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Observations on Audiogon Posts

There has been something that disturbs me about the posts I see on Audiogon. I am specifically talking about the posts that ask members to make suggestion's on equipment.

Here is the problem I have. I rarely (and I mean I can count on one hand the number of times) see people post what kind of sound they are looking for. Instead people ask if such and such a piece will sound good with these other twenty pieces in their systems. What's the problem? Well, how do we know what you are looking for? Is sound-staging the most important thing to you? For some people it is. Do you like a forward aggressive sounding presentation or do you like a more laid back sound? Is musicality the most important thing to you? Do you want a system that produces accurate timbres? Knowing what you're looking for can save you thousands on equipment that doesn't fit you're criteria. It also helps us in making suggestions.

It seems to me that if more of us spent more time on what we are trying to get from our systems then on what brands we should buy we would all be a lot happier.

Just some food for thought.
nrostov
nilthepill
842 posts
 
I think the simple reason is that they are looking for life-like sound!

Like we all are or most of us are. If this is really possible or not is whole another thread. What sounds neutral on an audio system is not how real life neutral sound sounds like.

Readers' inputs tells them that a component A brand is brighter or component B is warm and so forth. If that's not what they want they eliminate from the wish list.

I for one am looking for new amps and have started with few makes that have read heard about are very good mono blocks. Searching the past posts let me zone in and confirm that one particular amp is not for me and I should not waste time for home audition (I always home audition prior to purchase). So I think it does help to post such posts.
audphile1's avatar
audphile1
1,368 posts
 
I agree, it would be better if there is an indication for sound preference when a thread is posted, but even if a sonic preference is perfectly described by the poster, any recommendation given is still approximate. There are no guarantees. If to me it sounds just the way you describe the sound you want, but when you place this component in your system, you may have a totally different sonic picture.

I look at the equipment and cable suggestions on the forums as guidelines. Every suggestion given here is a lot of help whan you are researching. In my experience, exactly the same components and cables most of the time will sound different in a different room. There are just too many variables to consider.
saltyflies
10 posts
 
As mechans points out, I believe the problem is the lack of standardized definitions. More specifically, what are the broad stroke attributes, options that are available and examples of components that represent them. I think audio components are a lot like wine in that they have specific attributes and are available in a host of varieties. Perhaps categorizing them like how wines are divided into whites or reds, and then subdivided into varieties like cabernet, zinfandel, etc. would help to narrow the field. There’s a thread entitled “reference dacs ?” that I found most helpful and could be used as a building block for other components as well.
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
i think what is important is relative differences, not absolute differences. it is more useful to find out what affect a component has on a stereo system. very often a component has a consistent affect on most stereo systems.

sometimes there are relative differences between two or more components, that are consistent accross many stereo systems. such information is very useful.

if someone has had the experience of comparing say, 4 cd players in a variety of stereo systems, the results are most informative.
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