OCD mickey website and negativity.
I see videos from this individual frequently he's got a show every night almost on YouTube which is live. It's interesting.
I'm not familiar with the brands on his website and he doesn't seem to be happy about lots of stuff. He visits stores and complains about how terrible their equipment is and that no one knows what they're doing without really explaining him himself.
I've learned many things from him but I don't know why his gear that he represents seems lacklustre, I'm not gonna mention it here but maybe I'm wrong. There are many outstanding so-called higher end audio gear that's out there and he doesn't seem to carry any of it.
Respectfully, Audio Note dealers are happy to explain in granular detail what’s inside the boxes, and explain why what’s inside matters. They are also generally amenable to removing the covers to show prospective buyers the circuitry. Audio Note owner, Peter Qvortrup, a consummate gentleman, will answer questions as comprehensively as one requires. He’s remarkably easy to contact, and seemingly always has time for a customer. |
It is difficult to find a reliable source for information about audio products. I sympathize with anyone trying to wade through YouTube videos in search of reliable information. My 2 cents worth is this. Search for well organized presentations that include both specifications and impressions. No drama, simple and direct. hilde45 provided another good summary of reasons I choose to avoid the likes of OCD Mikey. Digging a little deeper regarding the appearance OCD Mikey plays both sides when it suits him, industry insider or rogue outsider. Mikey sells cables described as containing materials and construction claimed to be superior, but provides no cogent technical explanation or test data as proof. Rare earth minerals and a crystal resonating disk provide exactly what scientifically verifiable benefit? That is exactly the same meaningless hype he rails against. Guess he thinks only charging a couple thousand dollars instead of 10 thousand dollars make his meaningless hype OK. Regardless, he provides no proof that his cable is any better than a hundred dollar cable. OCD Mikey sells expensive audio gear. The rogue outsider routine cannot be taken seriously. I would not waste a single minute watching him going forward. |
I don’t know. I tried to sum up things early in this thread. There is an erratic quality to the behavior. On the one hand, making videos which explain and teach about audio -- gear, acoustics, criteria for listening, power, and more. Doing show reports. Talking with others who are knowledgeable. A lot of value in those. At the same time, creating a brand identity as a rogue, truth-teller, bucking the powers-that-be, yada yada yada. Making outrageous videos, calling people shills with their handles on a public facing video, then coming on the very forum he rants against to defend himself and claim his bona fides in the audio industry. -- And on top of it all, running a business where he's also selling audio. So... "outside the industry" while also "inside the industry." Everyone has to pay the bills, but this is surely trying to have it both ways. In my opinion. For some, the rogue stuff will be dismissible; just part of his schtick. For others, the rogue stuff will seem erratic, volatile, and undermining of his character and judgment about audio in general. Basically, it’s a judgment call. |
New video was just released tonight by OCD Mikey - it was an audio note gear listening session titled ‘unleashed’. Interesting. Video was basically pure sound from beginning to end, a bunch of edgy sounds all mixed together and I guess you’d have to be there too appreciate it, maybe. Personally I really didn’t like it. And would need to be medicated to enjoy it. Somehow this is intended to demonstrate that audio note can handle anything. Maybe that’s true. I sure wish these listening sessions had commentary explaining why the hell this system sounds different or better than other systems if that’s even possible and if not possible what the hell are they doing this for. Please tell us about the components, and we did learn that parts of what they sell are handmade somewhere in England as if that’s supposed to be helpful. Basically these are mystery boxes and no one knows what the heck goes on inside them and maybe they sound a bit different from other systems. I guess if you pay someone lots of money for one of these mystery boxes you can trust everything’s OK. For many people it’s just as easy as passing over the plastic card and it’s all yours. |
@hilde45 I just watched the rant you mentioned and crap like that is why I left his channel. I guess he doesn’t know that there are thousands of of threads started here every year a people post on what interests them. I also guess if you make a mistake, you’re a shill. I guess I’m almost a shill because I have more than 100 posts. |
From a review of Verastarr Grand Illusion Cables. Sounds like exactly what OCD Mikey rails against, doesn't it? Oh the hypocrisy! To the Moderator that removed my original response, I want a specific and precise explanation why. Nothing in my comments is any different than sentiment expressed in this thread or many others on Audiogon relating to deceitful behavior. OCD Mikey came to Audiogon, by his own admission and pointed out by hilde45, to bait individuals, publish handles, and levy unproven accusations of being shills in a video. What are you doing about that??
