Audiophiliac gives Audio Science Review channel a plug

[Keepingupwiththejones]

He posts videos here that Google monetizes for him using advertising. Here is how it looks on the video he post here:

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Every review starts with a link back to his own website where he has sponsored links:

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It is unprofessional and improper to do so much promotion on our backs here. Did he even ask once if it was OK to do any of this? No. He even used to post sponsored links right in the thread here and I had to ask him repeatedly to stop that before he did.

Even if he was just doing what I am doing it is still improper. He doesn't do anything to run this forum so saying he deserves donations like I do makes no sense. He would get banned immediately from any other commercial forum if he post as he does here.

Now, given the huge benefit we all get from his measurements, I look the other way. As I have for months but not when he goes on and on about how he is similarly situated to me. He is not.

More of the same narcissistic diatribe I expect from you. Do as I say not as I do , right Amir. Long live the king

 

[Keepingupwiththejones]

You remember the Gwen Stefani song "Hollaback Girl"?
♫♫ This s*** is BANANAS! B-A-N-A-N-A-S! ♫♫



You know, I thought I'd sleep on it and return here this morning to hopefully see things had cooled down a bit. But that didn't happen. Instead, even more drama ensued and truths are being stretched (or outright lies are being made). So, let me list some things and then I'm going to take a long break from this forum as it is becoming toxic for me to be here:

1) In no way whatsoever was my video about Amir. I don't even see how anyone could reasonably draw that conclusion. I'm baffled. Honestly.


2) I have sent random messages to Amir over the last few months. In those replies he has never, not once said "hey, don't ask for donations". If he had, I would have stopped immediately. Now it's a problem, though.
(And, yes, he has asked me to not post affiliate links here. I stopped. A couple other ones were simply copy/paste things where a link was in the middle of my review somewhere that I forgot about and I promptly deleted them.) Here are my PMs to him. I won't be including the text from his replies because that would likely just create more drama.

July 23rd 2020: Amir messaged me about Amazon affiliate link and asked me to not use them. I deleted it asap. I accidentally had another one later in September 2020. Note, though, there hasn't been an instance since. Not since September 2020; nearly a year ago.​

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September 18, 2020: I sent Amir a "thank you". No reason. I just wanted him to know I appreciated his work and give him some words of encouragement during all the Magnepan drama he went through.​

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Here is where we were talking about me sending him a Parasound amplifier (that I still had planned on sending at some point; I still have it in my possession) and I thanked him for his allowing me to post in his forum. He never said "you're welcome, but just don't ask for donations anymore". Obviously I can't post what he did say... he just gave it a "thumbs up" as you can see. So.... again, I say that if Amir had an issue with me asking for donations or anything else I did why not say it then?​

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Just last week I messaged Amir about me joining the HiFi Summit chat with him and asked if he minded. I honestly would have been OK if he said he'd rather not have me on. And, frankly, I didn't need his permission since @joentell was the one who invited me on. I thought out of respect toward Amir that I ask him directly because I didn't want to seem like I was inserting myself in to something that was supposed to be about him. But I thought it would be a great way for us to finally talk directly and hopefully squash any underlying issues.​

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And, hell, while I'm at it, here is where I even made mention that Amir and I don't always see eye to eye but that we share a common goal and can "get along". Hell, Amir even said "well said" to that. I thought it went quite well. But now we are here. Time stamp to save you trouble. And remember: this was LAST WEEK!!!

So, you can see that I have been respectful even "out of the blue". And now... this. The thick of it we are in right now.



3) As for me not stating where things come from: I haven't with B&H stuff because it's a retailer. Though, I have made it abundantly clear in other threads about my partnership with them that I was getting those items from B&H. At any rate, fair enough, I'll make sure to mention that in future reviews/videos. However, I have tested plenty of things I received from B&H that I have given a "do not buy" recommendation for. I won't link my site because I'm sure that will somehow set off another chain of drama so I'll just link the ASR copy/paste here:

• Mackie CR3-X
• PreSonus E3.5
• JBL 305P MK2

These are on my site and in video. And the "do not buy" are clearly stated. And they all came from B&H. Brand new. So no worries about damaged items. That's a win/win for the community. But, to some apparently it is sacrilege.


