Pics with ads?

I agree Marco. I mentioned in my first post that pics are only useful if they are of the actual item. I stand by that and may even hedge buying from someone who uses website pics for the very reason you mention. As far as how difficult is it to provide accurate info, we all hope that honesty is the standard, but.....

MY 2ND POST ON THIS ISSUE,HAS ANYBODY EVER BEEN DRAWN TO A PEICE OF GEAR JUST BY THE WAY IT LOOKS? THEN STARTED TO INVESTIGATE FURTHER,CASE IN POINT,I HAD A ALL MCINTOSH SYSTEM & NEVER THOUGHT OF TRYING ANOTHER CD PLAYER TILL I SAW A SHANLING THEN IT WAS OVER,I HAVE SOLD BOTH OF MY MCINTOSH PLAYERS & I WILL VERY SOON BUY THE T-100 & S-100,THE START OF THAT CHOICE STARTED WITH A PICTURE,THE PURPOSE OF PICS ISNT JUST TO KEEP THE EMAIL DOWN THE PICS HELP EDUCATE & PAY OFF FOR ALL IN THE LONG RUN.

No doubt about it Bigjoe, pictures sell products. You have a valid point. Those who don't make the effort may often have a more difficult time selling their product than those who do. There are some products that can sell themselves by reputation alone, but even then, there are those who are unfamiliar with them for whom a pic would be a good selling tool. I care more about what the gear sounds like than how it looks, but that's not to say I'd ignore the latter altogether. No, I don't think I've ever purchased an audio item on looks alone. Sometimes it does not relate at all to how that item performs. Some of the most outstanding DAC's are pretty plain. My AudioMagic Stealth PC is the kind of thing you might think was more likely produced by a toy manufacturer than for high-end audio use, yet it does the job beautifully and I don't care if it is just a lightweight plastic black box with a blue light on it. I do admire products that have it all together, beauty and brains in one package, but but I wouldn't base a decision to buy solely on one criterium or the other. There's nothing wrong with having different priorities......whatever floats your boat.

Marco

PS What's with the all-caps posts? Is your caps-lock key stuck, or are you doing your impression of Owen Meany ;-)?

I was going to say the same thing to Bigjoe. " Big " letters "SHOUT" at you and hurt the eyes.

On the above posts in caps. I must agree.

For some reason I find it annoying and I don't finish reading the post. It is not that I really have something against 'shouting', but it is just that since nobody else around here does it, use of such caps become unnecessary and a distraction.