someone said onetime, that he was really Millercarbon's alter ego. Lol.

Where the hell are you, @millercarbon ?

@ticat In many cases this may be best route, why add pithy post, may help to decrease the fatigue.

For popcorn and hot dog lovers, I used to enjoy the show, even engaged a few times. If its a new topic this can still provide entertainment, but another objective vs subjective or snake oil battle, NOT!

it took over 500 words to ask the question if folks are tired of this forum.

you have my answer.

Pretty good demonstration of the irritating and obtuse kind of post that people get tired of. If that was your goal -- well played!

@laps Here, Here on the Ignore feature and Like button. 

Great ideas.

.....I have been on this site for nearly 24 years and yes it has changed and not due to nostalgia or sentimentality as was noted. The sellers, buyers and dealers as well as Audiogon have changed as it is now more a transactional thing in this hobby. I still have fun ...... 

@garebear Dude, everything has changed.

@garebear To me, it’s interesting that the climate around here kind of reflects the changes going on in the world. I know it does here in the US.

Perhaps we should ask ourselves, are we part of the solution or part of the problem?

In regards to people taking it personal when someone doesn’t actually take their well intentioned and well informed advice personally, I say: have any of you folks ever raised a human being before? Dude, get over it.

Life is too short to get wound up over somethiing as menial as that.

For that matter, perhaps a little further down the road after they’ve spent way too much chasing tha dream, I think is the way we say it, they’ll finally figure it out. With your helpful input. 

Kind of like, when you raise a human.

I’m a long time member and I was a Lurker for many years before I ever actively participated only to discover that it’s a blast. But it sure as hell wouldn’t be if I put myself thru that kind of torture.

Someone said, years ago, I think I’ve heard this a couple of times: How, the roles we play around here, or the way our personality is reflected is similar to the clique we were a part of in high school. That that’s the way things tend to play out around here.

I would tend to agree.

There are members here who I've found to be not only consistently helpful but unfailingly patient, kind and generous. They are the reason I continue to participate. There are others I do my best to ignore. 

Political diatribes and personal attacks severely try my patience but they do not keep me from abandoning the forum. 

Reading posts asking such questions as "What is the best DAC"? by people who apparently opt to ignore the search feature gets tiresome but I don't imagine such posts will stop appearing any time soon. 

For me, the positives of Audiogon forums outweigh the negatives.  

I've tried other audio forums but the level of participation has been much, much lower than on Audiogon, so I haven't stuck with them. 

To me, the question is more than just loss of interest in audio fora but engagement in the hobbyist aspects themselves. Long before the Internet, I had periods of intense involvement in the hobby, through such things as the NY Audio Society (or whatever it was called- the original publisher of The Audio Voice). A bunch of characters, some reviewers, ardent hobbyists, record collectors. Great fun.

Yet I went through periods where I didn’t even set up a system (though I kept the gear and all the records). It isn’t that I lost interest, but had other things, including work, that took most of my time and energy.

Once the Internet emerged, I got involved in it first as a lawyer- it was largely bulletin boards on fairly bandwidth limited ISP intermediaries. You’d read threads in a string. Over the years, I did some behind the scenes work for one hobbyist board (not audio) and a ton of work on Internet related litigation.

My experience also led me to get involved as a participant in a variety of boards, involving audio, cars, motorcycles, and other hobbyist interests. What I saw over the long haul was that participants change, old members drop off for any number of reasons, new participants join and the culture changes- not making a value judgment on that- it’s the nature of the beast. The topics change too as different technologies come into play- look how much bandwidth is now devoted to "streaming."

I think when you are in acquisition and evaluation mode, you are more likely to engage. At a certain point, at least for me, I’ve seen a lot of the same questions arise and don’t feel compelled to chime in; the topics are usually well covered. It isn’t exactly "lack of interest" but more where I think I can contribute something of value.

The social aspect of the fora also mark a change from the old days and I’m not sure we can go back-- there was something special about in person group listening sessions. Yeah, not all of it was serious and productive- a fair about of kibitzing, record swaps and just plain socializing. In some ways I miss that.

But the Internet opened up the whole world to us-- from record shopping worldwide, to communicating with groups of audiophiles from all over.

Trade-offs to be sure. I’m now about 53 years deep into this hobby and seem way more comfortable not knowing all the answers. So I still visit, still peruse the threads and chime in when I find it appropriate.

I have made many friends over the years through various hobbyist fora and for that I’m grateful even in cases where I no longer actively participate in a particular forum.

Whart, just wanted to say I enjoy your input on music so please keep it up.

Yes, positive outweighs negative. This is a very nice and peaceful thread, so I won't mention any negatives, as perceived by me. Good to see many old-timers in one place. 

