Does other Audiogon members' opinion carry any weight for you ?

The smart, experienced, temperate ones. There have been more than just a few, but many are not here or posting much anymore.

Can I ask you what the point of your thread is?

Lot's of people as I've been active here since the last millenium, but definitely not you.

Some have been absent for years - to come back for brief periods - and many, many, many are no longer with us.

DeKay

Many.

If not i will not be here.

They all have a common point :

 They gave an opinion in good faith, never mock others for the pleasure to do it...

They never gangstalk people...They do not insinuate...

They are rational...Open mind...

They may have experience or not in audio...

I like them all ....

This why i came here for them...

There are several intelligent people I highly respect,  and some I even would call a friend. 

Narcissistic people with self serving agendas need not apply. 

Always consider the source. 
(that was an audio joke)
All humor aside, take into the consideration the topic and proceed from there.

All the best,
Nonoise

Not anymore , the ones that did are all dead!

Matt M

If many people agree on something, then maybe but rarely do I take advice from a single individual. There are few absolutes in the hobby, and we all have different rooms, associated equipment, music tastes, ears and listening environments. Obviously, some people have much more experience than others and that's always a factor for me.

True point of this thread is unknown to me, it just came to mind and so I posted it.

If I didn't appreciate the input of most Audiogon members I wouldn't waste my time asking the questions here that I do..
 

Of course I do!  I like seeing how other people have put together systems and what music they listen to.  I've learned much.

Of course, there is a lot of great experience in this group. Depending on the post there can be a bit of chaff in the responses, but always some wisdom in the mix. I am not sure why one would participate here if they don’t find any value in it.

Part of the answer to your question (for me) is connected to whether the question is well put.

Is it sensible and grammatical?

Has the author reread their question before posting it, maybe even edited it? In other words, did they take a little extra time to show respect for their readers?

Is it trying to solve a problem, drawing on others’ expertise?

Or is it fishing for opinions which are necessarily related to variables that cannot possibly be controlled for? 

Too often, the problem is baked into the question. (Not that people don’t like to chest-beat or just flood the forum with their pet theories or long-winded opinions, too.)

Depends on the member.  There are a few who serve as negative references-if they endorse something, then I’m not interested 

If there is a point to this thread, perhaps it is a barometer of the current state of this forum.  

Sadly, since I have been a member, things have paralleled society as a whole and deteriorated.  The true gems on this site are becoming a rare find indeed and have been replaced by an increasing population of haters that serve to make this a heck of a lot less fun than it used to be.

almarg, miss you man.

I too am not really sure what this thread is about.

If someone offers just an opinion I stop listening, this is of no value to me.

If someone has an opinion and takes the time to make a case for that opinion then that can be value added.  

Only ones that use grammar correctly, like do instead of does ... ;-)

Inna I think your thread iis relevant , yes there are some like I like to read their post like MikeLavigne, very humble and knowledgeable. True He has a very good system. That is not the reason why I admire his post. Waltersalas is onother good one but he rarely post here.Davidten also is a good one. Very few good ones left but rarely post. The negative ones I treat them with quietness, for in quietness there is power.

Corelli agree 100%.

No more and no less than the online and YouTube reviewers I read and watch. I take everything into consideration. 

A way to rate the posters would be helpfull,  maybe.

+1 for poster with a positive set of mind when proposing his set of  critical rational arguments...

-1 for ad hominem attacks with no rational argument...

0 for herd like behaviour, one poster after the other mocking someone...

( A rational argument imply at least three part :

premises or supposition first, reason for the implicit or explicit premises  and conclusion.)

I suggest square root of - OR + one for sarcasm and good humor respectively..

 The Square root of + AND -negative one (hypercomplex number) for doubts about the value of a post...

 We can use the prime numbers to link all posts in a thread...

«Dont score your friends»-- Groucho Marx

If I didn’t find others’ opinions of value, I wouldn’t hang out here but, like everyone else, there are certain forum members with whom I feel more commonality than others. 

I have relied quite heavily on member reviews and comments of products and found them to be very helpful. Of course, you have to weed through who is saying what and triangulate with other users' experiences with the same equipment. Agon and WBF have been good points of information outside the suspiciously over-the-top magazine reviews.

I make my decisions based solely on equipment performance listening to familiar recordings played on known equipment. 

Some members that I know personally may provide positive impressions on gear that suggest I might want to listen, but that doesn’t mean we always agree on whether performance merits a purchase.   

I don't trust the opinion of professional reviewers, especially some of the MOST RESPECTED in the industry.  I have seen and heard too much for too many years to believe that they are unbiased.

I use social media pretty much as a survey, long term general consensus on certain things hold weight and/or become more in realm of objective truths. Individual opinions are subjective truths, how relevant that is to me is highly variable.

Definitely,

You need to simply observe for a while, get a sense who is who, then, like me, ask for advice. (other research of course). Search old discussions, the expertise is deep.

