Why are people always getting into pissing matches because they think what they have is better
Luckily I don't see it as much on here compared to other audio websites. I just find it so annoying I stop looking at the thread. There are just to many variables in audio to debate what is better than what. I guess it's just an ego thing that I don't want to take part in.
They think they are smarter or have more insight than others, some sort of audio satori if you will. And if this is true, then what they own is obviously better because they have selected it with the enlightenment they have achieved.
Leaving the rest of us as audio fools on a lower plain of existence. I don't think it has as much to do with money as most of us want to think.
Maybe Audiogon should have two "levels", one for "the enlightened" or "audio arhat" and one for the rest of us.
I think the new format is going to compound that problem.No longer will comments be moderator approved before posting which means if tempers flare it will spill over into the forums.As a retiree I'm on a strict budget which means my gear is all high value low cost(re:chinese made) .I've heard the big name big $ gear & in no way can I justify spending that kind of $ when the low cost stuff sounds as good as it does.
Taters, You started some of those pissing matches and caused some fur to fly. Now you started this thread all innocent like. IMO: You’re enjoying sitting back and watching the pissing matches. Entertainment maybe? I’ll admit it can be fun at times. Yup, I'm calling you out brother! ;^)
This hobby has a three-tier hierarchy of audio gear that can be generalized for performance-wise as: low-fi, mid-fi, and hi-fi. Price-wise, it generally follows in lockstep.
Okay ..... So what? At one time or another, most of us started in one or both of the low and mid arenas. Its all about the love of music AND the ethereal journey to OZ in this hobby.... It's enjoyment spans all three tiers equally - full stop - without any value judgements or any suggested "snobbery" by the majority of the hobbyists.
The irritant IMO is that most if not all, of these "pissing matches" are actually completely avoidable.
Invariably they start as just a dumb provocation by a small outrider fringe group, who somehow seem aggressively compelled (emphasis added) to assert their own personal anecdotal bias and value judgement as fact. Then comes the invariable predictable defence response to that proverbial "tossing of the gauntlet".
Recent rehashed thread examples include inter alia: - cheap kit can actually match or even trump quality-build kit; and - the hobbyists who choose to quietly reside in the upper-$$ tier are somehow the misguided and arrogant to boot.
Most of us old-timers disdain the very existence and f the resulting "pissing matches" [e.g another example -- the tiresome, irritating, repeated, and endless cable war threads].
This forum used to have a gentleman's honor code of conduct and posting subject matter --- it's high-time for a re-Genesis of the same .
it depresses me when a thread devolves into argument. Seems to happen on Audio Asylum a lot. Its usually the same few guys who know it all and say there is only one way. I am relatively new to high end audio and learn plenty from these threads and truly don't understand how people can take themselves so seriously and talk so loudly and definitively about something like audio that is so subjective. I simply stay away and don't respond to those folks. jet
I disagree. Richard Galliano is substantially better accordionist than I am and has substantially better accordion than I am. Even if I practice for the next 5 years 8..10hrs per day, I might not reach his incredible skill of jazz accordionist.
Read anything by Dan Ariely – especially "Predictably Irrational" – and it will become clear to you pretty quickly. He also has several TED talks you can watch online...
Taters, some thread you have started (again). I guess we can expect more attempts at psychoanalysis and yes, you may indeed sitting back smirking at it all. Show more of your dark side :^)
Funny that I had an industry professional share this analogy with me recently . . . I don't think he'd mind me posting it:
"HiEnd HiFi is mostly a male hobby and then the whole theme goes back to
the cavemen, where the strongest and fittest would get the most respect
and all the girls. Same with cars, watches also. One always wants the
best, the most exclusive and as HiFi seldom drives on Friday nights
around the block to show to everyone, one now has the internet to show
how cool and ingenious one is. There isn't a problem with that if one
really is, but then the logic is mostly left behind, but as most do the
same stupid show, they all seem to understand each other very well and
logic is left away."
Great post! I think it's mostly ego. And then, our relentless pursuit for a perfect system (if there is such a thing out there). I have been in this hobby for 15+ years. As part of audiophile community, all of us deserve bit of recognition for the time and effort we have vested in putting together our 'dream' system.
Had to look up the Dunning-Kruger Effect and glad I did. Great stuff there. Sweet quote:
The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which unskilled people
make poor decisions and reach erroneous conclusions, but their
incompetence denies them the metacognitive ability to recognize their
mistakes. The unskilled therefore suffer from illusory superiority,
rating their ability as above average, much higher than it actually is,
while the highly skilled underrate their own abilities, suffering from
illusory inferiority.
I think there are as many different audio systems out there as there are different sets of ears. It amazes me at how many companies are in the high end audio biz. So this argument between people is natural and is a GOOD thing. How boring would it be if there were only three choices for everyone when it came to speakers!!
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