Does the Audiophile Community Have a Problem?

That article could have been written in the 1950s save for the talk about on-line audio forums.
 
Facebook Groups should net be a benchmark for anything.

Aside from the allotted asses on any given forum, I have found most Audiophiles Friendly (here especially) and Helpful even tho I don't live in the same camp as most. Many take the time to explain things and give suggestions, pointers, and criticism both good and bad.

Most women just don't care about the details of Audio, they just want to turn it on and play music. Many of us are very lucky to have partners and wives that hear the differences and appreciate what goes into it all, but that sadly is not the norm. Most men don't care about Shoe Shopping but most women do. Are women ruining things for us?
 
We have all read these items noted in the article:

A new user asks about a specific product and gets told that it is junk and they need to spend at least double that to get something worthwhile.

A user asks for a comparison of two products and instead gets a litany of suggestions why they should be looking at something else entirely

Users ask basic questions and get answers that border on electrical engineering courses and often include pseudo-science rather than just addressing the question.

Threads get hijacked and become battles between opposing camps (cables, power cords, etc…).


Yep I've seen these examples on other forums, but here at least we have Mike and Mark (MDP) that keep things from going off the rails.
 
Facebook groups that cater to too wide a swath of "audiophiles" (and I REALLY strain to call the measurement cartel & DBT junkies "audiophiles") will always be a disaster. The groups that work well are very focused or themed (often brand specific), and tightly moderated to kick out people who are a bad fit. So it only has a problem when you try to connect all the sub-communities and budget stratas into one larger group, or need a way to help newbies navigate which communities are right for them (which is likely to change over time).
 
I think Audioshark and a couple of others really try to keep things positive and on track. It doesn't mean we can't talk about the nonsense that goes on (I can't wait to comment on the implosion at dCS USA...just waiting for the official press release) and other related topics. But we try to keep it civil. We had a few guys ruffling feathers for political reasons and myself, Mark and Joe felt quite strong about things and took care of it. There are definitely other forums that have nothing but daily pissing contests by inexperienced individuals or ones with a system that looks like it was sourced from Goodwill or better yet, no system at all telling everyone else what they should be doing. And then there is the never ending cables, digital/analog debates. For the one guy who recently said cables don't matter, yes, looking at your system, I would agree.

I do often see someone will ask about going with amp A or amp B and always (myself included!) will comment on considering something else. It's not because A or B aren't good choices, but just to be sure they consider everything. You know what, many times they haven't and welcome the suggestions, although, often it just leads to mental paralysis and they end up buying nothing.

Regarding Porsche, I guess the author hasn't spent much time on Rennlist or any of the Porsche, Ferrari, Lambo, etc. forums or Facebook pages. Just this morning, some young buck was going on about how the Corvette C8 (not Z06) was a Ferrari 488 killer. Within a few minutes, a guy posted a picture of his 488 next to his C8 and laid into the guy. I remember his closing comment: "the 488 is like a super model for Victoria Secret. The C8 is like a model for Kohls." This is on the C8 forum. I post pictures of my GT4 on the Porsche forum and I will get "it will always be looking up to a GT3" comments all day long. If I'm being honest, I agree. So yes, it can get pretty nasty.

Regarding women in HiFi, I can honestly say, that most of the ladies we have dealt with, have been very difficult. I think they are expecting to walk in and see that "75% off" sticker all around the store. This isn't Zales. Skinny Mike and I spent over TWO YEARS going around and around and around with this one particular lady. She insisted repeatedly we come in on Saturday's to demo this or that for her. She bought nothing. She wanted the $50,000 system for $10,000. No matter how many times we went around and around with her, she just didn't understand. We then had to listen to how she had been to every audio store in Florida. In fact, she is quite well known to most of the dealers and yes we all agree she wasted ALL of our time. I have no issue with women in hifi, but realize, these are big boy toys you're wanting and they come with the big boy price.

