Are many audiophiles only seeking approval of the next purchase?


I find a good num of forum posts to be in this realm.  Facts ignored only posts that agree are considered of worth. 
johnk
On the other hand, approval of the LAST PURCHASE is also a big thing for posts... Folks wanting affirmation of what they already bought. Then the thread parties where a whole bunch of folks have a happy party over the product, repeatedly praising the product.   Black goo comes to mind...

Probably some.

I use reviews, form information and audio friends as a sounding board mostly. When I'm looking to make an upgrade or side step I like to have as much information about the items I'm looking at as possible. I take every comment I read with a grain of salt of course. I don't trust everyone but I'm also not able to listen to everything I'm interested in so its nice to use others experiences and trials for what they offer. Also sometimes I learn something from others about a different product I was not aware of or a product mismatch that I had not considered.

If 5 people say this item sounds warm and one says its harsh I'm going to go with warm sounding not harsh, but keep in the back of my head what maybe is causing it to be harsh on that one persons system so I can avoid that combo.... for example. I'm sure most of us do something similar

Learn form others mistakes and experiences when you can is always better then forging ahead into the unknown reinventing the wheel over and over.

Visiting audio forums has taught me several things about amateur audiphile opinions. They're aren't usually well informed. They aren't usually well reasoned. And they aren't usually worth too much. 

If somebody has compiled a body of opinions,and they have some technical grasp on what they're hearing, and their opinions are well reasoned, then I'll consider giving them some weight. 

Some people claim, quite mistakenly, that it's reviews and opinions that drive the relentless purchase of more and more audio gear. I think a complete lack of technical understanding does. If you have a clue how components work and you understand how the measurements relate to the listening experience, the guess work is ameliorated greatly. 

Not without it, I guess, so what ? Let the people be. Anyway, man has a right to be an a......, so does a woman.
Takes all sorts is true in audio as anywhere. I enjoy the ideas, the way folks handle problems that crop up, the rants.... Usually the fact of how the post shows the person behind the post.