why do we argue?


I suppose it's human nature?

Not everyone can get along,at least all of the time.

Squablles occur in the best of families,sometimes over big issues, sometimes over small ones.

So why should the audio "family" be any different?

Some forums have gone to great pains to cleanse their sites and free them from confrontations between audiophiles who can't see eye to eye, or perhaps we should say, ear to ear.

But where's the harm in all that squabbling? Really?

If someone finds it offensive, then why continue to read it, like a moth drawn to the flame,if you think it's going to harm you, don't enter.

No one is making you.

Then if you feel you have to post your objections to objectional comments(who made you the boss?)then you are not the solution ,you're just adding to the problem.

Like bringing gasoline to put out the fire.

You're going to be on one side or the other,or perhaps you are the "let's kiss and make up type" "can't we all be friends?"audiophile who has only everyone's best wishes at heart.

There's always a "mom" to come between two fighting brothers isn't there,and you know she can't take sides,calling a truce is her job.

But until the real issues have been addressed, the argument is never over.

It's always there under the surface,just waiting to boil over given half the chance.Power cords one day, fuses the next, and demagging lp's? Please!

It usually starts in audio forums when some chump posts that a piece of something that cost more than it should, made an improvement that someone who wasn't there to hear it says it didn't.

Get the gist?

I did it, I heard it, I was there,who are you to tell me I didn't hear it, and how dare you call me dillusional?That's the response to the first response from the folks who know it just can't be real.

Surely if I am half a man, I'll have to make some sort of reply.And reply to the reply and on and on again and again.

I'll have to try to proove that I heard what I heard, but you need scientific proof.

Obviously I can't provide any, I am a chump, not a scientist, I bought the snake oil didn't I?

So on and on it goes and intensifies until enough is enough and two or more members of the family are banished from the fold.

The community all the better for it, or so it tells itself.

But is it?

If everything in this hobby is scrutinized to the point that if there isn't a scientific white paper to back up the claims, how much of what we take for granted today would be lost to the audio community at large?

Zip cord,stock giveaway cords of all srtipe would be all that we would have.There'd be no equipment stands or various footers, no isolation devices of the electrical and mechanical persuasion,no spikes,no fancy metals,in short there would be no aftermarket anything.

It would be a 100% snake free world,a totalitarian utopia for the less than feeble minded audiophiles that there are so many of. Those foolish folks who thrive on fairy dust need to be saved from their own foolish and wasteful ways.

At least that's the way I've seen it from my perspective.

I know it's too late to save me.Salvation passed me by decades ago.
lacee
Actually for me because I type so much slower than I think and respond, the Internet filters what I would expound on in person. :-)
Well thanks one and all,all responses,whether they sided with me or or not are valued and again my thanks to the person who thanked the mods for aloowing this to continue.

I tend to type slower than I think so my appologies if my message isn't clear.

What I hope to now make clear is what my intentions were in the first place.

Not completely manipulative,but I did feel that this would push the right buttons and in and of itself would prove that it only takes a bit of prodding to stir up some conflicting views that would later result in arguments.

In short, using the word "argue",sets the tone for what will surely follow or so I hypothesized.

I believe I was right.I knew this would lead to arguments,which like brush fires eventually evolve into all out wildfires that destroy everything in their path.

I wasn't trolling, but I also predict that some will call it that.
Most likely the folks who were disturbed by this thread.

But what I truly did hope this thread would do, was to try and bring some sort of self awakening or enlightenment to the folks who continually bash the high end, expensive gear and tweaks and seem to be the ones who ignite the intial flame that eventually takes out the forest.

What can they gain by being the naysayer?

I believe Bryon has elaborated on that issue quite elequently, and my thanks to all the others who did their share of soul searching when I started this thread.

We are a hobby of diverse individuals , with different skill sets and levels of education,but we do have one common denominator, the joy we get from listening to recorded music.

Why some folks are dead set against accepting things that others say ( with hands on experience)can improve sound quality has been something that I've tried to find an explanation for.

I can understand if finances are an issue,but why kill the messanger if an audio mag reviews a $100,000 speaker now and then?

Isn't it nice to know that someone got the chance to listen and evaluate it?
Believe him or not, be a skeptik, call it a paid for review,make an issue out of the fact that there is a full page add for the product,but at least you have something to read and perhaps get a bit more insite into the product than what you find in the advertisement specs.

But again, for some, the specs are all you need.
Everything else is rubbish and the ears are not to be trusted.

So it goes,in countless forums and letters to the editor.

The great debate or argument rages on, like that wildfire, it's grown over the years, to the point where I fear there are more of "them" than "me".

BY that, I mean, more folks who are interested in proving something can't work, then there are folks who can say they do.
More likely afraid to post that something does work for fear of riddicule from the naysayers.

Again, we've learned from Bryon that there are several reasons for this type of behaviour from the naysayers.

Which in turn solicited some more controversy.

I don't think I"ll be around to see the day when the great divide is no longer with us.

There will always be two sides,the ones who are in the playing field and those on the sidelines.

But time has a funny way of changing things.

I've seen tip toes,vibration control, and more widespead acceptance of power conditioning becoming less fringe and more mainstream over the years.

Perhaps some of the more contentious items kicked about will also become just as acceptable.

What I fail to understand is the misconstrued perception that only fools spend big bucks on audio systems and only do so for bragging rights.

It couldn't be furthter from the truth.

If you really feel it's all about the music, you would understand .

That which constitutes the ability to claim scientific proof requires rigorous methodology, expensive test equipment and likely more money and time that most of us would rather spend listening. Speculation is largely free, other than caloric burn and it's associated expenses. Where facts are scarce, mysticism will prevail. I will use the facts to enhance the mystical experience, especially when it comes to music. That said, if you want to wear a necklace of ferrite beads go for it. I might make such a necklace if you assert its benefits vociferously, but I won't be paying big money for the privilege.
So, the moral of the story is even crazy people can be right occasionally?