Post by darrenyeatsI'm pretty sick of this forum, which is why haven't posted here for a
while. This thread is an apt time and place to express my feelings.
A while ago I wrote here
"Guys, you are coming across like some vigilantes patrolling the forum
with burning torches, ready to beat up anyone who says anything
foo-like."
This isn't a forum for scientific peer review, it's an audio forum.
Chill.
A moderator on another forum wrote: "you can have an amazing system in
the home for exactly what I paid for mine. A penny more means you're
recklessly wasteful -- a veritable prodigal son of hi-fi buying -- and a
penny less means you're a skint bastard." OH HOW TRUE!
Perhaps some of the rationalists here should take a look at their own
systems, all the excuses about wanting features, reliability etc are BS,
you bought that kit because you thought it did, or would, sound good. Do
you absolutely know you made the optimal cost-effective choice?
We're all in it because we like good sound and don't deny it.
It's just a hobby. Nobody outside this small group gives a row of beans
about what systems we have, or these ridiculous internet arguments.
Try to enjoy the hobby, it should be fun - and enjoy the music before
that.
Darren
So does that mean that any old hearsay and superstition is OK?
Indeed. Just because everybody doesn't accept your particular beliefs
shouldn't be a reason for you to feel offended.
We like good sound. We don't justify it by voodoo and hocus pocus.
Indeed. So why does it matter to you that we don't believe in
pseudoscience?
Precisely. What matters is the music - not the fricking USB cable or
file format.
At first I was not going to respond to Darren's post since I felt that
he has/had the right to vent and then I saw Julf's response (both are
quoted above). Now I think that some type of response is called for.
As I have stated over and over again I really don't care what any
individual audiophile chooses to believe since everyone has the right to
their own opinion but I do have a few conditions to that blanket
statement:
1) When an audiophile mistakes opinion for fact
2) When the audiophile expressing an opinion has a stake in the game, in
other words when there is money involved.
As an example of the first condition an audiophile can state that they
believe that some expensive, audiophile USB cable improved the sound of
their system, however they should not state that the same expensive,
audiophile USB cable WILL improve that sound of MY audio system since
they have no proof that this is true.
As an example of the second condition would be if the audiophile stating
that some expensive, audiophile USB cable improved the sound of their
system is stating this in a review for some audiophile publication, a
publication which depends on advertising revenue from the manufacturer
of the USB cable.
I know that I for one find it very annoying that the audiophile world
has chosen to discredit the entire Squeezebox system of streaming music
to one's stereo system by damning the system with faint praise, e.g. "a
SB Touch is great for streaming Pandora as background music but for
serious listening nothing beats an SACD player". This discrediting is
accomplished mainly by spreading completely unproven misinformation
about digital audio, such as things like there being audible differences
between various types of digital storage mediums or Ethernet and USB
cables, and a steadfast refusal to do direct comparisons, sighted or
blind, between a SACD player and a SB Touch with an external DAC. So
yeah, I get a little testy when I'm being told that my main source of
music is not up to par, especially when I have done my own direct
comparisons and found the Squeezebox devices to be on par with a CD or
SACD player.
And my annoyance is doubled when find these types of statements being
posted on a forum about Squeezeboxes.
Living Rm: Transporter-SimAudio pre/power amps-Vandersteen 3A Sign. &
sub
Home Theater: Touch-Marantz HTR-Energy Veritas 2.1 & Linn sub
Computer Rm: Touch-Headroom Desktop w/DAC-Aragon amp-Energy Veritas 2.1
& Energy sub
Bedroom: Touch-HR Desktop w/DAC-Audio Refinement amp-Energy Veritas 2.0
Guest Rm: Duet-Sony soundbar
Garage: SB3-JVC compact system
Controls: iPeng; SB Controller; Moose & Muso
Server: SBS on dedicated windows 7 computer w/2 Drobos
'Last.fm' (http://www.last.fm/user/jazzfann/)
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