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Smear campaign?

Over the last week, I have seen a couple of products on Audiogon being abolutely TRASHED. And while I think praising or trashing a product on this site is certainly welcome, the manner in which these two products have been slammed raises the question of a smear campaign in my mind. The products include one I have been very impressed by, and one that I wasn't. However, in both cases, the methods have been the same. While I do like one, and am not crazy about the other, my desire to stand up and defend both of them equally is definite. Specifically, the products are the Electrocompaniet EMC-1 and the Talon Khorus speakers. It seems that the people slamming these two(with gusto) are people who use an e-mail address rather than a username. After a while, it raises the question of whether this is just the same person regurgitating his opinions over and over, using different e-mail addresses each time. As I said, praising or criticizing a product on this site is certainly welcome by me. By all means, I love to hear people's opinions. We all have different perspectives. But, BE A MAN and step up using YOUR OWN NAME and make your statements. I will respect you, whether or not I agree with you. I have been slammed for saying that I didn't like the sound of a certain component. Every time, I just stood up and took whatever comes. That's life. I have no problem being trashed by someone who takes issue with something I trash. I now see why many sites make you join BEFORE letting you join in on a thread. I believe the word is integrity.
trelja
jim
418 posts
 
Concur with the opinions regarding posters slamming and "hiding out". The Audiogon equivalent of hit and run. In retrospect, I seriously doubt that most of these
ass-wipes have any experience with the equipment they disparage. Too bad, as some people might discount certain gear based strictly on the misconception that these are informed and objective opinions. I too have often wondered what planet some of these guys are coming from.
macm
116 posts
 
I agree with Trelja that people should stand behind what they say about a product. But I'm not sure forcing registration would solve the problem of people smearing a product for whatever reason. Anyone can create an email address and register under whatever user name they like.

I like Khokugo's idea of listing the poster's IP Address. That's probably the best defense available. You can access IP Addresses yourself at Audio Review by pulling up "Source" under the "View" window of your browser. For some reason, it doesn't work at Audiogon. As Blkadr said, Audio Review can be bad when it comes to smearing. I've checked the IP Addresses there before and confirmed in more than one instance that a single person was posting numerous negative "reviews."
sean
6,229 posts
 
I agree with what you folks are saying. I personally thought that the EMC-1 was an excellent sounding piece of gear. Another funny thing about that post is that while he lifted up the CAL 16 bit Alpha's and Sigma's to "Econo-Superstar" status, he badmouthed the EVS Millennium II. Since i have all three of those AND a 24 bit CAL, i can honestly say that i'm pretty familiar with what each has to offer. As such, i found the Alpha and the Millennium II to have a LOT in common ( even though one is SS and the other uses two tubes ). Like some of the others mentioned though, i didn't bother posting as i figured that the intelligent folks here could sort through the quagmire by themselves. Sean
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jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
I don't think anyone will have the stones to disagree with you here Trejla. I'd just like to remind people that their initial reaction to a product may be positive, but after 6 months or a year we may change our minds. I just point this out for the younger members out there. I've been following this hobby for about 25 years, I know some have been here longer than me. I also have 3 sons and know that younger people have shorter fuses, or quicker tempers, if I may. I think that many of the bashes may belong to younger, intolerant members. I don't want to chase them away from this hobby, but I would like them to realize that time may change the way they feel, so they should temper their opinions. Notice I didn't say 'SHUT UP'. Our hobby is small enough and I don't want to chase off any rookies. If they were around longer, they'd know better.
Cheers
John
trelja OP
3,215 posts
 
Very good points and perspective Jmcgrogan2. As far as the mad poster, he hasn't been seen or heard from since his exposure. From the response in this thread, as well as those he was involved in, lots of people saw right through the whole thing.
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