[[email protected][_2_]]

Back in the 90s, having always been interested in audio and finally finding=
myself with some discretionary income (i.e., enough that the wife wouldn=
=E2=80=99t object to my wasting a little), I decided to delve a little deep=
er into the subject, in particular to answer this question: What should I b=
e listening for to tell the difference between amplifiers?

Fortunately, I soon found my way to RAHE and learned at the feet of a few m=
asters (thank you JJ & Arny & Dick Pierce and a few others) that my inabili=
ty to distinguish amplifiers by sound wasn=E2=80=99t a personal failing.

At the time, there was nowhere else on Teh Internets that you could learn t=
his, and the moderation (thank you Reynaud and Dave Bath) was essential to =
RAHE=E2=80=99s value. Everywhere else, foul-mouthed yahoos (and more knowle=
dgeable types who were nonetheless willing to bait the yahoos) ensured a si=
gnal-to-noise ratio somewhere in the vicinity of the lower circles of Hell.

In those days, RAHE was a lively place, but it was most lively on the subje=
ct of the objectivist/subjectivist wars, a discussion that eventually burne=
d itself out. Once it did, traffic slowed dramatically, and it doesn=E2=80=
=99t surprise me that DSR finds himself somewhat in the role of the Maytag =
repairman.

I haven=E2=80=99t posted here in a long time (I migrated to the audio-relat=
ed discussions at avsforum.com for a while, but my interest in ultra-accura=
te sound reproduction has waned of late), so I‘ll leave the open-it=
-up vs. shut-it-down debate to those with an actual stake in the outcome. B=
ut before it disappears or morphs into something else, I wanted to thank al=
l the people --mods and posters alike--who made it so great for so long.

bob