4) As for me getting things on loan from manufacturers: I have always stated where they come from. And I have also given honest and fair (even negative to some) reviews of the ones them. Particularly the JBL HDI-3800 and HDI-4500 speakers I reviewed and the first iteration of the Neumi BS5P. Quoting myself: "Note: JBL was kind enough to loan me this item for test. I was not paid for my review and was not told what to say."

Don't forget/ignore that Amir sometimes gets items from manufacturers. He states that in his reviews. The same as I do. I don't see an issue here. But because it's me, it's a problem?

5) Amir uses Patreon and has (up to) a $30/month tier as an option. Amir asks for donations. Amir has upgraded member levels here. I monetize my videos and ask for donations. Apparently monetizing videos makes me the devil. Um, okay? I don't choose what ads run, BTW. Google does that on their own. I am trying to offset my costs in the best way I can.
I don't use Patreon (currently, at least) because I always have felt like that is a platform done to provide "exclusive" content and I don't do "exclusive". My data is for everyone to see. They may have to "suffer" through an occasional YT advertisement... but hey, they didn't pay for my NFS so I gotta do what I gotta do. (and for God's sake, I'm not saying I have a problem with anyone using Patreon so don't start).
Remember, I'm not a retired multi-millionaire like Amir. And, hey, even multi-millionaires can have Patreons and upgraded member status for a fee and contributions via their website. That's cool with me. I don't have a problem with that. I'm just pointing out the obvious hypocrisy here in someone asking for money via all sorts of methods vs the terrible notion that YouTube runs an O'Reilly autoparts commercial in my video or some random audio marketplace. Oh, the horror!!!





So, here's the deal...
I've been here for a long time. Breaking my back, falling off ladders (literally), sweating it out in the humid Alabama heat, and otherwise physically and mentally exhausting myself to do something I love doing and provide that data to the public at large. And in most cases, provide it here first. All while juggling a growing family and working a full-time dayjob at the age of 38. What are my sins? Asking for donations (which wasn't a problem until yesterday) and monetizing my videos (which wasn't a problem until yesterday). Thousands have viewed my posts/threads and gotten great information for free without ever donating or watching a video of mine... and actually costing me money via my server space as those photos aren't hosted here. It is perplexing and honestly saddening to me to see that - once Amir decides he wants to go after me - now I am somehow the "enemy" here. Seriously?...

I'm dumbfounded at what has transpired over the last 24 hours with Amir toward me. But, at any rate, I've always tried to be respectful and thankful for what Amir does and you can see all the evidence and video above backing that up. I don't kiss his feet. We have disagreements. But that's life and (after the HiFi Summit chat above) I thought that was behind us. The entire reason I joined that HiFi Summit chat (after getting Amir's OK) was to "meet" Amir and work together to bury the hatchet. So, you guys feel free to draw your own conclusions about WTF is going on here. Because I just can't anymore.

If you want to talk about me anymore just know that - going forward - I won't be replying to this thread. And talking about me in my absence seems a bit weird, doesn't it? If you want, you can email me directly if you like (hardisj @ gmail dot com). I'll give you my phone number and we can chat on the phone. And some of you already have my phone number. I could be petty and go full-tilt. I won't. Honestly, I just can't do this whole "oh, yea, well look at this!" back-and-forth stuff here. It's unhealthy. I'm not backing down. I can stand up for myself. I ain't scared... I've been in real world fights. An online drama-fest isn't really threatening to me. But I don't like doing the online battles. Being a keyboard tough guy doesn't impress me and doesn't get anywhere other than miscommunication and hurt feelings. I'd much rather have a real conversation because it's easier to cut through the fluff. We can do a phone thing or we can do an online video chat. Your call. (no pun intended)

Seeing myself as being painted as the enemy is disheartening and sickening. Overnight I have been made in to an enemy and random shit is being said about me that has no merit. Sooooo... I'll be showing myself the door and won't be returning. Not at least until things turn around here. But as it is, I can see Amir views me as competition and no matter how hard I try he will never be truly accepting of me; finding ways to belittle me and call in to question my character. I don't see the point in having an online spat when we could settle it in better ways. Unfortunately, no one is going to "win" here. Well, except Amir if his goal was to drive me away.

