Blocking the propaganda


I have a friend who lives in the boondocks who is without question the foremost expert in this Country on a certain vintage turntable. I will leave the particulars out so as to avoid making him the focus of this discussion or letting someone else figure out who I am talking about. He said something to me recently that I always knew on a certain level but have not seen "transparently" until his comment. His statement is this; "audio magazines including Stereophile are useful for birdcages and if you run out of toilet paper and nothing else". This was in the context of discussing Mike Fremer's preference for 9" arms. I have concluded that he is absolutely correct, but only for those who have the guts to really dive into audio with open eyes and willing to expend the effort to focus all of their attention and for lack of a better word, devotion, to figuring out the truth for themselves. This person I speak of has unquestionably done that. He has engineered his own products that make his turntable of choice as good as it can get. He thinks outside the box. Convention or "accepted thought" mean nothing to him. The analogy that comes to mind is wine. I know of many who will not buy a wine unless some critic has given it a 90 or above. When someone points out how silly it is to rely on published numbers from someone they don't know, they claim that they rely on experts and numerical ratings because they lack the patience, time and resources to taste wine options for themselves. What it boils down to is intellectual laziness. I intend to filter out 100% of what I read in magazines and even audio boards as absolutely unreliable. I have no doubt that I will fall short, but it is a lofty goal nonetheless. We all ought to forge our own trail(s) with sweat and effort and open minds and avoid laziness. Apologies to those who don't appreciate sermons. 
128x128fsonicsmith
It has been a long time since I felt a reviewer or a price tag could tell me a damn thing about quality. The "high-end" sound has become a trend far away from natural sounding music to my ears. 

So as I have said for a very long time, to your own ears be true, and no one else's except your partner. ;) You who will live with the gear and will pay the money for it should be the one's who are pleased, not a reviewer, club or test gear. 

I also have said it is a lot of fun to talk tech and shop, but in the end only our hearts and ears should matter. 

Best,

E
Post removed 
@fsonicsmith -M. Fremer is a "kibitzer" in the good Yiddish sense of the word. There's a pretty well-known Lenny Bruce schtick about NY'ers that I'll have to dig out...
And for people who are newbies, thinking all the stuff written is 'propaganda? Foolhardy to an extreme. Plenty of folks really care about helping others to learn, and care about what they write.
Well, let's examine that. That speaker manufacturer with the seven or twenty one tweeters in the middle of two woofers in a cheaply constructed box with auto paint colors has suddenly been advertising heavily in Stereophile and after four or five months of their advertising what do they get, but a positive review. Hmmm. 
Post removed 
More to discover