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Another Audiophile Conundrum

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  • Another Audiophile Conundrum

    What do you do when someone asks you for advice and then disregards it? Or worse, is the type who asks for advice from twenty people and then never does anything.

    Case in point. A person I know recently asked my opinion about an older preamplifier and should he buy it? I told him to save his money because the piece always sounded bright and solid-statish to me. World famous reviewer tells him the only problem with the preamplifier is the capacitors and if he changes out the parts the unit is world class and incredibly three-dimensional. Upshot, this person buys the unit, changes the caps and then complains to me that the unit is unlistenable and has zero dimensionality. Ughhh....
    Myles B. Astor, PhD, Administrator
    Senior Editor, Positive-Feedback.com
    ________________________________________

    -Zellaton Plural Evo speakers
    -Goldmund Telos 440 and 1000 Nextgen mono amps
    -Goldmund Mimesis 37S Nextgen preamplifier
    -Doshi EVO and Goldmund PH3.8 phonostage
    -VPI Vanquish direct-drive turntable
    -VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy dual pivot tonearm, VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy gimballed and SAT LM-12 arm
    -Lyra Atlas SL Lambda, vdh Colibri Master Signature, Mutech Hayabusa,
    -Technics RS1506 with Flux Magnetic heads, Doshi V3.0 tape stage (balanced)
    -Assorted cables including Skogrand, Kubala-Sosna, Audience FrontRow; Audience FrontRow, Genesis Advanced Technologies , Goldmund and Ensemble Power Cords
    -Accessories including Stillpoint Aperture panels, Cathedral Sound panels, Furutech NCF Nano AC receptacles; Silver Circle Tchaik 6 PLC, Symposium ISIS and SRA Craz 3 racks, Audiodharma Cable Cooker, Symposium Ultra and assorted SRA OHIO Class 2.3+ platforms.

  • #2
    All you can say is "I told you so."
    Micro Seiki SX-8000 table with flywheel, SME 3012R arm, SME 312S arm, Lyra Etna SL and Dynavector XV-1S cartridges, ARC Ref 3 phono stage, Otari MX-55 tape deck, Ampex 350 repros, Roon Nucleus Plus server, PS Audio DSJ DAC, ARC Ref 6 pre, ARC Ref 75 amp, Parasound JC5 amp, JBL 4345 speakers, and Def Tech Ref subs.

    Comment


    • #3
      Welcome to my life lol

      Comment


      • #4
        My $0.02. :-)

        IF they asked for my opinion then I'd give it to them straight and then added a disclaimer akin to...your finding may or may not be similar to what I said so feel free to ask others.

        This, BTW, included our own products.
        Hugh Nguyen
        ACA

        Comment


        • #5
          I've just come to expect it. It may be scarier when they take my advice.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by jnr
            I've just come to expect it. It may be scarier when they take my advice.
            Good one Jack!

            Myles B. Astor, PhD, Administrator
            Senior Editor, Positive-Feedback.com
            ________________________________________

            -Zellaton Plural Evo speakers
            -Goldmund Telos 440 and 1000 Nextgen mono amps
            -Goldmund Mimesis 37S Nextgen preamplifier
            -Doshi EVO and Goldmund PH3.8 phonostage
            -VPI Vanquish direct-drive turntable
            -VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy dual pivot tonearm, VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy gimballed and SAT LM-12 arm
            -Lyra Atlas SL Lambda, vdh Colibri Master Signature, Mutech Hayabusa,
            -Technics RS1506 with Flux Magnetic heads, Doshi V3.0 tape stage (balanced)
            -Assorted cables including Skogrand, Kubala-Sosna, Audience FrontRow; Audience FrontRow, Genesis Advanced Technologies , Goldmund and Ensemble Power Cords
            -Accessories including Stillpoint Aperture panels, Cathedral Sound panels, Furutech NCF Nano AC receptacles; Silver Circle Tchaik 6 PLC, Symposium ISIS and SRA Craz 3 racks, Audiodharma Cable Cooker, Symposium Ultra and assorted SRA OHIO Class 2.3+ platforms.

            Comment


            • #7
              Happens all the time!
              The biggest difficulty I have is I like 'different'. My liking for a specific style of reproduction is documented elsewhere, but I'll frequent the path less traveled in my search. This means I tend to discount out of hand many of the manufacturers that may be considered mainstream, and even a great many that are less well-known.
              As such, any recommendation from me will be well-considered and the subject of a great deal of thought, culminating in a suggestion that will often be met with the response "Who?" Or... "What? Never heard of them!"

              Still, as Jack acknowledges, the problems could really start if someone took my advice. At least by recommending something fewer people have heard I ensure only the most adventurous will follow up.
              DIY TT w/ Transrotor mech, Roksan Tabriz Zi, SAE 1000LT
              Vacuum State JLTi phono stage, SAS B11a pre-amp, DIY 2A3 monoblocks
              DIY HD XMOS-based USB->S/PDIF converter, Danish Audio Designs 3-box DAC10
              DIY 3-way folded line speakers, DIY Open Baffles

              Comment


              • #8
                I rarely give advice directly, other than to suggest what I personally like for me.

                example: Q: What preamp should I buy? ME: I've liked the BlahBlah XL MK2 in my system, Thought the Yadayada Signature was pretty nice too. Q: What do you think of the Superlicious Extreme Modified by Jones and Carbunkle? Me: Never heard it. Got no opnion...

