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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
whart's avatar
whart
3,039 posts
 
+1 @tomcy6
I think I first started posting here (rather than just searching) when I was considering the transition from Crosby Quads to horns. I got some good input from a number of people, including Fred Crowder, who owned Crosby Quads and had moved to a horn type speaker.
Since then, I’ve gotten help on electrical issues in running dedicated lines (@Jea48 has been a wonderful resource), and on other targeted subjects, including air compressor issues (for my tonearm), grounding using an isolation transformer and the use of surfactants in ultrasonic record cleaning machines.
Someone once told me that in any discussion, public discourse, meeting, whatever, take what you get that helps and don’t fret the stuff that isn’t constructive or helpful. Interestly, as my knowledge base increased, I found some older threads here (and on other Internet resources) to have more relevance.
@fsonicsmith - I think in some ways you overstated your "filter" and drew the ire of other members. For example, you acknowledged learning about a tonearm via the forum, but then did your own research. If so, you are still finding value in the forum as a starting point.
@elizabeth - your input is valued, as is the input of others here. So, as far as I’m concerned, I do "care" what others think if I am seeking their help or input on something. Perhaps that’s not what you meant.
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As to snark and Internet sniping, I think it’s always been there. I helped advise a forum related to cars some years ago and the amount of rancor among well-heeled, supposedly sophisticated people was over the top. I don’t think it’s gotten worse, we are just more attuned than ever to the words spoken and written via the Net since it is now a primary connection to the world around us, for better or worse.
fsonicsmith's avatar
fsonicsmith OP
958 posts
 
@fsonicsmith - I think in some ways you overstated your "filter" and drew the ire of other members. For example, you acknowledged learning about a tonearm via the forum, but then did your own research. If so, you are still finding value in the forum as a starting point.
You're absolutely right. Right that I went too far and that it drew ire for that reason. It was a poor choice of words on my part. I went overboard in trying to convey the premise which is that in the modern world, we think that we are too busy to pull up our sleeves and dig into how things work and why for ourselves. Too busy to figure out for ourselves what is and what is not important.That we tend to rely on Motor Trend or Car and Driver for rating cars while we don't expend the effort to learn how to change the oil. Or continuing with cars, that we buy an expensive sports car but don't take a professional driving course on a track to learn how to properly drive it. I reported the comment by this turntable technician and how it made me think differently. When you disassemble customer's turntables and rebuild them from the ground up day after day and install different tonearms and listen and design and machine your own custom parts, you develop a knowledge base that is truly independent. In particular, this turntable technician taught me that the choice of cartridge is far less important than proper alignment. On any given deck, he can make the table sound better with a simple vintage Shure cartridge than most of us can with some megabuck cartridge. 
wolf_garcia
6,696 posts
 
I read audio mags and forums for entertainment...like many my ability to assemble an audio system is driven by my ears only, and if somebody else hears good things from an item I own, hey, that's great (A reviewer recently liked my Klipsch Heresy III speakers, and I thought it was my secret...who knew?). The market for expensive tweaks often made up of inexplicable "magic" properties is one that always needs criticism, simply because it's mostly driven by greedy frauds preying on the insecurities of gullible audio geeks who welcome any hyped placebo. If you've been around a while you see this stuff pass into history as silliness. Experience and listening to things while being secure in your own tastes is important as well as being able to detect hyperbole from reviewers.
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cleeds
5,951 posts
 
wolf_garcia
The market for expensive tweaks often made up of inexplicable "magic" properties is one that always needs criticism, simply because it's mostly driven by greedy frauds preying on the insecurities of gullible audio geeks who welcome any hyped placebo.
If you're really so convinced that what you allege is fraud, why don't you go to court and sue for damages? Of course, it's much easier to just keep repeating your allegations here without having to prove your rather paranoid instincts. And it's probably more fun for you. But please consider the legion of souls you could save with just one court victory! And you'd have lifetime bragging rights here.
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tomcy6
2,590 posts
 
Damn!  We just got the first argument worked out and now another one is about to blow. 

My business law prof told me many years ago to stay out of court if at all possible.  cleeds you're just going to have to accept that wolf_garcia is a skeptic and can't hear what you can and not let his views upset you.  wolf_garcia should let the tweakers have their fun and not try to rile them up too much.  I'm not trying to tell anyone what to do, just offering a suggestion to help keep the peace.  Who wants to argue about something that can't be settled.  We can't hear with anyone else's ears, just our own.
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