Article: Audiophile Style State of the Union

[PeterG]

Hi Chris,

 

I applaud this (long overdue) effort to get rid of some of the incivility on AS.  I'm also a subjectivist with little need to read the 100th iteration of the same objectivist statement.

 

But I'm a bit concerned this is the wrong solution.  Two thoughts:

 

First, too much of the internet allows people to easily filter out those with whom we disagree.  In politics, this manifests itself as too many Democrats watching only MSNBC, and too many Republicans watching only Fox.  Collectively, we lose a common set of facts and ideas.  So I hope that does not happen here.

 

Second, you seem to suggest a much more obvious solution in your post when you refer to the usual suspects causing you to steer clear of certain threads.  I have the same problem.  The real answer is to get rid of the usual suspects so that the rest of us can enjoy your (our?) awesome website in aesthetic, intellectual, collegial peace.

 

Thanks again for all your great work

[PeterG]

18 hours ago, Sal1950 said:

Not true at all.  Amir lets people post most anything they like, but they will probably be asked, mostly by members, to supply verifiable confirmation. That IMO is only fair. You can't just make up fake news there and expect to get away with it.

 

I hope you'll correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Amir the guy who went on an incredible rant about the Schiit Yggdrasil because it did not measure well enough to be as good as the rest of the world believes it to be?  The whole episode seemed like a personal attack.  Regardless of whether the Yggy is a good DAC or not, it was not objective approach, in the common English use of the word, even if he was asserting an "objectivist" position.  So let's not get too fixed on Amir being fair or scientific in his approach

[PeterG]

17 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

It’s going to take some common sense and communication between those who really want to help make it work. If you aren’t up for it, I understand. 

I don't expect any of my comments to be objectivist. but maybe it would help those who are moved to send them a notification similar to other notifications on post reactions

[PeterG]

12 hours ago, marce said:

But it is OK to read the same subjective statement a million times...

Why do you have to hide behind the teachers legs, provide proof, explanations and fight science with science, because music reproduction is science... Making and creating music is art, capturing, recording and playback is engineering.

I did not say that, and no I do not think it is helpful for people to repeat things endlessly.  If I wanted to hide behind someone's legs I would have remained silent, or just upvoted others. 

 

The beginning of your post is the kind of incivility I hope we can get rid of.  Ironically, the end of your post argues for my position that we should ban people not segregate ideas--the music and its reproduction are (should be?) inseparable to enjoyment, are they not?

[PeterG]

6 hours ago, Jud said:

Back a few years this all was new enough that I think more of us felt we needed help where we could find it, and had an obligation to provide it if we could. There was more of a sense of being in this together before we all got so damn swaggeringly confident in ourselves.

YES!!!  In my early years at this, Chris and other posters  on CA were absolutely essential to my ability to put together a decent system.  THANKS TO ALL ADVICE GIVERS OF OLD!!!

[PeterG]

3 hours ago, Samuel T Cogley said:

No doubt some will disagree, but MQA just got a huge boost from Audiophile Style.  Gone now is the venue that dared challenge the Old Guard of the Audiophile Elders.  Gone now is the irreverence that made Computer Audiophile Style what it is today.

 

I understand the business need to bow to the market.  But the "subjectivists" just won the lottery here.  As more time passes, it will become more and more indistinguishable from forums like Hoffman.

 

A truly sad day.

Hi Sam,

I disagree with many of your posts, but at least all the ones I remember were well expressed, and many of those were very interesting.  Interesting enough that I once Googled your name.  I hope you will not be discouraged for long, that you will continue to post, and that you live long and prosper

[PeterG]

17 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I've always looked at what Jude has done with Head-Fi as a great model. He has a huge audience that has maximized its enjoyment of this wonderful hobby. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that in my book.

 

Let's remember that popularity isn't the best measure of success.  I recently bought my first IEMs (spurred on by one of your passing comments, thanks!)  Though the various headphone websites were helpful, they were not nearly as helpful as what I normally expect from AS, Stereophile, and Absolute Sound, just to name a few.  The headphone guys are cheerleaders for just about everything they write about, and all the reviews seem like different levels of ecstasy.  Maybe it's because so many of the reviews note that the reviewer received a free pair of IEMs???

[PeterG]

17 hours ago, esldude said:

Those bygone days were when you asked how to connect something you'd be told use a USB cable meeting spec.  While now the same question with that answer will result in being told you'll need a somewhat expensive cable, and one or two USB cleaners, and maybe some optional power supplies for the cleaners before you can expect good results. 

 

I learned a lot in those days, now you'll mostly be helped to spend lots of money on dubious gear for some pretty simple setups.

 

True--I was thrilled with my $200 DragonFly (CASH List!, and my son enjoys it today.

 

But also true--I was dubious of interconnects and power products until I tried them myself.  I still think some are garbage and obscenely overpriced.  But I also have experienced huge improvements in sound quality and enjoyment from others (that were also obscenely overpriced, haha)

 

The best way to use theses sites is as a source of hypotheses to be tested with one's own ears