This is something that should have been a blip and now is a full fledged sine wave. (ha! audio joke!!!!)

I'm gonna leave on a positive note:
To those of you whom I'd call friends, I appreciate your support. To those of you I don't know that have been supportive of me: Thank you. Amir, I hope things change on your end and you learn to see me as a fellow reviewer rather than your competition.

Take care everyone!

- Erin
(hardisj @ gmail dot com)


♫♫ This s*** is BANANAS! B-A-N-A-N-A-S! ♫♫

Amir is as insecure as a person as a person you will ever meet. Any other intellectual is the enemy to Amir's fragile ego. How could something that large be so fragile?

 

[Keepingupwiththejones]

No, not like me. I am incredibly careful to make sure sources of funding do not in any way taint what I do and what I represent. Whether this is in optics or reality. How you earn that money matters. When members didn't want me to use Amazon sponsorships, I didn't. End of story. Yet Erin uses such. How do we equate these two efforts?

Of course he is welcome to have whatever approach he wants. My point originally was that with all the commercialization he is doing, there is no way to make a straight face argument that he is better than Steve G. I actually don't know if Steve even does sponsored links. If not, then he is actually ahead of Erin in his "purity" of approach.

You can't run a network like NBC and then say you are just like PBS. Decide what you are and be transparent about it.

Until you are ready to publicly divulge exactly how much money you accept in contributions and itemize exactly where every penny gets spent don't chastise other people for running their business. Seriously do you know how much of a hypocrite you sound like with this absurd circular reasoning?

 

[Keepingupwiththejones]

Let me add a sincere thanks to you for the absolute properness you show in your video. Every one starts with giving credit to all the forums that allow links to your videos. You are providing reciprocal value. We link to your videos and you verbally return the favor. It all feels fair and proper so no concern whatsoever. It is the one-way relationships that cause problems.

Every relationship you have is one way. You telling people how amazing you are and them being required to agree or you sabotage that person and the relationship. All of this because Erin stood up to Steve Guttenberg but didn't mention you . If Erin had said at the beginning of the video that you were his inspiration for the video response to Steve you would have featured the video. Why are you so insecure, like seriously I want to know.

 

[gsp1971]

Last time I checked, DONATIONS were absolutely sponsorship. Look at your major contributors and how much leeway they get to speak on this site but sure you aren't influenced by their contributions. Why are you such a petty insecure little man. All of your money, your accolades, your accomplishments yet here you are acting like a petulant child who feels threatened when another person is getting attention. Seriously you have narcissistic personality disorder for real. Your good deeds all get washed away when you attack a peer like this. But narcissists believe they have no equal so they cannot have a peer. All your former colleagues say the same thing: Brilliant man but cannot get out of his own way to save his life. How will you be remembered? By how you made people feel. Period. Your arrogance and smugness will be the lasting impression of you and your time here. Erin has numerous times extended an olive branch to you and you smacked it away like you are some sort of King. You aren't. You are just an insecure man whose ego is the thing that everyone sees. Good day to you.

Hmmm. You are a new member. You joined on July 4th. That's today.
Yet you have already formed an opinion about everybody, the major contributors, how much leeway they get, etc.
When did you have the time to read all the previous threads and understand who the major contributors are, and how much leeway the get, and form a substantiated opinion on the personality of everyone here?

You have posted 5 messages overall. ALL OF THEM IN THIS THREAD. Not bad for your first day at the forum.
It makes me wonder.

I have posted a couple of comments on this thread trying to encourage everyone to calm down and move on, leaving any feuds behind. Instead, I see more hostility. I joined ASR to learn, educate myself about hi-fi and the science behind it, learn what components to buy to improve my system, exchange opinions with other members, some times disagree, sometimes agree, but always with courtesy and respect.
For that reason, I will stop posting any more comments on this thread, as it is becoming quite toxic. Time shows everyone's true colors.

I will finish with an English proverb, quite appropriate for the occasion:
"It is better to remain silent and be thought of a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt".