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How hard is it for dealers to find manufacturers who will allow them to sell their product ? If I wanted to become a dealer and start selling audio gear can I just call manufacturers and say hey can I sell your gear to a bunch of customers I have? And then do I have to whine and dine these manufacturers to convince them how good it would be to do business with me? And then do I have to commit to spending a lot of money to buy the products at wholesale and then they allow me to start selling their products? This seems pretty easy. So these videos that I watch are a dance between the dealer and the manufacturer. If I do a good job recommending their product and showcasing it can I then begin to sell their product? So many currents of activity going on. And then you have to decide whether what you’re hearing is the truth or just people finding ways to promote and sell products. |
@yyzsantabarbara yes, i found it…. you go first…
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oups! I am not so sure his videos will interest me after reading this... I trust hilde45... Then i will not investigate mike youtube... Time is precious...
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Audio Note has been building excellent and very affordable gear including kits for…. decades…. of course posters w 12 k posts over more than a decade have tumbled to this….. long long ago… without any help from two chairs… one occupied by Mike.. buy a soldering iron and some AN caps or wire and get busy… @hilde45 do i need to see it ? |
So watching the new video from Mikey today. It’s about audio note. A very expensive brand from England which I wouldn’t mind owning. The video starts out with some early hints of mutual likeability between the parties as an early bonding is underway. If only this was captured on video. By the end of the video it’s full on euphoria as audio note really terms on the charm and I think Mikey is in love. This is a great video as we hear about the beginning of a possible long-term friendship. Two guys bonding over Music Sharing. This is what audio listening is all about. This is why people should expand to more seating in their listening rooms. So sad to see those single chairs in rooms with such expensive audio gear being displayed. It’s about 20 minutes and a really nice video.
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That's just creepy. Thanks for pointing it out, @hilde45. |
Does this sound like high end audio marketing hype Mikey would rant about? "They also include "passive RF/EMI filtering technology utilizing rare earth minerals in a polymer matrix, as well as treatments to the live and neutral leg to reduce magnetic flux, as well as a crystal wafer resonating disc which activates in the presence of AC power."
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You’ll definitely want to watch the recent one where he "baits" people on this forum, calling them out by their handle, and claiming that they post so often on the forum that they have no life, are liars, or are professional shills for the big Audio Industry. That’s a classy one that represents his professionalism and knowledge. |
@yyzsantabarbara No problem! I bought my Puritan PSM156 with it. Good deal. |
The $1k DAC is on this page. DIGITAL/ANALOG CONVERTERS | 11stereo
BTW - thanks for the heads up on the 10% off for new buyers. There is a DAC on the page above that I plan on getting. Another option for me. |
hi, sorry for misspelling your name in my initial post. They don’t let you edit the title fields on this forum, only the body of the message. My hands don’t work very well and I have to dictate. your Nat amplifiers with their very oversized tubes are exceptionally cool and yes Breaking them is a valid concern because they’re so big and likely very fragile. Replacing them is a concern as with any tube in an amplifier. Maybe you’ve done it but it would be nice to know what it is that makes these amplifier so good and why the $95,000 version of this is deserving of $95,000. Clearly this is not in your overpriced concerns that you have when you see other gear that’s extremely expensive. By far and it’s not disputed, you are vastly more knowledgable and go to the effort of providing, at times, a very graphic credible critique of the inner workings of audio gear. The autopsies you have done are amazing and not done that often. Being provided a View of the inner workings of these mystery boxes we call audio gear is awesome and anyone would love to see more of this. People spending $5 to $30,000 or more for a mystery box deserve to know more about what’s going on. The producers of these products fall far short in doing this. The Best Buy sale of audio gear via Magnolia is horrifying the way they stuff all the audio gear together in their sales rooms. And yes some of it is of cheaper Quality but still very worthwhile for many people. Why Mcintosh hurts it’s image by being associated with Best Buy is sadly profit motivated. However, it could be a good thing since it exposes the world to better quality audio gear which is in your interests I would think. You’re negative comments about McIntosh are very broad-based and yes certain of their products is not as good as some of their other products. You need to provide