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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
wadude
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Brand bias is fine as long as we are attempting to understand our personal biases. A hobby is a creative outlet. For most audiophiles music is the motivator. But once the decision has been made to focus our interest on sound reproduction and its related gear it’s likely that we will find brands that resonate with our individual tastes. It’s also natural to compare what we know and the brands we favor with others sharing the same interests. Fortunately this site and forum is aimed at audiophiles who are trying to break free from the biases that are being forcibly stamped on us by companies and marketers that rely on status to earn a living. We are witnessing a generational transformation in the world of hifi. The disparity between the cost and true value of the products being hyped is becoming clear.
PristineSound
Major Contributor
Commenting indirectly is the ultimate passive aggressiveness. A shyness for avoidance.
You noticed how I reply directly to you?
I encourage you to speak directly to others that you disagree with. That is what the moderator has been encouraging many to do, myself included. My PM is open for you to speak to me directly. . .not passive aggressively and indirectly.
drewdawg999
Senior Member
Well I feel that people mostly deal with hierarchical systems in their lives, because that's what they're taught, it's hard to tell wrong from right when you're taught a bunch of hooey in the first place. I abhor the hierarchies, don't feel it's right to say one human is better than another based on arbitrary circumstances and judgment. The "normal" people love to put others down and to ostracize, makes them feel good. Normies are sadistic by default, it's just a part of the fabric of society, the striving for dominance.
The world of Hi-fi is no different, where marketing has massaged egos to the point that hierarchical dominance is sought. Or at least that's the way it used to be, before ASR came along to keep all that hooey in check. I love that it's not more expensive = more better, so I can stop saving up for a DAC that costs more than a car. Instead, I have an SMSL DAC that is audibly transparent, and subjectively sounds quite spectacular. I feel a huge part of good engineering is to make the product affordable to as many as possible.
A big factor is that most people don't even know what the hell they're hearing. The mind can play so many tricks on the hearing system, and of course this has been capitalized upon by the high end, so that it hardly matters what's coming out of the equipment. Just that they're willing to throw money at an insatiable runaway id. People are just snobby by default, it's rotten but it's just the way it is. They'll find any reason to look down on others, which I find rather sad.
The world of Hi-fi is no different, where marketing has massaged egos to the point that hierarchical dominance is sought. Or at least that's the way it used to be, before ASR came along to keep all that hooey in check. I love that it's not more expensive = more better, so I can stop saving up for a DAC that costs more than a car. Instead, I have an SMSL DAC that is audibly transparent, and subjectively sounds quite spectacular. I feel a huge part of good engineering is to make the product affordable to as many as possible.
A big factor is that most people don't even know what the hell they're hearing. The mind can play so many tricks on the hearing system, and of course this has been capitalized upon by the high end, so that it hardly matters what's coming out of the equipment. Just that they're willing to throw money at an insatiable runaway id. People are just snobby by default, it's rotten but it's just the way it is. They'll find any reason to look down on others, which I find rather sad.
Audionaut
Major Contributor
I don't agree with you there. There are a lot of people who just want to live their lives as well as they can without establishing an internal hierarchy or ranking system in relationship to other people.
drewdawg999
Senior Member
I would categorize those people as exceptional, or good. Not enough of them.
PristineSound
Major Contributor
You mean this? An incident of people telling others what they are and are not allowed to buy, like what is going on here?
Your personal attacks here are immature, argue with merits not with personal attacks.
Paul7777x
Addicted to Fun and Learning
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By all the gods, yes!!
Good post sir, A tip of the hat to you.
But that's what went wrong with Frankinstein's monster.
He got the brain from "abbi normal"
Naw, drewdawgs right, in my experience most everyone needs someone to look down on.
It makes them feel good about themselfs.
Nope let it be. We do need places here where members can BS endlessly about nothing in general.
As long as things don't degenerate to ugliness, name calling , etc; it's fine
Helps to keep the important threads like reviews free of OT jabber.
RedVikingHood
Member
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Casio is a well respected brand in the watch enthusiast world. But they are incredibly overrated and most models have some shocking flaws. I have three Casios as well as other Swiss, Japanese and Russian watches. I can tell you that many Casio watches are not actually better at the primary function of telling the wearer the time.
I would take Patek Philippe over a casio everyday of the week. If one gets into mechanical watches there is beauty in the movement, dial, bezel and that lovely sweeping 2rd hand. Lots of mechanical watches have a unique history as well. If want just wants to tell the time then a phone is going to work fine. Most people that wear mechanical watches are not showing off as most people could care less what one wearing. Wearing my Vero Open-Water mint green diver right now, like it a lot. I have gotten to not like changing batteries and charging devices all the time hence no quartz in my small collection. If someone gave me a Rolex Explorer I would wear it all the time and no one else would even care that it is a special watch.
RedVikingHood
Member
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On an extremely rare occasion like a wedding or such, I'll wear one of my fathers watches for the nostalgic thing. None are expensive at all, can't remember when the last time I did that was.
PristineSound
Major Contributor
I would love to have a tourbillon movement watch. Unfortunately, I only allowed myself to have one hobby with limited control on spending, and that is audio.
Now that I come to think of it, this audio hobby is such a terrible financial decision, at least with watches and cars, some can hold value, some even goes up in value. Audio, have you tried selling on the used market post pandemic? fuhgeddaboudit.
if you are interested in getting into mechanical watches looks for on Ebay: Seiko: skx007, skx009, skx173 look for the most original without mods. price: 200 - 450. sell your stuff on Ebay. Tube stuff is going up in value as well as more 'classic 70's SS gear.
PristineSound
Major Contributor
At this point, I'm probably not going to get into another expensive hobby. I have an Omega Speedmaster which I stopped wearing after few occasions of random watch aficionado wanting to strike a conversation. I can't imagine if I had a Rolex or a Patek. Would be rather uncomfortable in those situations.
Newman
Master Contributor
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Wrong again. The above statement is yet another example of you making derogatory assumptions about other people. (Ask around the forum if I come across as shy, LOL.)
And I reply directly to you. If my post follows yours, I don't consider <quote/unquote> to be necessary. I save space. Two people could have a dialogue for many posts in a row without constantly quoting the previous post, if no other posters intrude the flow.
It is only when I am replying to a post other than the immediately preceding post, that I will quote. Like this one, for instance.
So, I repeat, your opening accusations are wrong and make assumptions that suit you. Probably better if you stop doing that. I see that you very much dislike it when I have done the same in return, purely to show you how it feels.
??? So you are using the term "reply directly" to mean reply in the thread, and "speak directly" to mean open a PM? Or.....not? I dunno. And you have specific conditions for doing one or the other? Disagreeing should be constrained to PMs? That would be a first.
And yet you have not done so with me. No PM. Hmm.
So, you are the one stating this preference, but you are leaving it to me to do it, yet you don't? You put it all out in the forum? Hmmm. How very manipulative: you get to put your 'stuff' about other people out in the forum, but you want them to constrain their disagreements with you to PM, in private?
You need to show that you are being genuine and intend to follow your own advice. How? Well, don't reply to this post in the forum. Take it to PM. Over to you.
Remember, the thread you started specifically to create false dichotomies and label people here, got shut down by Rick on the same day as you started it. Now you are doing it here. Just....stop. And we can all happily move on. Like you promised to do so many pages ago (while playing the troll card at every POV that disagrees with yours).
Aha, that explains a lot of what I have been seeing in this thread. Thank you.
YES!!
I have recently decided to spend far less time here due to adults acting like Jr. High School students.