My #1 gripe with head-fi forum members - Page 4

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxvla 

Recommendations based on what you've read are fine as long as you are indicating that you are suggesting they do more research on the gear you are recommending, not just buy it based on your recommendation. I do this all the time. I'll say 'X product has been traditionally a good performer for your needs, according to what I've read, you might look at more info on it'. On my computer forum I recently recommended someone look into Etymotic in ears based on his need for supreme isolation but also good sound. I've never heard an Etymotic in my life, but after he looked around he decided to go with it and loved them.

I think this is the whole issue at hand, though. If I understand the OP correctly, the annoyance is that opinions are given without this caveat... they're passed off as personal experience, while they're not at all.

Also, your example of the Ety recommendation on a different forum is fine and dandy, and is even good, but once we're in the realm of a forum that is a dedicated place for people to come and search out information based on others' experience with the product in question... in my opinion, it shouldn't exist here (at least not without the proper caveat).

Agree with the OP.  I'll follow some conversation, or poster, on a topic for weeks only to find out later someone opining is running straight out of their iPod and listens to D&B and hasn't even heard the headphone in question.  I want to submit a bill for my time.  It's rebarbative.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sfoclt 

 It's rebarbative.

TIL that this is a word... a word which I plan to use in the future.

I'd bet my life that an HD800 is brighter than an HD650-yet I've heard neither. At some point my hundreds of hours of research has led me to this conclusion, and I am confident enough to pass it on if someone inquires about it. Sue me. Oh and if I feel burned by a company even once (ex: Bose), I just might stay away from them forever, but I surely wouldn't spread disinformation about products of theirs I hadn't heard firsthand, or at least come to a reasonable conclusion of what the consensus of them was based on thorough investigating. But still, Bose sucks. 

-Daniel

Quote:

Originally Posted by petedgr8 

Ha ha.  Wow.  You've missed the point.  But whatever.
 

 

Actually, I think he agrees with you here. If you look at the quote in his post:
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by thedjswn 

Quote;  

"So... you think just because you have a certain headphone and that you have an opinion about it makes you legit?"

 

Yes.

 

...he was actually quoting and answering this post:

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbamg 

So... you think just because you have a certain headphone and that you have an opinion about it makes you legit? 

 

I have to say that I agree with thedjswn here. I think he has a certain amount of points here:

Personally, I try to recommend people as few headphones I haven't personally heard or owned, as possible. When I do, I write "I haven't heard it myself.." or "You might want to look into these..", meaning that I'd like for the person to research them as I think they could fit the bill. I wouldn't take recommendations based on second-, third or fourth hand information.

But I see a potential problem arise for newer members, even if we just pointed to concise reviews and and impressions, while giving out the caveat that we are only suggesting, never heard of it before and/or to take what is said with a grain of salt: the terms.

Back when I know no better about any of this shenanigan hobby, I have been reading a lot of reviews and impressions. Some do try to be as objective and straight forward as humanly can, some just wrote flowery saga of aural bliss. Don't mind the highly subjective reviews/impressions, even the objective reviews with all the fancy words and terms will just pass through as indecipherable jargon that, at that time, won't matter to me.

Now after suffering blows to my wallet (although if one were to check what I own may seem meager, for a college student living in a non-native country it is a lot) and owning a couple of highly regarded and loved headphones, I still feel no more "qualified" enough to make straight, confident suggestions. Sure now I know what punchy bass is all about, which sounds are highs, mids and lows (easiest IMO are lows, while mids and highs are a bit hard to learn, personally) what soundstage means, etc. from all my reading, but if I have never, ever experienced it for even a bit of time, IMVHO I am not entitled to give my opinion. Some times, I even hesitate to point to some reviews as I can see my uneducated self in some of the new members.

I agree that reading a lot will help, but as long as you haven't experienced it, you will never get the full picture.

