Why do Audiophiles feel the need...

Great topic. My beleif is that if you haven't used it , you don't have an opinion.I get a chuckle out of people voicing opinions on equipment and acessories that they have never heard, let alone used in their systems, what a joke!!

This discussion or any other is not going to stop folks from responding to topics they know nothing about. If you have an issue with it, then don't post a topic.

We're all largely advocates and my sense is that we would benefit by increasing our inquiry to advocacy ratio. Anyone else share this sentiment?

can anyone tell me how it is possible to know (definitively) the sound of a component?

opinions are conjectures. most of what is said on any subject is an opinion because it is very difficult to attain knowledge.

But when someone has components in a system and they do change out something in the chain, that is still a valid opinion IMO. The reason being is that if I have a benchmark of what my system sounds like with specific components, regardless of what I replace, the overall sound might change, degrade or get better or may not change at all. From that benchmark, one could ascertain that for this particular configuation, an amp or premap harmonizes well with the rest of the system. To me, synergy seems to be a great part of the equation. When I listened to the Einstein preamp, I noticed a more in your face shout at me attitude compared to my 5th row Octave preamp.

I am stating that I did not like the Einstein over the Octave, but I prefer the soundstage that the Octave presents.

Soliciting opinions, or better yet, experiences from people who have different realworld experiences, usage with the equipment in question and in different configurations, aids tremendoulsy to someone seeking more information about a product.

If the trend pattern seems to indicate an amount of disparaging problems, setup complications, customer service and limited amount of synergestic equipment matches, I MIGHT think twice about a product. But, if I know about such issues and I am willing to accept them, I might just go and by the product, contrary to popular trends.

Soliciting an opinion in these forums is a means to measure the amount of comments, either negative or positive and then make your own informed decisions. If I based my decisions on what other thought of my equipment, I probably would not have as much musical satisfaction as I do now.

Therein lies another factor to the equation, it is your money and you intend to spend it as you choose anyway. make yourself a list of the components that you feel suit your needs, and then start trying to conduct research using the Internet, other forums, and of course in house demonstrations. I find these measures help me to establish a baseline that is far more satisfying then just soliciting opinions alone. Take the purchase; most likely an expense that is calculated, if you are like the rest of us in the lower income brackets, then create a process along the way that will help you evaluate what you want, need to like in that component. Again, it is for you in the end, not for anyone else, so ultimately, you will need to make the decsions, no matter how many opinions you solicit.

Ok, can someone tell me the best silver interconnect for tube amps! Your opinions needed, please.
Ciao,
Audioquest4life