The pandemic has given people more online time I'm sure of it and these comments have just accelerated, but as Mark said, it's not new. I remember reading some very colorful letters to the editor decades ago.

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Criminy Mike. Find something in the store you have not been able to sell and want gone. Put a huge price on it then knock it down 70%. Two problems solved. :victory:
 
Marty posted the exact same thread on World Boxing Federation and the replies are interesting. It didn't take long before rocks and bricks were thrown.
 
Marty posted the exact same thread on World Boxing Federation and the replies are interesting. It didn't take long before rocks and bricks to be thrown.

No surprise.


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And why is it that all forums have become virtual WWE fighting matches? We have people wanting to fight at audio shows all because of varying opinions on audio gear. My god what have we become?

No surprise.


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Mark does this not show the meaning of the article? Cannot post anything anywhere without a fight. Should I post it at ASR and see if I get a bounty put on my head?

Marty posted the exact same thread on World Boxing Federation and the replies are interesting. It didn't take long before rocks and bricks were thrown.
 
Mark why the derogatory comment about WBF? Is this not perpetuating the forum infighting?

Marty posted the exact same thread on World Boxing Federation and the replies are interesting. It didn't take long before rocks and bricks were thrown.
 
And why is it that all forums have become virtual WWE fighting matches? We have people wanting to fight at audio shows all because of varying opinions on audio gear. My god what have we become?

Some forums seem to encourage this type of behavior or at a minimum tolerate it for increased views. I’m surprised some can’t see this, especially ones promoting direct advertising.

Other forums take the position that the constant bickering and back stabbing of other members won’t be tolerated and isn’t good in the long run. Don’t we get enough of that in our normal lives and social media apps?


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Thanks Mike for maintaining a reasonable level of civility here on AudioShark. I believe you are the one and only moderator here correct?

Some forums seem to encourage this type of behavior or at a minimum tolerate it for increased views. I’m surprised some can’t see this, especially ones promoting direct advertising.

Other forums take the position that the constant bickering and back stabbing of other members won’t be tolerated and isn’t good in the long run. Don’t we get enough of that in our normal lives and social media apps?


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Thanks Mike for maintaining a reasonable level of civility here on AudioShark. I believe you are the one and only moderator here correct?

Thank you. No, MDP and joeinid are the moderators.

Joe uses a kid gloves approach.

Mark uses a hammer.

It all depends on what approach they feel is needed.


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I guess that speaks volumes when members don’t really know who the moderators are!

Thank you. No, MDP and joeinid are the moderators.

Joe uses a kid gloves approach.

Mark uses a hammer.

It all depends on what approach they feel is needed.


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Marty-Why did you expect anything less would happen when you posted the same thread on WBF? And now you apologized to Ron for starting the thread and you question why I jokingly refer to WBF as the World Boxing Federation. You didn't have your fingers off the keyboard before the guns and knives came out from the loving members of WBF on your thread.
 
Far too many people have Internet balls... post ridiculous things that they would never say to your face. Yes, we have all had a scuffle or two, but most of us try to have reasonable comments... more importantly, very rarely have I seen a comment here that the poster would not say to the person's face... a bit different then many forums out there.

Mike, Joe, and Mark do a great job keeping things civil around here!
 
I didn’t think it would spark a war Mark but now I know better.


Marty-Why did you expect anything less would happen when you posted the same thread on WBF? And now you apologized to Ron for starting the thread and you question why I jokingly refer to WBF as the World Boxing Federation. You didn't have your fingers off the keyboard before the guns and knives came out from the loving members of WBF on your thread.
 
And why is it that all forums have become virtual WWE fighting matches? We have people wanting to fight at audio shows all because of varying opinions on audio gear. My god what have we become?

Marty, the whole damn world is upside down right now. I think it's fair to say that most here are thankful for what they have, most importantly health, family, friends and the good music we can escape to............
 
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