more details on why you don’t like certain of their products and maybe you do like certain of their products. I don’t like their av processor equipment, and the lack of their producing a standalone line stage tube pre-amplifier without the damn phono stage which has always been a concern. But their tube amplifiers are very good and to criticize this area doesn’t make sense unless you’re willing to explain why. And you clearly have capabilities and technical expertise to offer these insights. Also B&w speakers, also disappointingly sold by Best Buy, is a speaker that you criticize. You did a video with a BMW 802 D3 a while back. It was in a dealer sales room which had a good amplifier connected to it as I recall, and you took a quick listen and I you recall you saying that it was deserving of more attention. Have you ever given an 800 series B&w speaker a serious listen? You provide comparative listening on your YouTube channel quite a bit, knowing full well that most people can’t hear a damn bit of difference when they’re listening to this despite how good your microphone is. in These situations I think all viewers would love to hear your comments about what you are hearing? |
@mikepowellaudio Great post! Thanks for posting, Mike. Hopefully this clears up a few things for people. |
The difference is that you hear the grasshooper or not.... But hearing the listener envelopment acoustic factor (LV) in a room with a balanced auditory source width (ASW) must be experimented and learned one step at a time. Because it is related to many parameters of frequencies, sound pressure levels and inter aural cues and correlation and other acoustics factors...Here we hear and learn to hear in an incremental controllable way... In audio we dont buy costlier upgrade to hear better as most do ... We learn how to hear and how to listen to begin with to spare our money on pieces of gear BEFORE we had mastered acoustical,electrical and mechanical basic embeddings workings controls of the system. |
I’m guessing many of you are not familiar with the hit TV series titled, "Kung Fu" that came out in 1972 to which I alluded to in my previous post. Some years back, I had a young engineer in the office that often used the term "grasshopper". One day I asked him if he knew where that term came from. He did not. So I pulled up that particular episode of Kung Fu to show him where the Kung Fu master nicknamed Caine Grasshopper. Caine as a young boy is training to be a monk. An older monk, a master who is without sight mentions to Caine that there is a grasshopper at his feet. Startled, Caine jumps and asked his master, "Old man, how could you hear the grasshopper at my feet?" To which the without sight Master replies, "Young man, how is it that you could not?" Now isn’t that just like Audio? |
I dont need and dont listen to many reviewers... I dont buy and dont need to... 😊 But i like the answers of Mikepowellaudio here... I will keep his youtube as an interesting listening. I like sincerity frankness and opinions which may differ from mine if well argued for ... Thanks to him for his answers...
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Mikey, you have not claimed to know anyone that you lump into the category of having no knowledge or experience. If you don't know any commenters here personally how is that any different than what you accuse commenter of here. Your long rambling responses are way too defensive in response to the mild comments you want to label throwing shade on you. Don't think anyone here accused you of having no knowledge or experience. Several positive comments were made by those having direct contact with you. Others simply expressed your schtick not being their cup of tea as a source of information. Dial the drama back. You are the one coming here beating your chest as a pinnacle of knowledge and experience somehow wronged. Myself, and most others here, are not questioning your bona fides. Simply, your presentation style is not for everyone.
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OCD Mikey is an audio anti-salesman. He is the anti-hero, the John Wick of the Audio World. He is the bogeyman that lurks in the shadows of your listening room. Rumors say he can walk on ribbon cables without leaving a crease. He wanders the country like a monk rescuing people from their audio peril. (Caine’s theme playing in the background.) Never met him but his customer’s testimonials are positive and sure, he’s not reticent to ruffle a few feathers. |
There may be some commentary here that could be considered complaining. Regardless, nothing expressed here but opinions. Persons that use YouTube as a platform for any topic have to expect others to express like, dislike, or criticism. Comes with the territory. The OCD Mikey schtick seems to revolve around criticism, factually justified or not. Take criticism as well as dish it out. Long responses based on the perception of unjustified criticism from others you accuse of no personal interface and a lack of knowledge or experience is an interesting tactic. Pot calling the Kettle black. Also, seems like more building the "expert" contrarian brand. For those of us with as much or more time involved in the Audio Hobby as OCD Mikey, knocking overpriced equipment and marketing hype is nothing new or revolutionary.
