Is advice from a constant upgrader to be avoided


For a while now I've been reading these forums and to be honest i was thinking of leaving. I felt a bit out of depth given that it seems so many others have had so much experience through owning what seems to be tens of speakers, amplifiers, DACs etc etc and reading people buying and selling piece after piece after piece on the search for some sound.... 

When someone asks advice about a certain item it seems like half the audience have owned it and moved on and have a comment to make. I then read about someone buying an extremely expensive amp and deciding quickly to sell it because it doesn't sound right. Then someone else is on their fourth DAC in a year. 

So all these people have advice to give. What I'm wondering now is, is advice from a person who's never content, constantly changing their system, never living with a system for long enough, and have more money than patience, really the right person to take advice from? .

There seems fewer (maybe they're less vocal) people who buy gear and spend the time to appreciate it, and have maybe only had a very few systems in their lifetime. I think I'd rate their advice higher on the gear they know than the constant flipper/upgrader.

Is the constant flipper/upgrader always going to say that the gear they used to own was no good and they've now got better? Maybe their constant searching is because their ear is no good or they're addicted to the rush of opening a new box. 

Just because person X has owned a lot of equipment doesn't mean their advice is to be sought after, it could mean the exact opposite.

mid-fi-crisis

Showing 2 responses by hilde45

So all these people have advice to give. What I’m wondering now is, is advice from a person who’s never content, constantly changing their system, never living with a system for long enough, and have more money than patience, really the right person to take advice from?

OP, it seems like you already know the answer to this question.

How does anyone decide to listen to anyone -- about anything?

They do: describe their experience, they provide context, they identify their own preferences, they locate reasonable places for disagreement, they incorporate facts from trustworthy sources.

They do not: use hyperbole, fixate on certain brands, ignore room acoustics, align their self-worth with their argument.

 

@jjss49  Well said and I agree. It's not a bad way to decide on medical advice. Don't trust the loudest voices or the ones with agendas behind their advice. 

@douglas_schroeder Appreciate your comment very much, and your reviews always educate me. In particular, you said, "I am a System Builder, who loves working with different gear to hear the result....The performance spectrum is much larger than you seem to realize....[it] is enormous and it goes quite a ways upward into SOTA."

I'm into this hobby in part for the music but also to see how much my sensibilities (cognitive and auditory) can be advanced. If one wants to get better at tennis, play someone better; if one wants to get better at audio, seek better sound.