is audiogon good for the audio industry or bad?

I personally feel Audiogon is the best thing to happen to the high end audio industry since the end of vinyl’s golden age.

The forums have allowed all of us to learn. Most of came to Audiogon through some search engine, either looking for used equipment or advise. With very little time invested we discovered other people just like us, looking to learn and share this wonderful hobby. For me it was a place to learn from the very basics of system start up, to the art of pulling the most from what ever level I could afford.

After a few years, I found myself experimenting beyond the level of most, and in return I was sharing my findings. This is the description of the Audiogon forums, and how they have raised the level of knowledge in our hobby. Then it dawns on us, these are our friends too. I started finding myself sharing with friends from Audiogon, both in the forums and off site. I discovered this was becoming a big part of my life, and I enjoyed it. Then the damnedest thing happened, Lugnut! This thread changed lives, and allowed Audiogon to rise to a much unexpected level. We shared our love, tears and hearts for a man most of us never actually met.

Is Audiogon good for the hobby? Is caring about people you don’t know in any way other than through an Internet forum significant?

Oh, then there is the used market for audio gear. Audiogon just happens to dabble in this too. Suddenly we had a place where we were able to sell our unused gear. In audio, most people tend to take very good care of their equipment, and yet part of the hobby is trying new equipment in our ever evolving systems. Before Audiogon there was no true market for this gear, and many of us had closets full of stuff. Audiogon allows us to trade our equipment in a very stable used market. For the most part we can buy and sell used equipment with very little actual cost, thus making the Audiogon community a group of friends trading equipment and sharing experiences. It’s like we all lived close by, except we have never met. But that is not quite true; I have found a group of local audio friends through this site too. Funny I needed to go out into cyberspace to discover now two more people who live in my 3000 person suburb who also share the passion of high end audio.

Now the down side, but this is not an Audiogon issue as much as an Internet issue. The Internet has created a marketplace where some sellers have chosen to exploit the ability to undercut pricing. We consumers of course benefit from this by cheaper prices for new gear, but at the cost of killing what was. The amount and variety of bricks and mortar retailers has dwindled to a very few. This limits our personal exposure to equipment, and limits our chance to audition equipment before we buy. If we shop at Audiogon, chances are we do not shop in our local audio retailers, and visa versa. That is too bad, but it is reality. Audiogon did not create this issue, and in fact does little to support it, so in my eyes, not even this issue is pinnable on Audiogon.

I guess one could make the argument that the newly discovered local friends (unknown without Audiogon) all have different equipment, and in fact we are auditioning other equipment, and in fact sometimes in a far more affective way. I will leave that discussion to others however…

So in conclusion, I believe Audiogon is the best this to happen to the high end audio industry, and I am proud to be a ten year member.

jd

There are at least two distinct Audiophile groups. One is an interactive group who might include DIY, long time music lovers, long time audio junkies, new people who aspire to be one of the above. The common thread is we all are “looking, searching, compulsively addicted” to “finding” the perfect sound.

We try equipment, we take advice, we give more advice, we try other stuff, and we even force our families to adapt to our needs. We hide our latest purchases in the closet until “the wife” is away. We plan our schedules to intercept those purchases before they arrive. We always come clean with the real price, out loud to our friends “yea, I picked up this $20,000 amp on the Gon for $1200!” The code amongst us is to never use real numbers, in the prior instance, $1200 is code for $12,000. Oh and power cords never cost more the $75!

This group as described above might sound familiar. THEY ARE US! And we love them all dearly. These people research, shop on line with little regard for security, share their latest discovery, often as THE BEST must have. We defend our views with passion and know we are right, until the next purchase, then we, and only we discover something even BETTER! Yes we are the Audiogon community, and we love our friends who share this addiction.

The other group is the B&M guys. This is doctor uptight, home from twelve hours of brain surgery. Very uptight, very stressed and VERY wealthy. Yes his collage tuition is long paid off, his home is well stocked with all his family needs, and he needs a place to escape. He discovered music as a teen, but never took the drugs required to fully understand its meaning. He went off to collage, and never looked back. Then he was at a friend’s house for a cocktail party. He discovered a very impressive sound system and asked where he might find the same. The next week he entered the B&M store, claimed he needed the “BEST” sounding system they had, wanted it delivered to his home and set up properly. When asked if he wished to hear it first, the doctor replied, “oh yea, but I only have a minute.”

OK, I know I over amplified that, but these people do exist. Actually enough of them to keep a couple well stocked stores open in each community of a couple million people. Fact is we the Audiogoners might actually be the minority here, again. I have a feeling the “I just want the best sound where I can escape from my high pressure life” guy is more common than we think. These guys would never discover Audiogon for they do not seek knowledge or bargains. As unlikely that the B$M buyer will find Audiogon, the typical A’goner would hardly plunk down full price for gear he knows he can find discounted from someone.

The lose to the A’goner is the local help and service. Of course this too is available on line, and from a far greater community of offerings. So what we lose is the chance to hear what ever system they are selling. For me, I have never walked into a store and seen the system I would choose to put together. They are restricted by who they represent. On Audiogon I am free to learn, test and purchase every brand on the planet! This for the Audiogoner is heaven, to the doctor above, it might well be hell.

Essentialaudio, please see this in the light it was written. Your points are excellent, and I only wish you were in my community...