Is advice from a constant upgrader to be avoided


For a while now I've been reading these forums and to be honest i was thinking of leaving. I felt a bit out of depth given that it seems so many others have had so much experience through owning what seems to be tens of speakers, amplifiers, DACs etc etc and reading people buying and selling piece after piece after piece on the search for some sound.... 

When someone asks advice about a certain item it seems like half the audience have owned it and moved on and have a comment to make. I then read about someone buying an extremely expensive amp and deciding quickly to sell it because it doesn't sound right. Then someone else is on their fourth DAC in a year. 

So all these people have advice to give. What I'm wondering now is, is advice from a person who's never content, constantly changing their system, never living with a system for long enough, and have more money than patience, really the right person to take advice from? .

There seems fewer (maybe they're less vocal) people who buy gear and spend the time to appreciate it, and have maybe only had a very few systems in their lifetime. I think I'd rate their advice higher on the gear they know than the constant flipper/upgrader.

Is the constant flipper/upgrader always going to say that the gear they used to own was no good and they've now got better? Maybe their constant searching is because their ear is no good or they're addicted to the rush of opening a new box. 

Just because person X has owned a lot of equipment doesn't mean their advice is to be sought after, it could mean the exact opposite.

mid-fi-crisis

Everyone should decide for themselves who to trust and take advice from. Many factors involved. Value of experience with a lot of stuff will vary case by case, but with the right person is a good not bad thing.

@cat_doorman

“Not all those who wander are lost.”

well said

 

@troidelover1499

you are kind, i try to share what knowledge and learnings i can, as i have learned much from others here as well over the years

and i’ll always be indebted for you in the generosity you showed me with the big spendors earlier this year :)

I can count on half a hand the number of people whose advice I trust. So yes, I'd say almost everyone's advice is suspect. Humans are predisposed to too many cognitive biases to be dependable. And obviously, that's not just in audio. It's in everything.

Since I depend on measurements, personal research and knowledged gained, my systems tend to be outside the herd-think of forums, and it has worked out well. My components tend to stick around with no complaints or regrets.

Oldhvymec

 

Digital has evolved significantly in the past 30 years (heck, I was using a 16 bit Sony CDP 30 years ago).  Analog, not so much-except the price tag of the discs and the gear