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Last night I watched a video by Audio Excellence Canada, they claim they "only comment on equipment they sell", and "have a right to do so because they paid for it", etc, and don’t necessarily "care if the manufacturer gets mad at them or not". And how they "carefully review" the products before they decide to sell them. While the criteria for this was not explicitly laid out, it describes their approach. We cannot say this for some resellers who just sell products and pass it on. Apparently AE recently received questions by more than a few subscribers about PS Audio, wanting AE to comment more on Paul M and PS Audio. AE carries PSA and were pretty easy on the discussion, no drama, and one can appreciate that. Whether one believes this strategy or not by AE, it was a simple way of putting their own little disclaimer out there for themselves. Each reviewer has their approach fwtw. We can all appreciate how each of these reviewers invests their time and $ to share products with us in any case. I sure do, goofballs and all, I guess👍 |
Critical thinking is paramount for our society and I fully support it. You should ABSOLUTELY ask yourself who I am and verify my background in the industry, to determine if I am a YouTuber making videos using exotic manufacturers only to bolster my image and perceived credibility, or if I actually am a career Audiophile who has owned a well known USA Amplifier manufacturer, or that I earned a patent in cable design, etc, etc. Its healthy for you to question anyone telling you they are an "expert". This is the age of self proclaimed experts and online smoke and mirrors.. By all means, run me through the gauntlet with everyone else. The issue of "troll" arises when someone does not like my form of message delivery. Maybe its too "rough" for their ears or feelings. So they post pieces that are cloaked in objectivity, yet have a knife covered up. Like this poster saying hes learned from me, but does not understand why the products I choose are not "enough" to be the "real" high end. Evidently TAD Reference One, with NAT Magma GM100 Tubes is not High end..LOL ...Also, one has never "broke" in the 6 years Ive been selling them.. Even if they did break, they are $250 bucks on Ebay or $800 from NAT. If the original poster did any research they would know this, but its still OK to throw shade of "until it breaks" LOL... Ridiculous... and this is what you all get here.. this is the quality of your conversations.. .. The bottom line is just as a few here are accusing me of complaining or being neg, listen to you all complain right here right now..Even to the point of name calling. This whole thread was created in order to complain and give ground for others to complain as well.... Gaslight much ? The funny part is the only complainers here are those that have never interfaced with me.LOL..They are only guessing and making things up. Ever ask yourself if these guys just may do the same thing with Audio gear ? Hello, McFly !... Again, typical for a forum... People speaking on a subject that they have zero experience or knowledge about.. Other people reading their fiction and forming opinion, taking a stand and regurgitating it elsewhere, as if its truth.. I hope you know this makes it very easy for us as sellers to manipulate you. If you all only knew what goes on behind these anonymous monikers. Real, actual, names, credentials and affiliations across the board would change things. As was pointed out above, you all know exactly who I am and what I do, and what my system consists of along with my career history. Few of us know who the hell you are, or if you even have an audio system, or if you are someone hired to shill or harass. The Irony of it all, is that you will be very critical and untrusting with the "popular" folks that speak about audio, but you blindly trust your assumed "peers" on the forums. We know this and it is exploited to its full extent. We may even lie about gear we own on this forum. Not me, however. I dont have that luxury. You can watch my videos and see for yourselves the foundation from which I speak. You can google my history going back 20 years and my associations with industry moguls.. The fact that my amps went into Industrial Light and Magic on the Presidio in SF.. My three trips to Seoul Korea to consult with LG Electronics as Mark Levinson’s (the man, not Harmann) Marketing manager There’s too many to list, but there is the internet to log it all for me.. So go ahead and slam all you want, you will be very aware of what we have been creating in a few short years from now..And you’ll want to be a part of it..Because it makes this hobby a far better place and it includes everyone. See you all on Youtube OCD HiFiGuy |
I’ve bought gear from Mikey. I went down to Atlanta to pick up the gear. I bought his used NAT Audio 805 Generator mono blocks and a NAT Audio Symmetrical Balanced Line Stage that he coordinated the sale from one of his existing customers. I picked up both components from him almost two years ago. |