With due consideration to the auditory nature of this pastime, I felt it my obsessive-compulsive duty to call out this mistake.

Here, Here on the Ignore feature and Like button.

Many great comments here. I agree this forum is a reflection of the larger community or world we live in, forums by their nature a more impersonal community.

I don't know how many others feel this way, but whenever I get nostalgic about the good gone days of audio I think back to when I was first discovering audio, going to the dozens of high end audio stores here in southeastern michigan. The shows I attended, local shows as well in those days. I just loved the in person engagement with audiophiles much more knowledgeable  than I, sort of like some exclusive club I wanted to get into. And yeah, that does reflect my high school need to be in a club or gang of cool people (and I did have that). I also had inherent or already converted audio buddies and other new converts, we all desired to own the best of the best.

On top of the need for socialization, I also had an inherent desire to learn about all aspects of audio, how components and parts work, and I loved to look at and touch these beautiful works of art.

So, there was all that. But then we mature, other things draw our attention, audio just another interest amongst many. While I maintained my interest in audio over all these years, equipment came and went, knowledge gained, the audio magic club morphed into being just another interest.

Perhaps some of us have short attention spans, highest interest when engaging in something new, interest gradually wanes as time goes on. I suppose these forums are the magic clubs of today for the newbies, and they still have shows and a few dealers to engage with. Sort of feel sorry for the newbies today, forums pale imitation of in person engagement, so few dealers and only national shows.

I'd say the one thing that sustains me is listening to great performances and music over a really fine, highly resolving system. The performers in room experience is one thing I never tire of!

....the hot dogs gave me gas, but what else can one do with a sacred cow?

Butt, it's useful now that winter has arrived...

Straight, no bun, hun...

I’ve only been here for going on 4 years, joining right AFTER I got back into the hobby and bought my first equipment.  I was eager to learn, but I have since learned that consensus on “the way to go” is fleeting, as each person has their favorite gear to recommend.  If I had to do it over again, I might wait before buying my gear, to see what might truly be out there (like REL subs) that is better before purchasing.  
 

I’ve enjoyed reading the varied submissions, but more likely now I’ve been skimming the topics and not reading so much.  I find that people are so different in their experiences and budgets that some could likely never identify with me, my questions, my plans.  I see questions about a type of gear and think, “I know what I might try if I were OP, but that is “slumming it” for some readers that have systems valued at $20,000 to $100,000 or more.  I don’t have much to contribute. I think maybe if there were sub-forums based upon what people can afford to spend, that might be more helpful.  The advice for someone that can spend up to $5,000 for their entire system is going to be different than recommendations for those spending $5,000 to $10,000, and that is different from advice useful to the real big spenders.  I have about $8,000 in my system, so I can’t relate much to the big spenders and they cannot relate much to me (except, maybe, from their memory when they were more limited in funds).

Still, I do sometimes learn useful things here and have been helped by some of the members here.  I don’t abandon AG completely, though I read less than I once did.  (I have gone to other audio forums where members comment about the egos and contentiousness of AG, and how they offer more useful advice on theirs). 

@acman3- thanks for that. I'm like a year behind in writing and publishing about released LPs. I really need to get back to that- it's enjoyable, research is fun, and of course, there's the listening. 

There are far more interesting and/or important things in life worth following than audio. But for building a system, buying equipment or just general interest in passing time, the forums can be informative and interesting. 

I think it depends on your personality type. As a Sigma, I tend to become very involved in a hobby or project to the point of some level of mastery, then I move on to the next. I may still be involved in the old hobby, but not to the extent I used to be. This is the common trait of a Sigma. So yes, once I understood audio and attained/built the equipment I wanted I stopped visiting those forums. I only visit this one because I get an email every Friday and might see a thread that interests me.

I don't look at forums for validation, so concepts like appreciated or not have no bearing. I just like to share, learn or be entertained.

Hi there.

I’m one of those whose system has had a fairly stable configuration for 35 years, no need to go out and get the latest thing, I just have what works for me. That said, I now have a semi-anechoic listening room, and I had both of my NYAL Futterman OTL3s rebuilt (a tube shorted in one of them and took out a $0.29 part that threw the balance out, they had not been serviced in 14 years so I took them both in to Jon who pointed out that the units were 35 years old and parts and some of the design could be significantly upgraded so I let him do his thing). I may post about why keeping 35-60 year old equipment upgraded is a solution in today’s market, and how I went about it.

All by way of saying that I come here to get entertained, to learn, and to relieve FOMO. Sometimes I’ll contribute if I think I have something valid to say, most of the time I’m just listening. I do forget about this forum for stretches when I got lots of other stuff on my plate.

theaudioatticvinylsundays.com

Tire forms are much more tiring.