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. 
128x128fsonicsmith
There are certain reviewers in the camera world that garner a following mostly due to charisma and attempts at being iconoclastic. Even when they are shown to be inconsistent and even dead wrong their “followers” will admit no flaw. 

As as far as cars, performance and race tracks the single most effective upgrade on any car of any type is tires. The very best of them won’t last a weekend. They’re not called ‘black crack’ for no reason. 

Anyway, I have found the internet to be a truly excellent tool in all of these sorts of things. The challenge of sorting out the signal from the noise can be daunting. Finding the right forum with the right people is huge. But they’re out there. I’ve only had my high end audio equipment for a week and have never had any desire or pretense to be an audiophile before I got it. Whether or not this forum is one of those jewels or not I can’t tell yet. But so far I’ve gotten excellent advice despite my level of ignorance in the matter and I’ve learned tons in this short week thanks to a number of kind and patient folks here 

I can tell that there are a few here that do not suffer fools and who may lack a little tact. But that’s not always a bad thing in the right measure. 
glupson
geoffkait,

"Was glupson raised by wolves?"


No, I was not. I was raised by my parents. This is the second time you are asking about my parents. Is there any particular reason your interest in them is unexpectedly high?

>>>>I didn’t mention your parents. I suggested you were raised by wolves. They wouldn’t be your parents. Are you a wolf? 🐺 Sensitive today, aren’t we? 
psyop
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”.
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Speaking of buttholes, welcome aboard, Georgie boy! Where ya been hidin’?