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This is true. It’s also true that not everyone who has a criticism is a "hater" or a "troll." Unless one is a narcissist, there is a middle ground. Once someone decides to post public videos and build an audience and community, they tacitly become a public figure. That requires some restraint on their part, some modesty. Those who exhibit such moderation earn respect and trust, at least in my book. Those who take pleasure in randomness or snark do not. This YT'er has 24.5k subscribers and 1k videos. He makes videos for public consumption. He sells to the public. That is why he is discussed on this public forum. He is not just another guy selling audio or offering his opinion. He has succeeded to a point where public opinion seeks to discuss his views. That's an accomplishment for him. But it's not without norms. |
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So expressing my dislike for something you like is "immature" huh ? Would it be more mature to placate my audience and fawn over the hyper marketed brands ? If I did that I could probably get a pair or two sent to me to make videos and get high clicks... I could ride those companies marketing dollars into your subscribership. That would raise my payout dollars from YouTube... I must be a horrible businessman.. |
Well hello there gang. Nice of you to all show up in my honor. LOL I’ll take a second here to try and let you know little bit more about me and my methods. This has been my career for 24 years. Not a side gig. I’m not a trust fund kid, nor did I bring my landfall from another industry into hi-fi. I’m completely bootstrapped, and I’ve made all my inroads through a long and arduous time in the industry. At this point of the game I don’t need to please anybody to be popular. This means I don’t need to suck up to the brands and use their names to get notoriety. I don’t need flash and pomp to get people to notice me. I’m honest and direct to a fault. I speak my mind and many times it comes from frustration or resentment from this industry. It’s hard for me to understand why the end user doesn’t like my tack, when I completely stand for the end user against the establishment. This alone should let you know that I’m not an industry shill. I call out the charlatans. I do videos that open up pieces of gear to show proof and back up my words. Do you have any idea how much this upsets the industry? But somehow end users want to slam me ? I’m "childish" or stupid, or something worse, just because I give you my real feelings and say it direct? You dislike that I don’t fall in line with everybody and say nice things about everything? In order to do that I would be compromising my integrity. I would be selling out in order to be liked by everyone,and not hurt anyone’s feelings with my opinion. I apologize if this upsets you. I stand for integrity, and clear direct communication with how one is feeling. I understand this can be off-putting. It is my belief that the end users in audio industry deserve at least one guy that’s willing to say it like he sees it after a 24 year career in this industry. If you don’t know me, all you can do is guess and try and judge with no foundation. People love to put words in my mouth and make stories that are not true. For example: the other day I went into Magnolia at the back of Best Buy. I made a short video letting people know to not be misled into thinking spending money in this room would yield high-end results. Somehow, people with negative bias took it as me making fun of them. I’ve got absolutely no idea how someone came up with this. I stand by my statement that McIntosh is no longer top of the heap. It’s a petered out overpriced brand at this point that does not deliver results, IN MY OPINION. So slam me all you want your if your feelings are hurt that my opinion does not match your own. I’m not going to change my opinion just so that you like me. Because that is manipulating you. Next, for the guy above who thinks I trade gear every other week like all the reviewers do. Why have I only been pitching one DAC for the last four years Playback Designs? Why have I only been pitching one solid-state amplifier Jeff Rowland for the last four years? This is what you guys get from the forums, somebody that doesn’t watch me that makes a claim as if he does watch me. These forums are rife with misinformation, so remain aware. Awareness these days is as at an all time low. If you want to get to know who I am why don’t you call me? Then you can speak from experience. And yes I have a live stream every Wednesday evening 9 PM Eastern on my YouTube channel. Just tune in. You are able to come on either by video or just by typing and ask me any questions you want. this is the best way to determine what I’m all about. My videos are often misinterpreted just like I outlined above with the Magnolia visit. I wish you all a great weekend and happy listening, and please by all means join my live stream on Wednesday night and ask me the hard questions, you know, call me out if you like, I invite it. FOR THE RECORD : I have DACS starting at $1K made in USA All the best, MIKEY (OCDHiFiGuy) |
