Missioncoonery,
Your right my comments are both arrogant and rude. Of course so is saying "Oh,please dont throw that im a musician so I know what it should sound like BS around..puts the real deal pros in bad light...Class dismissed.....".
Now let's get to some points about why I posted what I did:
1. The only reason I pointed out that I used to be a musician is that I spent a lot of time hearing the sound of real instruments. You obviously have spent even more time. It's great to hear that you have been so successful in the industry. I had to give it up due to arthritis in my hands. However I have been fortunate in my current business. It has allowed me to build a wonderful sounding system.
2. I am fortunate enough to have a relationship with the manufacturer and co-creator of the Messenger preamp. He is fortunate enough to have played in renowned orchestras. I am also fortunate that I know people in the high end audio business all around the country. I have gained tremendous knowledge and insight from these wonderful gentleman who have taken the time to teach me so much about equipment and the industry.
3. The above two lead to my third point. I purposefully made my comments rude and arrogant. For one we don't talk honestly enough about equipment on audiogon out of fear of offending someone. The fact is I wasted a lot of money when I first got into this hobby because there wasn't enough honest information out there. Secondly, there are some things in high end audio that are subjective and others that are objective. You as a musician know what a piano sounds like or a violin or a guitar So do I. How an instrument sounds live, it's very essence, is not subjective it's objective. A violin should sound like a violin not some metallic beast. The reason that I quite emphatically and passionately commented on the gear suggested by others was that they violate this rule(the objective sound of instruments). I have either had this gear in my system or heard it. It really does sound bad from that perspective. Please note I never comment on gear I have not heard. Every audiophile I have ever met wants their system to sound like the real thing. So why would I recommend something to someone that is going to take them farther from that goal?
4. This does not mean that the gear listed does not do some things that people may like such as a huge soundstage. Some people want that others don't care. So you and I agree on that point.
5.My post accomplished what I wanted it to. It got you pissed off and you responded. Now we can have a dialog about why we are in this hobby.
6. We all have to face up to the reality that there is a lot of good gear out there, but there is also a lot of crap. Let's call a spade a spade instead of pretending that every piece of equipment made sounds wonderful. That's what Stereophile and The Absolute Sound are for.
Sincerely,
Justin
