Keith_W
Master Contributor
I thought you were a consumer of trashy movies! You haven't seen Zoolander have you?
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Snobbery in Hi-Fi. Why are people so stupid and turn their noses up at gear costing much less which is just as good?
- Thread starter Westsounds
- Start date
I thought you were a consumer of trashy movies! You haven't seen Zoolander have you?
But are any of those things actually better? Is a Porsche 911 better than a bmw m5? Is a cable with lower resistance better than a cable with high resistance? Is copper a better conductor than aluminum? Are capacitors of the same value the same? Some things are better than others. Just because the price tag boosts someone’s ego that is irrelevant to the quality, engineering and design implementation of the product.
The word "Better" is pretty much meaningless, unless there is a known criteria of quality used for evaluating/measuring, regardless of whether we are talking about audio stuff, cars, watches, or whatever...
Highest possible SINAD (even if it is well beyond practical limits of human hearing capabilities) may be a criteria to evaluate audio stuff for some people, even if it appears somewhat strange to me, and some audiophile snobs may get a warm and fussy feeling from the knowledge that their amplifier has higher SINAD than the amplifiers of all the other guys in their social circles.
Highest possible SINAD (even if it is well beyond practical limits of human hearing capabilities) may be a criteria to evaluate audio stuff for some people, even if it appears somewhat strange to me, and some audiophile snobs may get a warm and fussy feeling from the knowledge that their amplifier has higher SINAD than the amplifiers of all the other guys in their social circles.
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Isn't self-righteousness just snobbery of another kind?
EJ3
Master Contributor
Currently me & my wife: 2 bedrooms (so when either one of our snoring is bothersome, there is the other bedroom) and 1.5 baths (less per person than has ever been in any place that I have lived since I was 8).
My family, since 1927, has been licensed Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning and General contractors.
When my father & mother designed and built the house (with friends) that we moved into when I was 8 (in 1964), it had 3 bedrooms (1 for them, one for me and one for family or guests). Their bedroom had two dressing rooms, hers with a basin & a bidet and his with a basin and a toilet. In between them is a tub room. room.
The other two bedrooms have a dressing room with a basin and a wall hung toilet. In between them is a tub room.
Downstairs, at a back entrance (coming from the creek, is a mudroom/boilerroom/workshop. And 1 step up is a bathroom with a basin and a shower stall.
So mother father and me: 5 bathrooms.
And I have made it a point that no matter where I live, there will be a bathroom for each person. Even when we just had a 2 bedroom apartment, our son had his own full bathroom (you know, with tub).
No skimping on bathrooms. Probably not exactly luxury in most peoples sense of things. But when you don't have access to one, it's pretty annoying.
EJ3
Master Contributor
I don't give a rip if they burn it when I'm gone.
But while I'm here, I will enjoy what I like.
As long as I got it through my own work. (or as a gift).
I don't buy anything to show off (and never have [but that may be a side effect of some things that I buy to some folks] {I would not know if it is, as I don't ask others "what would you think if I bought this?"}).
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Nope, can't say I ever heard of it. LOL
I looked it up, listed as a comedy, never cared much for newer comedy myself.
Last good ones I saw were the Cheech and Chongs
drewdawg999
Senior Member
The answer to why are people so stupid? Because most people are. The sheeple conform to arbitrary standards, and struggle to define themselves amidst the madness of modern society. They like to impress with luxury items, naturally to massage their fragile egos, and to feel like they're better than others. It's a symptom of a hierarchical system, where people are pitted against another, told that some are better, some are worse, and are trained to abuse those that are below them. People who partake in such a system naturally grow quite sadistic over time.
I thought the original question was pertinent to a certain rival forum that's all subjectivity and madness. They are quite snobbish over there, and see the audiophile world as a hierarchy, that you start with entry level and have to move up like you have to move up the corporate ladder. In their view, more expensive = more better, such as with their "musical" DACs, where there are audible differences between a $2000 model and a $20,000 one. More expense brings more musicality, and you must sift through mountains of bull-caca, anecdote after anecdote of pure imagination and bias. If that world had an ounce of truth or integrity, I'd still be saving up for a MSB DAC to go with my Wilson Audio speakers, and tube gear of astronomical cost. Thankfully, I dropped out of conventional society before I could take out a second mortgage to purchase such unattainable items.
I can only be thankful for places like ASR, where a main objective is to keep the snake oil in check. No longer am I chatted up by oily salesman, just imagine putting your trust in such a person whose main purpose is to separate you from as much cash as they possibly can. Their number one product with the highest margin is no doubt... cables. I'm glad I know the truth about such things now, but I was a Nordost customer at one point in my dubious past. Anyways, I no longer believe in hierarchical systems, and with recent advancements in Chinese manufacturing, good tunes are in reach for more people than ever. Which is a good thing, very very good. The more important music is in people's lives the better, so that they spend less time hating on others and more time appreciating the beautiful.