I joined just prior to Covid in 2019, and ended up completely reworking 3 systems, each benefitted from advice here.

I am eternally grateful that the primary result is this TT with 3 tonearms

I met a member here, made a trade, and ended up with a very cool Vertical TT in my office

https://www.audiogon.com/systems/11401

I met/repeatedly meet individually with 6 new friends I gained here.

I only recommend stuff I have personal experience with, so I sound like a broken record, but someone new might not know that.

I try to give back, many of my Virtual Systems are to explain with images

My Virtual Systems here

I'm rediscovering all my CDs (and buying used) after asking and getting a Sony xa5400es SACD Player that is 'just right' for my ears.

Yes many have  carried weight for me over the years, especially early on when a lot of high end stuff was fairly new to me. 

Sure.  I enjoy reading what others have compared, and what their findings were. 

You can decide what is helpful or not. It helps to come up with mindful questions.  

OP, if you post random questions like this before putting much thought into it, you’ll get out of it what you put into it.  

Yes. Posters that spend enough time to present their evidence, preferences and post their systems so it is easy for you to determine "where they are coming from". 

No. Short one liners, vitriolic, dogmatic, deniers... etc. 

Yes, there are several members here whose opinions have value.

Since you, as the OP of this thread, have stated that the opinions of most don't hold any weight with you, I don't understand why you post so many questions asking for the opinions of others.

@dekay +1, I could not have said it better. Enjoy the music

Of course. There's not as many great contributors as there were in my interest arena, but I'll take what's going.

Specific members carry weight nope. But as a collective community there are helpful responses. 
I was gone for a while and can say I miss carbonmiller’s musings. 

I'll keep it simple. I have been a member for over 20 years. Do I recall there being a more active era of members with enhanced knowledge and great personalities? Yes. Thing have changed a great deal. But I still learn so much from the regulars on this forum that offer solid and constructive critiques and insights. People on here know who they are. The forum is not dead. It's changing. As life does every day.

100%. I’ve only been on for a few years. I have selected my system around the comments and feedback from those group. I have listened when possible and also trusted. 

Opinion, no; knowledge, yes.

I don't rely in one specific site to make equipment decisions. It takes me hours if not days of researching the internet to get enough various opinions before I can pull the trigger. I don't usually rely on anyone specific, any specific review or any specific store or manufacturer to make a decision. However I went to the Lone Star Audio Fest today and I was impressed by a few systems. But it's not enough to convince me to buy. The best part was meeting Peter and Vlad in person. Peter personally built my PBN Montana XPS speakers and Vlad my Audio Mirror Tubadour V dac. Super nice guys who took the time to show interest in how I incorporated their equipment in my house of stereo. It was awesome. There is nothing like dealing with small audio manufacturers. The customer service is usually impeccable. 

I would never listen to anyone in a group that has me as a member.

There are some. But they are becoming a rare breed.

I don’t spend nearly the same amount of time reading through posts here as I once did. That is not because my interest in audio reproduction has diminished, quite the contrary. If I’m researching a specific product, and looking for first hand user feedback, I will read through threads and hope someone who has shown themselves to have well thought out opinions on the quality of a given product, has commented.

But then, as you can see from the responses to this question, it makes me wonder wtf someone is doing on this forum when they respond to this question with

“Zero.Zilch.None.”

Which I guess is appropriate for some, as they are not contributing anything either.

Must be nice to know everything.…

Geoffkait was quite the character. 
 

Now, here we are….

"Geoffkait was quite the character"

He still is over at the Audio Asylum ...

This forum was instrumental in helping me figure out what has changed,  what to buy, how to set it up, what tweeks help.

The audio stores closed, many people don't care.  It would have been difficult.  Thank you.

"They locked up the wrong man." 

He still is over at the Audio Asylum

It's mostly entertainment, not education.

Of course there are a lot of knowledgeable people here and intelligent ones as well and the ones that are both add a lot of value.

 I miss everyone, deceased, banned,gone, even those who were in total disagreement  with me as few ASR dudes(i learned a lot arguing with them )  everyone save the 2 idiots who had harassed me in my private mail here...

No name are needed..

Geoffkait was quite the character. 
 

Now, here we are….

There are a lot of incredibly smart people on this forum who understand a lot about hi-fi. It's awfully impressive. 

Also appreciated is their willingness to share what they know and help others.

many may live isolated lives and it's fastening to see what all have done with their environments in their private worlds.  A wonderful outlet for expression clearly.  Unmatched.

I value well communicated advice.  On occasion explanations have been given and unfortunately it's difficult to follow what's been communicated, and these issues can sometimes be terribly complicated, and therein lies a challenge at times because I know they really understand it

Yes, rpeluso. 

I’m interested in others opinions, but I wouldn’t buy something based solely on someone else’s recommendation. But it was soix’s recommendation that led me to my current speakers (which I love), but would never have considered without his suggestion. I’ve also solved some issues or considered different gear because of discussions here. But ultimately any purchase decision is mine after due consideration.