Fear leads to the dark side of audiophile forces.
Fear of cable impurities causing imperfections to the sound, Fear of jitter, Fear of house panel wiring, Fear of interconnects robbing the system of sound, Fear that XYZ is too cheap/low cost to possibly sound good, fear that only gold, silver and diamonds can give a high quality sound, Fear that a tone control destroys the sound, Fear that digital is missing stuff between the bits, and, of course, the Fear of NOT keeping up with the Jones'!!
When you walk into a Hi-Fi store or you start a thread on A'gon with a concern then it is not long before your worst nagging fears of doubt about your system or sound will find reinforcement. Fear is one of the reasons people change.
It is Fear that leads to doubt and doubt ultimately leads to disatisfaction...no matter how great or perfect the sound....once the seeds of doubt have been sown, watered and nutured then it is back on the 'ol merry-go-round... |
Are you asking about why so many Harbeth speakers specifically are on the market on this site?
I don't think there is much more too it than that they are high end speakers that bring a good price on the open market and this is a leading high end audio site. Tha's how it works. |
Shadorne,
Your comments regarding fear being an effective motivator is of course so true in general. Much of what any living creature does is unfortunately but of course often dictated by fear. Regarding audio, making decisions based on fears is generally not the happy path to satisfaction. |
Lone wolf. I tend to look at these 'hot' items as faddish. Although, that's not always true, it is more often the case.
As for the never ending trail of cycling through components, it may explain more about one's personality, or one's listening experience than the product's quality. We all need to learn how to listen, what qualities to listen for, and which qualities are most important to us. I put linearity and transparency at the top of my list, with orchestral music as the primary source for revealing those qualities. When that's right, all other types of music and recordings will sound right. |
Much of what any living creature does is unfortunately but of course often dictated by fear. Yeah, however, most of what a man does seems to be dictated by his wife and mother-in-law.... ;-) We got more brawn but it would seem we get outmanoeuvred by their wits everytime... |
Curiosity has been known to get the best of me sometimes.
I tend to make my own path in general though. I took delivery of some Pioneer S-3EX floorstanders a couple days ago with no buzz on them what-so-ever. They are gorgeous and definitely look their price point and above. I am still getting the positioning right but they sound great already. (Buzz Alert) You will probably be hearing a lot about them in the months to come. |
"Yeah, however, most of what a man does seems to be dictated by his wife and mother-in-law."
And that's not due to fear??? |
Forget flavor of the month. These are just hot topics of discussion and alone does not establish any merit.
Products that have been around for a while and have garnered a good # of positive reviews from users tend to be the safest.
My rule of thumb is that if you find 2-3 independent sources that say the same thing about a product that has been around for a while in separate reviews, there is a good chance that what is said has some truth. |
I can think of a couple reasons that are not a negative commentary on the people selling the flavor of the month.
1. Many people on Audiogon don't have the oportunity to listen to an item they are considering buying in their own system prior to purchase. They buy something that sounds like it may be what they are looking for and put it up for sale when it turns out not to be.
Some people may not feel comfortable taking up a dealer's time when they have no intention of buying new. I hope there's a lot of these people out there.
2. Someone may notice a significant improvement in sound when they put a new speaker (or amp, etc.) into their system and decide they want something even better. So the item goes back up for sale.
I also think that a lot of buying and selling is done for less positive reasons like audiophilia nervosa or the buzz (short term) you get when that new piece of gear arrives. |
I have not added one piece of new gear in the past two years. My merry-go-round has been painted a new color,and that color is called, "contented". YMMV |
I first noticed the flavor-of-the-month-resale-cycle about 5, 6 or was it 7 years ago. The product was the Bel Canto EVO "digital amp". The online press was mad for them and the "buzz" here and other places was furious full of hyperbole. Then, about 6 months down the road, "used" Bel Canto EVOs showed up for sale here on a daily basis. At first the prices were high as the ink on the reviews was still wet. Then, over the following 6 months, when the real "reviewers" of this hobby (you) began to chime in and suddenly, the Emperor was wearing a nice new robe! I even jumped in and in the end, I lost about $200 between the time I purchased one and sold it 3 months later. It was a good amp, but, as a comparison, the best "digital" amps of today could have killed the Bel Canto as soon as it arrived.
