Audiophile Priorities and Recent Topics

+1 @arafiq and +1 @phasemonger

Phasemonger said it well:

4. The real forum-related obstacle to being a newbie isn’t an imbalance of thread types; it’s the bizarre viciousness that makes me hesitant to post anything.

And Arafiq nailed it with just 2 short paragraphs:

I think to be fair to the tweakers, perhaps there is an implicit assumption that you already have a system that you are satisfied with and just want to eke out that last bit of improvement. It is a hobby after all, nothing wrong with obsessing over minor details/improvements.

three-easy-payments: is it fair to assume that your concern is not so much with the value (or lack thereof) of the suggested tweaks but the sudden onslaught of the ’presumably’ newly-minted posters?

There’s a few posters that are ruining these forums for everyone else with their constant banter and overly expressed dislike for each other. Was this thread even worthy of reading? Nope. Most people that are new to the hobby (myself included) know that they should be obtaining good equipment first before diving into tweaks....

I guess I’m not supposed to post here, but I will anyway. As a newbie this entire forum seems very divided. I’ve already gotten placed into categories after less than 30 posts. If you don’t want people to join or to stay around that is a great strategy. 
I started posting here because there are a lot of topics with fantastic information. I’m new at this audiophile hobby and have shared some things I have experienced. I’m sure some of my comments have gotten eye rolls, but I really am trying to understand all the different perspectives. I don’t have equipment worth bragging about (nothing exotic) and I haven’t owned very much either so my posts are limited to what I have recently experienced. 
As someone new to the forum the worst threads aren’t the discussions about the tweaks. The discussions on the Tekton speakers have been the worst.

The only issues that I feel need any kind of micro-management on this site are those of decorum and respect; something sorely lacking all too often as we all know. I’m sure that the OP’s premise is well intended, but I wouldn’t worry too much about “unsuspecting newbies”. I don’t think that there has been a thread advocating questionable “tweaks” that has not also had plenty of detractors; and very adamant ones at that. There usually are plenty of posts that present both sides of the coin on most topics. Seems to me that this, unto itself, is a great opportunity for a newbie to learn.

As far as the supposed “overwhelming” preponderance of discussions about “wire and tweaks” goes, I frankly don’t see it that way. A quick look just now at the first 20 “Topics” of discussion in the categories “Amps Preamps” shows 4 titles out of 20 that have anything remotely to do with wire or tweaks. In the topic “Speakers” only 1 title out of the first 20 has anything to do with wire or tweaks. Hardly a comprehensive analysis of the matter, but I suspect that this is indicative of the overall picture. Now, as far as posts in “Cables”, and perhaps “Misc Audio” as well goes, we would expect there to be a preponderance of discussions about cables and tweaks. No? There is plenty of solid and helpful information available here; it’s the interpersonal bs that gets in the way.

As I pointed out, I feel that the OP’s premise is well intended and I agree that there is always room for improvement in how information is shared. However, the OP admits, and please, this is not a criticism, but simply an attempt to bring a certain perspective to this issue:

**** interconnects (I can hear a difference but it’s subtle), and speaker cables (I’m very hard pressed to hear a difference in any ****

Personally, not only do I strongly disagree with that comment, but I feel that a newbie reading that could very well be swayed to not consider the very real benefits of quality cabling. However, probably the best thing of all is to have that opinion be part of the mix of opinions which will hopefully inspire the newbie to experiment and arrive at his own conclusions. All in my opinion, of course.

Btw, decorum and respect…..and thicker skin 😊

@jjss49 I'm with you on the stickies threads that should be available. As I am newer and not an engineer, some of the terms like capacitance or tube heaters require varying sources to understand and dig through and is very easy to get lost in in all the bickering and ideologies that goes on here. 

As a younger and newer hifi enthusiast, it would be be nice to have a few threads to reference and to see more discussion about how gear is to own and how it sounds or feels rather than the guys that chime in to slander gear or provide some recommendation outside of the qualifications one has asked about. 

@arafiq 

  @three_easy_payments -- is it fair to assume that your concern is not so much with the value (or lack thereof) of the suggested tweaks but the sudden onslaught of the 'presumably' newly-minted posters?

It's the onslaught of tweak-based threads that could lead to the suggestion that tweaks merit a very high (inappropriately so) audiophile priority.  It's the balance of the conversation that I sense has shifted and wanted to raise this as a point of discussion in this thread.  Whether just one person is behind the theme and is replicating names more quickly than Agent Smith in The Matrix is a totally separate topic.