I too have learned from Mike as he is very experienced in the business side of audio as well as the technical side. As far as the gear he offers ... He concentrates more on gear that generates (to his ear) an enjoyable musical sound vs. hi-fi-tech sound that seemingly much gear these days provides. He also shares his knowledge in the field, and also points out gear which he thinks is over-priced or over-hyped and demonstrates specifically WHY he thinks so, often by dissection of the gear to show you, to save you, the consumer, from unknowingly making a bad purchase. So not only does he provide gear, but also a service to the consumer. For these reasons, I value his opinion more than some other dealers'. You can choose to disagree with his assessments, and that's OK. But IME/IMO he is honestly trying to provide a better audio experience for the consumer. He does offer more "affordable" gear than the NAT and Rowland. You'll need to speak with him to find out what he has. I purchased a Simon Audio CD player, NewOntech DAC, and one of his power cords - all for very "reasonable" prices. When I first contacted him, I made it clear that I didn't have much of a budget and would possibly NOT purchase anything. He didn't mind. He graciously invited me over to his place to hear his gear. He also came over to my place with gear so I could hear it in my system/room. We spent hours of time together on several occasions and not once was I ever pressured into buying anything or made to feel inferior (budget-wise). We always had a good time talking and listening to music. That's been my experience with Mike - always informative, pleasant, fair, and above all, human. |
On that note, a funny analysis from Quora Bot Assistant, LOL, quote:
"Some people may prefer negative attention to no attention at all for a few reasons. Negative attention, such as criticism or conflict, can still provide a sense of validation or acknowledgment of their existence. It might also be a way for them to feel in control or to provoke a reaction from others, even if it’s negative. Additionally, some individuals may have experienced a lack of positive attention in their lives and have become accustomed to negative attention as a way of receiving any form of interaction or recognition. It’s important to approach this topic with empathy and understanding, as there can be complex psychological and emotional factors at play.", unquote.
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OCD Mikey just released a new video. It’s a digital versus turntable rendition of John barleycorn must die. It’s been around for a really long time. Video takes place in what appears to be a customers home and these types of videos are always cool to see what other people are doing. It’s a bare bone presentation without much commentary. It’s a record being played on a very expensive turntable versus a streaming of a remastered version of this song. Frankly I hate sometimes when they remaster older songs from the 70s and perk up Instruments and tonal frequencies to embellish things. I’m not sure it does great service to these wonderful classic recordings. Perfect example are the Beatles albums where they have screwed around by doing all the remasterings and most new versions don’t seem very good but there are a couple that seem better but overall it’s kind of annoying. Let’s respect the Beatles for what they did and after all this is what they heard when they did things and this is much preferred versus how someone else wants it to be sounding regardless of all the technological advances in the current age to make things sound better. I think today’s video from mikey is somewhat positive although it would’ve been good to have some commentary as to what he was hearing but that didn’t happen so kind of disappointing. And maybe a rundown description of the individual system would’ve been of interest. Very impressive to hear him talk about technical aspects of a record being played near the end of the video in the way he rattled off lots of terminology. I learned a few things from the video. Lots of Mikey’s videos are rambling and go on and on and then you have to be patient to hear the value of the video. It is quite an investment to listen for 20 minutes for purposes of capturing a few morsels of knowledge and his brain is just chalk filled with knowledge. The volume of videos is pretty impressive and lots of time goes into these videos every day and then there’s these Live streams he does almost daily which can be compelling to listen to along with 150 other people which doesn’t seem so bad . I’m at a loss to understand why these audio oriented YouTube channels produce so much video content when they only get 5000 to 10,000 views which is a really good thing for an audio youTuber but the amount made from these videos is probably less than $50 so I guess it’s more about creating Goodwill with his audience which ultimately leads to sales of product.
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I had some interactions with him when shopping for a DAC. He sent me a Metrum Pavanne and a COS (don’t recall the model). I didn’t end up buying either one but I’d have no reservations approaching him again. We got into some deep e mail discussions of spiritualty, so I saw another side of him that’s not evident in his videos. My main issue with him is that he seems to display a pattern of severely trashing brands he once championed. Like Mikey, Steve Huff seems like a good guy whose opinions never stick for long. Every few months he’s got a new "favorite" box. There’s no way I can take his assessments seriously, given how often they change. But I still find him interesting and appealing on a basic human level. When it comes to reviewers, I prefer Tarun, Hans and Sean from Zero Fidelity.
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