You see it all the time. Just look for the "hottly" pimped piece of gear this month and, like clock work, about 4-6 months down the road this place will be ripe with plenty of "used" ones. Once in a while, the product lives up to the hype. As of yet, I have not seen a glut of second hand Maggico products on the 'gon.
What products have you all seen in the after glow of rave reviews?? Thanks, John |
Speaking as a longtime bargain hunter, it's a wonderful phenomenon. Keepem coming please. |
Will the Spectron III (right now, panegyrics everywhere) go the way of the Bel Canto, or will it survive and thrive? What do you think? |
I'm with Timrhu. I applaud those out there willing to spend their money to live at the bleeding edge of great sound at great cost. I also applaud those who will buy it secondhand and bleed a bit less when they sell it on. I expect almost everything in my system got to me third-hand or worse. |
Remember the Art DI/O dac?
Don't hear much about that "giant killer" anymore, mod'd or not. I'll admit I got caught up in the hype, but stopped short of buying one.
You'll find that there are a small minority of people who change components as often as most others change underwear. And those people tend to be some of the most vocal enthusiasts of whatever they own. The upside of this neurosis is that every once in a while, they do stumble across a jewel that stands up to the test of time.
By waiting a year or two, you can find some great gear via these serial swappers, I know I have. |
Are jl audio subs a candidate for the flavor? there is nearly always a plethora of them for sale. They are touted as the best so why are they being sold so soon after purchase?
On the other hand they maybe to good and the neighbors in the next city are complaining. |
Good point about JL - perhaps they are too good to be true - so amazingly cheap that something has to give? They are by far best value for money. I have read at least one review where there was a problem - but it might have been a shipping issue - so I am speculating here. As someone put it well,"it is easy to make a single good sounding speaker but it is quite another thing to make them reliable and mass produce them"... |
While I design many models of loudspeaker. I don't obsolete any models I build ea loudspeaker to last decades of use not to be replaced by better models. We build short model runs with exotic parts ea a work of loudspeaker art. We build designs right from the start so owner never feels left out holding dated kit because a new version is available. When I was a check book audiophile I suffered with this you buy v2 next thing you know v3s out and your left holding yesterdays bread. Low resale, guys online and in print saying how all the improvements have taken the v3 to a whole other level over v2. What a crock but we as audiophiles and comsumers fall for this since the 1950s |
I am not sure fear does underline the herd instinct. We are all looking for some pointers for where to look for new kit. We all treat the magazines with some scepticism, though I think they are useful. They are under too many divers commercial pressures. A thread with lots of different positive feedback can be very compelling.
Personally I never by new unauditioned, but do 2nd hand, thinking I can sell on for minimum loss if the kit does'nt fit in. Positive response to a thread is a strong guide for me |
There is something very appealing and cost effective about easily plopping out a cone and plopping in a replacement, if and when the time arrives, or even if one wants to upgrade the driver. The best part about owning these 'lifers' is it is very DIY friendly even for the ham fisted!. It is literally a speaker for life.
Seems very sensible to me. Wonder If B&W would ever follow suit? |
Personally I never by new unauditioned, but do 2nd hand, thinking I can sell on for minimum loss if the kit does'nt fit in. Positive response to a thread is a strong guide for me Yes but where do you think all the positive comments come from ....it might be those preparing to unload their gear second hand of course!!!! How many times have you seen a person right odes, sonnets and eulogies about experiences with certain new equipment and thier new found "nirvanna" yet a few months later ....surprise surprise ....said item is for sale!!! |
Absolutely, you have to be aware that entries might be to help unload your unwanted kit. However if there are lots of positives from different people, it makes for a pretty large conspiracy.
I have bought many items 2nd hand unauditioned, with no disasters to date, a fools luck probably |
