[bangraman]

Well, it's actually gotten better, 20 years ago there is no measurements here and (almost)everyone believed in cable burn in.

I remember the wars XD... And I remember making a few pointed comments in particular about the flagship cable of a maker who's still around that some people got *really* defensive about.


Though I think one of the problems now of equipment to measure with being much more readily available is that while you can generate charts using the kit and slap them on a website, it's not a guarantee you have the methodology right... so it just becomes a different (and maybe worse, since it's backed up by charts) kind of subjectivity: Bad data is worse than no data.


It's sort of telling that many of the enthusiast focused sites use the same sort of language that was evident 20 years ago in the better produced (and still completely BS in terms of subjectivity) blogs, while serving up often questionably objective measurements.


But what's making Head-Fi itself more niche is pretty evident: Forums are no longer relevant. Back when it started forums were pretty much the only usable way to join an interest group. Now it's probably the last thing people think of.

 

[emdeevee]

Interesting thread. As a newer "head fier" but older guy whose had headphones and iems for most of my life, I'm finding this forum to be very active, fun and interesting. It has certainly increased my real knowledge about the tech involved and I've accordingly spent even more time and $ than ever becoming addicted to my music more than ever because of the forum.

Agreed there's a lot of marketing and fanboyism, but when honestly disclosed, have their place here. Without head Fi, I wouldn't have discovered Canjam either. I went to my first one 1.5 months ago and can't wait to go again, having made some great relationships with other head fiers, manufacturers, and distributors.

In fact, at CanJam, I was in a conversation with @jude who was musing that Head Fi seems to be reenergized with lots of highly visited threads. And that there was space for everyone, cable/burn in believers, too. The more the merrier in an inherently subjective hobby that focuses on listening to audible art. And spirited, but respectful arguments are generally welcome and awesome, but if they degrade, the "ignore" button restores equilibrium to your tastes. There is certainly a ton of action in portable, but even at CanJam, the headphones and stacks still dominate.

Finally, being here has also lead me to those other social media platforms mentioned for fast-paced, directed conversations. But Head Fi remains the center of the hobby for me with the incredible breadth of product, tech and new release info at your fingertips.

Maybe I'll slow down after some time, but I don't see that in any near future, hopefully. YMMV, and all that!!!

 

[Reader]

I remember the wars XD... And I remember making a few pointed comments in particular about the flagship cable of a maker who's still around that some people got *really* defensive about.


Though I think one of the problems now of equipment to measure with being much more readily available is that while you can generate charts using the kit and slap them on a website, it's not a guarantee you have the methodology right... so it just becomes a different (and maybe worse, since it's backed up by charts) kind of subjectivity: Bad data is worse than no data.


It's sort of telling that many of the enthusiast focused sites use the same sort of language that was evident 20 years ago in the better produced (and still completely BS in terms of subjectivity) blogs, while serving up often questionably objective measurements.


But what's making Head-Fi itself more niche is pretty evident: Forums are no longer relevant. Back when it started forums were pretty much the only usable way to join an interest group. Now it's probably the last thing people think of.

Talking about wars... Do you remember when a Italian guy called Kevin Gilmore a technician?

 

[alphaman]

It will if gavel ever comes down on us long-haulers. "Careful with that axe, Eugene".

 

[alphaman]

Forums are no longer relevant.

Disagree to an extent. Look at ASR. It's the new hottie. Very much a cult. Changstar/SBAF was, but lost much traffic because it became BORING. DIYAudio gained quite a lot of traffic during lock-down. But $$ donations and off-topic "Food" threads don't earn cults much respect in the long run.
Too bad the Alexa traffic-ranking engine went out of biz (2021). Like the Thumbs Down number on YouTube. Metrics speak volumes. And hence useful ones are ultimately removed from history. And algos that are totally sus run the show.

 

[alphaman]

I should add some comments about what I call "thread dynamics" or "topic/subject dynamics". That is, how long can a topic sustain itself in a continuum? For example, certain headphones seem to be "timeless" like HD600s. And those threads will go on thousands of pages, and kept "alive" for decades of what some called "time" [1]. Because HF has been for over 2 decades, has money in the bank, and server space is not very $, then it really doesn't matter how low the website traffic count gets (we miss your metrology, Alexa). Or how many forum $ sponsors HF maintains. Because Jude will economize this forum out of his own pocket, if he has to

Refs:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Barbour
Perception of TIME may be based on Machian dynamics or "shape dynamics" since the chronon was never pursued as a fundamental quantum "unit" of time.

 

[bangraman]

Disagree to an extent. Look at ASR. It's the new hottie. Very much a cult. Changstar/SBAF was, but lost much traffic because it became BORING. DIYAudio gained quite a lot of traffic during lock-down. But $$ donations and off-topic "Food" threads don't earn cults much respect in the long run.
Too bad the Alexa traffic-ranking engine went out of biz (2021). Like the Thumbs Down number on YouTube. Metrics speak volumes. And hence useful ones are ultimately removed from history. And algos that are totally sus run the show.

