84Audio: Thanks for your thoughtful words. I want to reiterate that was never, and am not, in any way skeptical about the quality or performance of the Berning amps. I have absolutely no reason to be, and plenty of Audiogon commentary from members whose judgements I respect indicates exactly the opposite. (And I would agree that the Berning company probably has no need of subterfuge to promote its wares.) What I was skeptical about was only the post itself, but I was ready to accept at face value any reassurances offered by those who might stand to benefit from this thread's influence, or from its author, who I would still glady hear from again.
Allanbhagan: Thanks for coming on this thread to respond. If you are stating that there is no intentional or directed shilling going on here - which is the question I invited your input about - then that's good enough for me. I was being 100% sincere in soliciting a denial of any undue involvement on the part of yourself or Mr. Berning, because I truly did not expect that there was any. Please consider that my way of affording you the opportunity to clear the air of any possible suspicions which may have been raised in readers' minds based solely on the post's *appearance*.
I disagree that there are "hundreds of threads like this" on Audiogon. This one may simply have been worded in such a way that it caused my eyebrows to rise, without any devious intent on the part of the original poster, and I recognized that possibility, but posts worded like this are actually quite rare here in my experience. It *reads* as if it might be disingenuous, and that combined with the fact that I had never seen this poster's username before is what prompted me check his forum history. Like I said, although it's relatively rare, this is not the first time I have noticed a post having this sort of tone being offered by someone with no previous forum contributions, and it's not the first time I've questioned one that does. The possibility of abuse in an anonymous web environment is not a fictional concern. If no wrong has been done, then please accept that no insult was intended. I have no agenda beyond the integrity of this forum.
Carry on with the Berning love-fest...
Allanbhagan: Thanks for coming on this thread to respond. If you are stating that there is no intentional or directed shilling going on here - which is the question I invited your input about - then that's good enough for me. I was being 100% sincere in soliciting a denial of any undue involvement on the part of yourself or Mr. Berning, because I truly did not expect that there was any. Please consider that my way of affording you the opportunity to clear the air of any possible suspicions which may have been raised in readers' minds based solely on the post's *appearance*.
I disagree that there are "hundreds of threads like this" on Audiogon. This one may simply have been worded in such a way that it caused my eyebrows to rise, without any devious intent on the part of the original poster, and I recognized that possibility, but posts worded like this are actually quite rare here in my experience. It *reads* as if it might be disingenuous, and that combined with the fact that I had never seen this poster's username before is what prompted me check his forum history. Like I said, although it's relatively rare, this is not the first time I have noticed a post having this sort of tone being offered by someone with no previous forum contributions, and it's not the first time I've questioned one that does. The possibility of abuse in an anonymous web environment is not a fictional concern. If no wrong has been done, then please accept that no insult was intended. I have no agenda beyond the integrity of this forum.
Carry on with the Berning love-fest...