Consider this analogy: one can read and look at pictures how beautiful is Paris and all, but unless you haven't been there yourself, it will never be the full experience. And I got found out that Paris is really, actually beautiful, by going there myself. EDIT: I wonder where I got the idea for this analogy... someone had already said it, and I just blanked it out while writing this post. Oh well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TopPop 

TIL that this is a word... a word which I plan to use in the future.

Ha!  I try to be helpful. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rezound Sound 

I agree with this thread. You can't just make blind recommendations to people. You should rather site a source of information on them.

First sentence: I would say that I only partially agree with opening post of this thread.  I have spent little time with any Bose cans.  But my friend who is a 60 + year old (with 40 + years of experience) professional sound engineer claims they make the best noise canceling phones on the market.  I find his opinion, even if coming from me, is worthy of note--if not a source for blind reliance.  BTW--he also likes Sony on the job and has heard very good things from his peers about Beyer cans.

Second and third sentence: I agree.  More specifically--you should disclose in the post that you haven't heard them at all or enough to form a personal opinion.  That said, some times the way a recommendation is phrased (e.g. "You might want to take a look at X.") should clue the reader that the recommendation is not based on personal experience.  Of course adding more (e.g. "based on reviews at Y") never hurts.

This forum is trash because it's filled with 12 year olds.  When I want a good opinion on something, I generally don't go asking middle schoolers.

If more than one person has experience with the gear in question, then it is perfectly valid to say that the information you give is worth something.  Other people have had experience with these headphones, and depending on their clout, their opinion is a valid basis of comparison.  Of course you can't treat it as if you have experience with the headphone itself, but the information is still valid.  The HD800 is bright, the LCD-2 is dark, and the HE-6 and K1000 are hard to drive properly.  I know 3/4ths of these things based on a lot of research and reviews by other people, and I've spent hundreds of hours with the LCD-2.  I can accept this information as valid because I accept the source of the information as valid.  I repeat this information to others because I believe it valid.

  Not really.

I like your point of view but in a more general trend, like this part:
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by petedgr8 

If you don't own the headphones you're talking about or giving advice on, what makes you qualified to give an opinion at all?

 

I have plenty headphones but not that one you mention, I have tried it tho only 15 minutes ta a store and didnt think there was something special about it. and I dont think Ive ever trashed them, neither ecommend them. so the point here would be to persuade user to follow one or the two followin advices.

1. the one you wrote up there, If some people want to be handing out recommendation, they should post their inventory on their profiles.

2. new users should research about the user recommending the phones, check out his profile, maybe read some of his comments around the forums and so on.

and at last, can we start calling out BS on users who go bersek recommending or trashing 'phones without owning it? I have no problem, (and I actually have done it before) in calling out some user on a thread or redirect him to that famous Boomana's rant about this same subject. maybe if we do some of them would think twice before doing it next time.

on another thought, this  is useless. if we could change it to something like "reputation" so when someone gives a good advice or post other users can thank him by adding +1 to his rep, and that would add up to his total reputation score, so new users that are not familiar with names know at sight which members they can trust the most.

or if not the thumbsup then something else on the user profile, so other users can go and vote him as "trusted (or useful) member". the idea is to differentiate the trolls from the helpful fellas.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesMcProgger 

on another thought, this  is useless. if we could change it to something like "reputation" so when someone gives a good advice or post other users can thank him by adding +1 to his rep, and that would add up to his total reputation score, so new users that are not familiar with names know at sight which members they can trust the most.

 

or if not the thumbsup then something else on the user profile, so other users can go and vote him as "trusted (or useful) member". the idea is to differentiate the trolls from the helpful fellas.

The problem is that the rep system usually gets misused. Trolls gather together and keep repping eachother and give solid posters negative rep, just to troll. Not only trolls, but friends usually give eachother rep as well. In the end it becomes more of a popularity contest.

Personally, I think head-fi should scrap the headphonus supremus tags and stop showing post count and join date at all. The forums I've been to where they have decided against showing post counts have actually become better from it. People get less prone to the authoritarian way of communicating that way.