                A few times I've had friends ask me to really help them shop for a complete system, and that's fortunately always worked out well. Many years ago (early 80s) a coworker said she was about to spend $1200 for a big rack system from May Company (a department store chain that long ago went out of business). Suggested she check out my system, and then we go shop in her price range. She ended up with a Thorens TD160, Grado cartridge, Creek 4040 integrated amp and Rogers LS2 speakers on Linn Index stands. Sounded wonderful!

                Even in my reviews, I make it clear I'm only describing my opinions based on my system and my personal biases.
                Steve Lefkowicz
                Senior Associate Editor at Positive Feedback
                -
                Analog 1: Linn LP12 (MOSE/Hercules II), Ittok, Dynavector 10X5 MK.II Low, iPhono2/iPowerX; Analog 2: Pro-Ject RPM-1 Carbon, Talisman S, iFi iPhono.
                Digital: Geekom Mini PC (i5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, JRiver Media Center 29, Tidal HiFi, Qobuz Studio), iFi NEO iDSD, iFi iUSB3, iPurifier2, Audioquest Jitterbug FMJ.
                Electronics: Khozmo Stereo Passive with AMRG Ladder Attenuator and "NewClassD" Active Stage, Antique Sound Labs MG-SI15DT-S, Burson Timekeeper Virtuoso
                Speakers: Tekton Perfect SET 15, Tekton Lore, Magneplaner .7, GoldenEar BRX
                Interconnects: Morrow Audio MA1, Vermouth Audio Black Pearl, Audioquest Evergreen
                Speaker cables: Morrow Audio SP4, Vermouth Audio Red Velvet, Audioquest Type 5
                Digital cables: Aural Symphonics USB, iFi Gemini twin-head USB.
                Accessories: Sound Organization turntable shelf, Mondo racks, Pangea Audio Vulcan rack, AV Room Services EVPs under the speakers, Pi Audio Group Über BUSS, Monster HTS2000 power conditioner, Kinetronics anti-static brush, Pro-Ject VC-S record cleaner, Spin Clean record cleaner.
                Headphones: Schiit Valhalla amp, Burson Conductor Virtuoso Amp, Meze Audio 99 Classic and 99 Neo, Beyerdynamic DT770Pro 600 ohm, 1More Triple Driver Over Ear, 1More Triple Driver IEM

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by gjm
                  Happens all the time!
                  The biggest difficulty I have is I like 'different'. My liking for a specific style of reproduction is documented elsewhere, but I'll frequent the path less traveled in my search. This means I tend to discount out of hand many of the manufacturers that may be considered mainstream, and even a great many that are less well-known.
                  As such, any recommendation from me will be well-considered and the subject of a great deal of thought, culminating in a suggestion that will often be met with the response "Who?" Or... "What? Never heard of them!"

                  Still, as Jack acknowledges, the problems could really start if someone took my advice. At least by recommending something fewer people have heard I ensure only the most adventurous will follow up.
                  Yes, I think there's a difference between an audio fan and being more thoughtful about making a recommendation. I think the later begin with getting to know everything about the person, their tastes, room, current equipment, etc.
                  Myles B. Astor, PhD, Administrator
                  Senior Editor, Positive-Feedback.com
                  ________________________________________

                  -Zellaton Plural Evo speakers
                  -Goldmund Telos 440 and 1000 Nextgen mono amps
                  -Goldmund Mimesis 37S Nextgen preamplifier
                  -Doshi EVO and Goldmund PH3.8 phonostage
                  -VPI Vanquish direct-drive turntable
                  -VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy dual pivot tonearm, VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy gimballed and SAT LM-12 arm
                  -Lyra Atlas SL Lambda, vdh Colibri Master Signature, Mutech Hayabusa,
                  -Technics RS1506 with Flux Magnetic heads, Doshi V3.0 tape stage (balanced)
                  -Assorted cables including Skogrand, Kubala-Sosna, Audience FrontRow; Audience FrontRow, Genesis Advanced Technologies , Goldmund and Ensemble Power Cords
                  -Accessories including Stillpoint Aperture panels, Cathedral Sound panels, Furutech NCF Nano AC receptacles; Silver Circle Tchaik 6 PLC, Symposium ISIS and SRA Craz 3 racks, Audiodharma Cable Cooker, Symposium Ultra and assorted SRA OHIO Class 2.3+ platforms.

                  Comment


                  • Johnny Vinyl
                    Johnny Vinyl commented
                    Editing a comment
                    And don't recommend anything that's 50% beyond their budget. Keep it real.

                  • gjm
                    gjm commented
                    Editing a comment
                    Absolutely!
                    For me, that's one of the great things about less well-known, (maybe esoteric?) products and manufacturers. The prices tend imho to be more realistic.

                  • MylesBAstor
                    MylesBAstor commented
                    Editing a comment
                    Great suggestions to keep in mind!

                • #10
                  Here's the other side of the question: How do you learn about audio? Ask your friends for advice, of course.

                  Comment

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