See you all in other threads.

 

[gab]

I think Mike might be back......

 

[Mystical Boar]

Calling Erin out for a minor mistake while supporting Amir the egomaniac seems very confusing to me. (...) Seriously the amount of people on here stepping all over themselves to kiss Amir's ring is nauseating.

I did not say anything about Amir - neither positive nor negative. To me he comes across as rather strict if not harsh person. I pointed out that statement by Erin because it was a weird thing to say and it made me pause the video and replay the part. Even if you're an established member of a certain community, you just don't casually say "I'm the best" unless you're being facetious.

 

[amirm]

I think Mike might be back......

Yeh. We keep banning his new aliases but he comes back over and over again.

 

[Keepingupwiththejones]

I did not say anything about Amir - neither positive nor negative. To me he comes across as rather strict if not harsh person. I pointed out that statement by Erin because it was a weird thing to say and it made me pause the video and replay the part. Even if you're an established member of a certain community, you just don't casually say "I'm the best" unless you're being facetious.

So Amir is strict when he states that Erin bought the Klippel because Amir had one!?!? Just stop. You sound silly. Amir is a textbook narcissist and the forum "donors " enable his narcissist behavior by never calling him out on it because your afraid he will ban you. I don't care about Amir or this site in the least. I do care about relationships and friendships way more than wanting Amir's approval.

 

[Keepingupwiththejones]

Yeh. We keep banning his new aliases but he comes back over and over again.

Tristan Jones, Amir. Not Mike. Why don't you address your hypocrisy and rampant narcissism. How about that ?

 

[amirm]

Until you are ready to publicly divulge exactly how much money you accept in contributions and itemize exactly where every penny gets spent don't chastise other people for running their business.

I did not chastise Erin on how he runs his "business." I am glad you used that word because that is exactly what he is running: a second business after hours.

Creating youtube videos and charging for them is an honorable business. I watch a ton of educational videos from astrophysics to photography and gardening which all have ads, sponsorships, monetization, etc. I am happy that such a business model is created to allow people to have part-time jobs this way while educating the rest of us with their specific knowledge.

The issue with Erin is that he wants to act like he is only here to "educate" and that someone like Steve G is in it for money. I simply pointed out that both of them are in the same business. Produce youtube videos and monetize it. Per above, it is an honorable thing and he should be proud and up front about it. It simply is not a point of differentiation between him and the rest of the youtubers.

All of this is beside the point. This site doesn't run on that business model. You don't have to watch an ad to see a video of mine. You don't have to have a premium subscription to avoid the ads. There is no gating of the information. Donating members don't get to see information before others either. Or anything else for that matter. It is a choice I made based on broad feedback from membership. So I am simply asking Erin to honor that tradition as he sits at our table. It is dishonorable to do otherwise.

 

[Keepingupwiththejones]

I did not chastise Erin on how he runs his "business." I am glad you used that word because that is exactly what he is running: a second business after hours.

Creating youtube videos and charging for them is an honorable business. I watch a ton of educational videos from astrophysics to photography and gardening which all have ads, sponsorships, monetization, etc. I am happy that such a business model is created to allow people to have part-time jobs this way while educating the rest of us with their specific knowledge.

The issue with Erin is that he wants to act like he is only here to "educate" and that someone like Steve G is in it for money. I simply pointed out that both of them are in the same business. Produce youtube videos and monetize it. Per above, it is an honorable thing and he should be proud and up front about it. It simply is not a point of differentiation between him and the rest of the youtubers.

All of this is beside the point. This site doesn't run on that business model. You don't have to watch an ad to see a video of mine. You don't have to have a premium subscription to avoid the ads. There is no gating of the information. Donating members don't get to see information before others either. Or anything else for that matter. It is a choice I made based on broad feedback from membership. So I am simply asking Erin to honor that tradition as he sits at our table. It is dishonorable to do otherwise.

So you are so honorable. Let us all see a PDF of how much you collect in "donations " and show us where all that money goes. I will wait . You won't. "As he sits at our table" Your ego is why you have zero relationships from any of your previous careers. People put up with your ego because you were brilliant and delivered business results. But from a personal standpoint your colleagues couldn't understand how someone could be so full of themselves.

