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Ferstler Ferstler is offline
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Default Once upon a midnight clear....

On Jan 7, 4:55*pm, Jenn wrote:
In article
,


Here's a clue, Howard: *Most people who like listening to their audio
systems and to music haven't, never will, and don't care to.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Good point, at least as it relates to people like you. This is one
reason (not the only one, but at least one of the reasons) the hobby
has declined into the muddle it is today. There are two kinds of
primary embracers of the hobby as it now exists.

(1) The kind who go to Best Buy with a small budget, buy some packaged
gear, take it home and enjoy it in blissful ignorance. I actually
admire people like that.

(2) The kind who go to an audio salon with big bucks in hand and
purchase items that look good, sound maybe decent, and which were
possibly praised in some lunatic-fringe magazine report. For people
like this, audio is almost a religious experience that demands as
little rational behavior as possible.

Neither (1) nor (2) has any interest in understanding just why the
gear they have is good (or possibly not so good), with the underlying
motivation based upon blissful ignorance.The first group has many
other things on their minds than audio, and their lack of interest in
the details is actually quite normal. Sometimes blissful ignorance is
a good thing.

On the other hand, the second group continues to baffle me, because so
many of them spend large percentages of their respective net worths on
audio gear, and yet do not take the time to analyze whether or not
their cash outlays (or credit charges) are paying off in absolute
terms. No doubt, they are paying off in terms related to wishful
thinking and speculation, of course, but is that something that is
healthy for anyone? Is it normal for a person who is seriously
interested in a hobby to willfully be ignorant of some of the more
basic concepts around that hobby, or be lacking in any kind of
interest that involves knowing instead of believing? Audio is the only
hobby I know of where many of those supposedly interested in it are
not interested in digging any deeper into the details than what
speculation offers. If that is not the very definition of religion, I
do not know what else is. It is the only hobby I know of where so many
enthusiasts are utterly uninterested in basic epistemology.

Today, most so-called audio enthusiasts are paradigm know-nothings.
Perhaps 20 percent of them are on the ball and aware of the issues and
how to resolve them. The remaining 80 percent are jerks.

And for now I leave you jerks to your various tempests in teapots. I
may drop back in one of these days to again marvel that the same
people continue to rant, rave, and carp by banging on their keyboards.

Howard Ferstler