And again, what a judgemental, self-righteous bunch. So you're asking if you should take advice from people who constantly upgrade. The most obvious answer is, "YES!" They've listened to a lot of different things, in a lot of different combinations. A better question for you would be to ask if you should take "input" rather than "advice". The answer is still, "yes", for the same reason. Any modern audiophile level system, even at the very bottom of the class, is going to sound really nice compared to the cheap Best Buy system most people put in their home. And, btw, that's great for them if that's all they want. We've all been there, all started there, well most of us anyway. Point is, there are a lot of people in here who've blown themselves away by how great there little system sounds, conclude that because they so enjoy listening to it that nothing could sound better and anyone who wants anything different is a fool. I don't eat the same meal for dinner every night, I don't wear the same shoes everday, I don't go see the same performances time after time and I don't listen to the same CD forever and ever. People who've had a lot of different components in their home have explored the nuances of sound variation that come from changing any and every single piece. (hey, let's have some fun watching a select and particularly self-righteous segment of this group melt down of what impact changing cables has!!). You can learn a lot about a landscape by talking with people who've walked down many paths. There is one caveat, however, and that is that there are people (many/few?) who claim to have owned components that they've only ever seen online or in one of those old things called "magazines". Their input is not completely useless because they are regurgitating the lessons learned by professional reviewers with far more knowledge/experience than the group here. Just remember that another word for regurgitation is vomit, tho.
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.
Showing 2 responses by surfcat
@douglas_schroederWhen the internet evolved beyond the old BBS world I thought this was gonna be great, people sharing knowledge, growing with and from one another. Has turned into something rather different, polluted by self-righteous and cowardly bullies hiding behind annonyimity to be intolerantly rude and judgemental and dumping the stream fecal sewerage the emminates from their mind into the clearer waters of those wanting and willing to listen and share. Audiogon and the audiophile community is certainly not alone in this unfortunateness. Some people want to stay with the same audioi system forever. Fine, I'd never put them down for it. Some people like to experiment. Sometimes they even do heretical things like adjust the hue or bright/contrast of the TV or even buy a new one! I'd never put them down for that either. And there's one tremendously ironic thing about this dynamic and we see it displayed widely and clearly here. The people who do experiment and change equipment and spend money on what have often, but not always, provided some small improvement in the experience and have proven to be advancements in the technology of audio reproduction are almost NEVER judgemental of those who don't experiment with changing equipment. They consistely and sincerely express the position of, "Hey, I think it's great that you love your system the way it is. Good for you." It's universally the people who don't want to change anything and/or won't spend even a little bit of money to try something new who pile on with riducule, smug abuse and, honestly, a lot of ignorance as they attack people who are just having an open conversation. Cowards hiding behind a screen, armed with a keyboard, spewing sewage into otherwise interesting waters. You say you only trust the people who've learned "what they DON'T like." Why? What's wrong with people who've bought a piece of equipment they do like and sharing that?? If you go into a wine shop do you say to the person working there, "Hey, listen, just tell me all the things here you don't like?" If you're thinking about going on a trip, the beach, skiing, traveling abroad and someone starts telling you about a place they really enjoyed do you say, "Hold on there! I only want to here about bad trips you've had." If you suddenly discover you need a plumber and a neighbor starts telling you about a great experience they had with a particular plumber do you say, "Whoa whoa whoa, I only want to here about all of the crappy plumbers you've hired?" You're whole story makes no sense, in fact it smells, like sewerage. I'm calling BS on it. It's made up trash to support your self annointed superiority. Never happened. The search for betterment is the passion of the intelligent and curious mind. It is not a disease and not a symptom of a disease. The inability to understand that coupled with the need to ridicule it is, however, a symptom of retardation.
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