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

I'm surprised somebody hasn't put a bullet in the head of this thread and put it out of its misery.

 

[Keepingupwiththejones]

I did not chastise Erin on how he runs his "business." I am glad you used that word because that is exactly what he is running: a second business after hours.

Creating youtube videos and charging for them is an honorable business. I watch a ton of educational videos from astrophysics to photography and gardening which all have ads, sponsorships, monetization, etc. I am happy that such a business model is created to allow people to have part-time jobs this way while educating the rest of us with their specific knowledge.

The issue with Erin is that he wants to act like he is only here to "educate" and that someone like Steve G is in it for money. I simply pointed out that both of them are in the same business. Produce youtube videos and monetize it. Per above, it is an honorable thing and he should be proud and up front about it. It simply is not a point of differentiation between him and the rest of the youtubers.

All of this is beside the point. This site doesn't run on that business model. You don't have to watch an ad to see a video of mine. You don't have to have a premium subscription to avoid the ads. There is no gating of the information. Donating members don't get to see information before others either. Or anything else for that matter. It is a choice I made based on broad feedback from membership. So I am simply asking Erin to honor that tradition as he sits at our table. It is dishonorable to do otherwise.

You are a millionaire many times over. Why ask for donations at all if you are simply here to "educate " !?! Websites cost very little to operate. Surely a man of your wealth could do so out of his own pocket. That would be the "honorable " thing to do but you don't do that. Why?

 

[abdo123]

You are a millionaire many times over. Why ask for donations at all if you are simply here to "educate " !?! Websites cost very little to operate. Surely a man of your wealth could do so out of his own pocket. That would be the "honorable " thing to do but you don't do that. Why?

How many millionaires do you know? your actions are honestly psychotic. Please seek medical attention.

 

[Kishore]

How are all the "donations" Amir accepts any different . You can't be serious with your reasoning. A millionaire accepting donations is ridiculous in and of itself but then for Amir to be so hypocritical and chastise Erin from something he does himself. Get out of here with that nonsense. I see nothing has changed on this site. People gatwe to worship at the altar of Amir. I am sure I will get banned soon enough. The hypocrisy is overwhelming.

I am serious and I am not anyone's fanboy-please don't club me with Amir, Erin, you or anyone else . While I wish lines were drawn earlier, I don't think anyone is criticizing integrity of reviews published. Don't make this reflective of twitter sized barking point with no bite.

 

[amper42]

Is there a wager on how long it takes for this thread to be erased?

 

[amirm]

You are a millionaire many times over. Why ask for donations at all if you are simply here to "educate " !?! Websites cost very little to operate. Surely a man of your wealth could do so out of his own pocket. That would be the "honorable " thing to do but you don't do that. Why?

For good number of years, that is how this forum ran. I spent the money and membership enjoyed the results. Indeed the first year I started to test hardware I spent thousands of dollars on gear to test. People then asked if they could show their appreciation for the work by donating. So I created mechanisms for that. Later suggestion was made to use Amazon Affiliate links as well. So I went through that program and got qualified. But when I polled the membership on turning that on, the reaction from many was super negative so I did not.

The idea of donating to the site (and revenue in general) is to enable more testing of more gear. Shipping costs alone costs thousands of dollars alone per year. I pack and schlep all these heavy boxes to mail them. Having a donation as a thank you makes up for sweat and drudgery of doing this type of "work."

You also seem to be ignorant of why people donate, likely because you are not generous that way yourself. People mostly donate because it makes them feel good that they are helping a cause they believe in. The value is bi-directional. Indeed they may not know what happens to their money but they do know the effect it has the moment to make the donation: a warm feeling of doing something good.

So I suggest you start donating to good causes so you know what I am talking about. Otherwise you come across as the type that thinks he is entitled to people spending money for them just for the sake of it.

 

[Pennyless Audiophile]

Another great popcorn thread... keep it coming.
I am here for education but this is genuine fun!

 

[SIY]

I'm surprised somebody hasn't put a bullet in the head of this thread and put it out of its misery.

I asked, but...