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. 
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Showing 5 responses by 2psyop

Audio mags are fun to read. Don’t take them too serioulsly. Forums like this can be educational and they can be filled with arrogant airheads determined to prove how smart they are. Mostly here and many other audio forums, you find positive comments from audio nerds who AGREE Abc equipment is great. There is not much tolerance for negative comments or experiences that would be educational and informative about an audio manufacturer or dealer. In that stricter sense I don’t see magazines or forums as balanced information.
Michael Fremer was bought out long long ago. I am sure he is a nice fellow but he has sold out.
One cannot really argue with the fascinating hobby of audio or how many people will spend ridiculous amounts of money on fancy boxes of wires that make musical noise. We all like what we like. To me, what is more curious and telling is what it reveals in people. Some who are arrogant, some who are instigators, others who are intelligent and reasonable and many who are helpful. Many are just stubborn salesman who want to push a brand they like. The hobby is fun, the people in it do not often know what they reveal about themselves.
geoffkait never really has anything to say of real value. Mostly he posts here to entertain himself. I put him into the category of “butthole”.
+1 last comments by glupson, tomcy6. I don’t think comments made by geoff are propaganda or have to do with propaganda. They always strike me as childish fits, like those of a 5 yr old boy, meant to draw attention to HIM. There are many people here at AG who don’t really care about the topic, they just want others to notice them, talk about them.