2. misc-audio
  3. 171473-147045

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 1 response by noske

noske
783 posts
 

Of course it isn’t prudent to follow those who have some psychological need to try new things at a rate that may not be optimal. This has always been the situation in any hobby, however defined - it is just that with forums such as this it has become abundantly demonstrable.

However you may learn from their observations, and that is valuable information. This may take a certain amount of experience to discern what is credible, and what is just mystical.

I predict that in the next couple years (and currently) we will be reading quite a bit from folk who try a variety of new developments in Class D technology. Good and bad decisions will be made, there will be mistakes and there will also be glee.

Now compare this with the situation before online forums such as this. It makes me shiver. I submit that information shared freely is a goldmine for the intelligent and discerning enthusiast.

Nothing I say in this comment is novel - most will read this and say, yeah, I knew that.  And that's nice.

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