Ever feel like we are going nowhere here?

I agree its like watching a soap opera you can stay away for months come back and not miss a beat.

It would definitely be nice if people would actually use the search function instead of asking the same inane questions over and over. Then, if they want further clarification or want further assurance regarding their specific case they can start a thread indicating that they have read the older threads and what their additional concerns are. I guess the easiest solution though is just to ignore the rehash threads and force the poster to use the search function.

This hobby is mostly stuck in a time warp. Phonograph records, CD's, tube equipment, hookup wire, passive crossovers, and the like are nostalgia, not serious attempts at state of the art, or even its budget imitation. I like old stuff as much as anyone, but the dream of vastly improving sound reproduction has almost gone lost.
Where are the high end digital recording downloads, the update software for audio hardware and the high-res ipods?
Digital amps are beginning to be accepted, but only in very conventional forms. Serious improvements,like digital room
acoustic correction schemes, are ignored by most, while they purchase expensive analogue tweeks which do less and cost more.

I see it two ways. yep there's plenty of redundancy on the surface, however...

Things change.

Newer components arrive, new cables are made, and improvements in digital comes at leaps and bounds. Power conditioning too has moved onward and upward just recently. Some well respected models are discontinued too.

Naturally, lots more inquiries tend to follow. Personally, I don't find the vaunted 'search' function all that functional. I've spent hours trying to find info on some subjects only to find threads with one or perhaps two responses, or not entirely pertinent to the intended search.

True, it does yeild some good input now and then, but also many dead ends. Normally I will begin my research there though. usually.

Further, some of these rehashed items have enabled me to make some really good acquaintinaces here too so although some threads may be reheated now and then, the spin on it does tend to morph and different posters jot down their now, 'new' thoughts and so casts another light upon the old topic.

Five years ago, who would have thought a <$200 multi format player would be able to compete with units costing four or five times it's price? or that power conds could achieve the efficiency some now have? Consequently questions regarding matching and or (oh my god...) "what's best with a ....?" have different answers now than they had even 2 or 3 years ago... as well they should.

A lepoard can't change it's spots, but the spots on one are different than the spots on another.... and of course, there's U tube if one needs a break from the same old, same old.

Like many aspects of our lives today, people want immediate gratification. Maximum results with minimal effort.

Searching the archives can take an hour or so (most cases less) which apparently is too bothersome and time consuming for the members who know the system.

The exception are the newbies who aren't familar with the feature and should be cut some slack.