Not really even a disagreement, but more a comparative difference of opinion in terms of what constitutes niche I suspect.
Its highly unlikely head-fi will get any smaller but I think it will be where it is for a while, if you see what I mean.
Same really goes for Amir's cult

| DIYAudio gained quite a lot of traffic during lock-down.

I'm curious about that tho, was it nostalgic returners or new users?

 

[piakoB]

But what's making Head-Fi itself more niche is pretty evident: Forums are no longer relevant. Back when it started forums were pretty much the only usable way to join an interest group. Now it's probably the last thing people think of.

It's probably a lot of this. Forums were the thing 15-20 years ago a lot of people were on computer forums, sharing builds, ideas and photos and stories. Then when social media hit like instagram and youtube and stuff a lot of it went to just posting pictures or influencers doing video reviews. I remember back in the day hardforum, AVS forums and head-fi were places to go to get info and opinions on products. Now a lot of the younger generation uses discord instead. The pace of the conversations on large discords move really fast and good information is often ignored and questions get lost over meme posts. I watched a social media analytics trends video a couple of days ago and a lot of Gen Z isn't even on forums they focus on facebook, instagram, tik tok with declining viewership on youtube--youtube even almost down over -20% year-over-year compared to 2022 for gen-z engagement. A lot of research is showing short-form video ads and reviews to be what that demographic is looking for.

 

[alphaman]

DIYAudio gained quite a lot of traffic during lock-down.

I'm curious about that tho, was it nostalgic returners or new users?

The lock-down helped improve Internet traffic in general. Since folks were stuck at home, bored to tears, they used DIY as Kleenexes.
About DIYA ... well, many of the orig members were older folks and real industry insiders (Philips engineers, etc) that brought a lot to the table. But many of them have bought the farm or succumbed to age and can no longer function. That forum also has a big Mod turnover rate, and stuff can get confused.
Over-moderation is a HUGE issue in forums; one reasons for this is Parkinson's Law.
Effin' bureaucracy and power-trippers are the norm; like the overbearing optimal guard-to-prisoner ratio.
https://www.reddit.com/r/prisonarchitect/comments/zukihg/whats_the_optimal_guardtoprisoner_ratio/

 

[Rockwell75]

Outside these forums, Head-fi is often referred to as snake-oil forum these days.

I think Head Fi is doing just fine personally. I've spent lots of time in other communities (I did a funny comparison once here) and IMHO other places have their strengths Head Fi is still the best place on the internet to discuss portable audio.

 

[ADUHF]

It's probably a lot of this. Forums were the thing 15-20 years ago a lot of people were on computer forums, sharing builds, ideas and photos and stories. Then when social media hit like instagram and youtube and stuff a lot of it went to just posting pictures or influencers doing video reviews. I remember back in the day hardforum, AVS forums and head-fi were places to go to get info and opinions on products.

I was an avid AVS-er for awhile as well. Not so much in the home theater/projector forums, but what they used to call the "direct-view" forums, which covered tech like CRTs, plasma, LCD, LED, and OLED. And the movie/music forum. Floyd Toole was also on AVS a fair amount... Somethin I discovered later on, after watching his wonderful CIRMMT video on speakers and sound reproduction, and reading many of his articles and white papers on same. (Still don't have his book though.)



AnandTech and Tom's Hardware were my go-to's for info on PC's. But that's goin back quite a few years now. And I have no idea what they're up to these days. I got my start with headphones on Inner Fidelity though, which eventually led me here. Tyll Hertsens of Inner Fidelity had many of the same kinds of issues with measurements that the new reviewers and websites are having. He struggled with targets, and compensation as well. But his measurements and reviews were still very informative, and probably still worth a read (or listen), for those who want a little more background on this subject. This was one his more memorable reviews...

 

[alphaman]

On the topic of Inner Fidelity… what happened with Tyll and his diy mobile home , and “I’m Out” , was weird AF.

 

[ADUHF]

On the topic of Inner Fidelity… what happened with Tyll and his diy mobile home , and “I’m Out” , was weird AF.

It was a little different. I never met Tyll. But he seemed to be an unusual person. And maybe the sort who enjoys testing (or stretching?) his limits and abilities in different ways. I think his decision was based mostly on practical/financial reasons though.

Maybe he was also tired of corporations, and working for "the man". And just wanted to get out of that cycle.

 

[elwappo99]

On the topic of Inner Fidelity… what happened with Tyll and his diy mobile home , and “I’m Out” , was weird AF.

He plays ukulele now - https://www.kbzk.com/news/positivel...g-the-tune-of-senior-activities-with-ukuleles

Although the public announcement I guess was sudden, it didn't seem all that crazy. Tyll had been building the van for awhile and floating his retirement for a year or two before he announced. He was working behind the scenes to find a succession plan for Inner Fidelity to maintain what he had built after his retirement.

 

[averydonovan]

I've had some long hiatuses from this site over the past roughly 15 years, yet the forums are still familiar to me each time I return. Even when I was much more active here in the early to mid-2000s there were times when posting activity varied. I'm not sure exactly what drew me back recently, probably nostalgia, but there seems to be no shortage of current activity.

It doesn't seem like the greeting "Welcome to Head-Fi, sorry about your wallet." is in danger of becoming irrelevant any time soon