I thought the original question was pertinent to a certain rival forum that's all subjectivity and madness. They are quite snobbish over there, and see the audiophile world as a hierarchy, that you start with entry level and have to move up like you have to move up the corporate ladder. In their view, more expensive = more better, such as with their "musical" DACs, where there are audible differences between a $2000 model and a $20,000 one. More expense brings more musicality, and you must sift through mountains of bull-caca, anecdote after anecdote of pure imagination and bias. If that world had an ounce of truth or integrity, I'd still be saving up for a MSB DAC to go with my Wilson Audio speakers, and tube gear of astronomical cost. Thankfully, I dropped out of conventional society before I could take out a second mortgage to purchase such unattainable items.
I can only be thankful for places like ASR, where a main objective is to keep the snake oil in check. No longer am I chatted up by oily salesman, just imagine putting your trust in such a person whose main purpose is to separate you from as much cash as they possibly can. Their number one product with the highest margin is no doubt... cables. I'm glad I know the truth about such things now, but I was a Nordost customer at one point in my dubious past. Anyways, I no longer believe in hierarchical systems, and with recent advancements in Chinese manufacturing, good tunes are in reach for more people than ever. Which is a good thing, very very good. The more important music is in people's lives the better, so that they spend less time hating on others and more time appreciating the beautiful.
EJ3
Master Contributor
It needs to be sticking out of the sunroof!LOL - where's the "sticking the middle finger up" emoji when you need it
EJ3
Master Contributor
I'm not looking at it when I'm driving it.But, But, But why, it's still so freakin fugly?
But apparently its ugly looks astound people in Ferrari's when it kicks their butt on a slalom course.
Maybe the uglyness makes it a double whammy.
Part of being an unsuspected sleeper.
Yes I think you're on to something with that.
One time we were ragging on ludicrously expensive equipment and this fellow says 'I don't understand why you do this. Surely as audiophiles we all aspire to one day own those products?'
Keith_W
Master Contributor
Nope, can't say I ever heard of it. LOL
I looked it up, listed as a comedy, never cared much for newer comedy myself.
Last good ones I saw were the Cheech and Chongs
Go watch it, you would love it. The premise is that an evil fashion designer, Mugatu, wants to kill the Malaysian Prime Minister for closing his sweatshop factories. He brainwashes Zoolander, an endearingly stupid but very handsome male model into carrying out his evil deed for him. Zoolander and his equally stupid male model friends eventually save the day. My favourite scene is where his stupid friends have fun by spraying each other with gasoline at a service station with predictable results.
So if you wear a "Mugatu" clothing item, you are signalling superior taste in comedy movies. Not necessarily superior fashion sense
I have two and I never have to wait on one - I'm an empty nest, my wife has a bathroom and I have one.
I have 3 bedrooms as well - but I don't entertain family or friends very often (only grands and they have a room). You see...it all comes down to the individual likes and dislikes of the person.
Yep!!! I'm an empty nest, my youngest is almost 40!!!! My grands have everything I didn't, as my kids had everything I didn't. One of my son's told me "Dad...we were holding you and Mom back!" LOL!!!! They knew we sacrificed our comforts for their well being. Now the grands....yeah, we spoil them...because that's what grandparents do!
That's the reason very few people have been to my home, and very few know what's in it. You guys may know some of what's in it from my signature, but you don't know my address. I tell my wife - if we're going to a neighborhood that I'm unfamilar with - don't wear your real jewlery...I got that from my mother. You never want to draw attention to yourself in this day and age.
I was given a gold wrist watch with diamonds when one of my parents passed away. they've been gone for more than 10 years, I've worn that watch 3 times in 10 years.
My father had a couple of early digital watches he bought on a business trip back in the mid '70s. One was a Casio, the other may well have been the silver version of the Omega 'Kojak' watch. I recall that you had to press a button to show the time.
No idea what happened to them. Maybe he got rid of them at some point, or possibly one of my brothers had them away. They'd be quite valuable now. My father had zero interest in status symbols but he did like gadgets.
No idea what happened to them. Maybe he got rid of them at some point, or possibly one of my brothers had them away. They'd be quite valuable now. My father had zero interest in status symbols but he did like gadgets.
Even costume jewlery can become valuable. My spouse has priced things that she bought for a dollar at Dollar Tree 30+ years ago, can you believe they're worth about $25 now?!!!! Well...I can see it now that I think of it. Things like toys (GI Joe, Barbie, Transformers) they increase in value too.
PristineSound
Major Contributor
And of the 8.1B people in this world, we have no idea who the heck you are anyway. Which is why I'm willing to even mention some of the HiFi audio gear I have online but in person when people ask what I got, I list off the cheapest stuff I own.
Don't feel at all comfortable people knowing my business.