Just some comments on the IRC channel...
I want to make sure the invitation gets extended to everyone here. I think some people have gotten the wrong impression that there's some kind of clique or group mentality on the IRC channel or that we're in some way elitist or anti-HeadFi or something. Let me assure you that this is far from the truth of the matter.
The real advantage of IRC is that because its realtime, you can get to know the other guy a little better. That means that when I slap A&M down for saying something dumb about a piece of equipment he's never heard, I get a chance to remind him that we're still friends and it's all good within the next few minutes. Because forums are so message-in-a-bottle like, the continuity gets a little lost sometimes and we end up taking each other a bit too seriously.
IRC affords us a bit more freedom from political correctness, social policy and legal paranoia too. That is to say... if you can't discuss something on the forum and want to discuss it with people who typically hang out on the forum, IRC might be a good place for it. At the same time, though, be aware that if you're sensitive about something, the chances of you getting offended in that environment goes up dramatically. Consider it a trade-off.
I just wanted to make sure everyone understood that you're all welcomed there and that the channel move was in no way a protest against HeadFi. We're all very big fans of the forum, as most of you can tell, and I hope our occasional bitchiness about the heavy handed thread closing doesn't come across as anything more than that and that we'd still be glad to have the mods on the channel,too.
irc.prison.net
irc.rt.ru
irc.qeast.com
#headphones