Giving Advice without recommending your own equipment

Good point. People (and not just with hi-fi) tend to recommend what they own or use. I had a really bad mechanic and a crooked dentist before I learned to take such advice with a grain of salt.

Of course, 4 is the advice that tries to be useful. But one could append to that, "I really can’t say whether the differences I heard were due to the underlying architecture (R2R or PFGA) or to other differences in the implementations." A huge issue with audiophiles is the tendency to overgeneralize from limited experience, which includes the tendency to assign causes to heard differences without really knowing. This is similar to the tendency to think expectation bias applies only to other people. One runs into these issues constantly in audiophile comments.

People are substituting recommendations from internet forums for the visits we used to make to our favorite audio equipment dealers where we could actually hear stuff. The problem is that, considering the level of individual care invested in the systems of people on this forum, nobody can really tell anybody else what they like to hear. For the most part, you have to hear it for yourself.

Most here are trying to be helpful but there is still a healthy dose of confirmation bias, the same as there was from the dealers we used to visit - I own it (or, I sell it) so it must be good. It is just human nature, people trying to help. As an example, there is a dealer here on A’gon that often takes the opportunity to promote one of their products as the de facto solution for underperforming digital applications. Sometimes you need to separate the chaff to find the wheat.

Sometimes you get what you pay for 😶

Also, it seems many recommend equipment they do not own or ever heard.

I only specifically recommend equipment I own or have owned. I may link specific equipment that I never owned/seen/heard, usually used from hifishark, because it seems to fit the solution, but only for people to research themselves or ask more about.

I often finish by asking other members if they know about something I find like that..... No one ever chimes in.

I prefer giving advice based on concept, experiences, physics, efficient speakers, SPL, test cds, tube testers, toe-in .....whatever I’ve convinced myself I know about. How to figure out your cartridge’s SUT xfactors, etc.

Like the photo sites I am on, I always imagine others watching/reading along, I may ignore OP to some extent and put info that relates to the subject for those imagined others.

I sometimes feel people may be disappointed by lack of specific equipment answers from me..

Good point ! interesting thanks OP ...

I generally dont recommend equipment .... I recommend to learn embeddings mechanical,electrical and acoustical controls devices and experiments.... 😊

I like my gear but some pieces are so modified i cannot recommend them ...They dont perform the same before and after modification...

The worst piece of gear i ever bought i will never mention...I will be executed on a piles of wood set in fire  so popular the brand is... 😊

People focus on chosen gear piece not on acoustics and other learnings...