[GoRedwings19]

Pbirkett>You do raise good points, but it's maybe the same with any hobby/passion etc.

What is it that you are unhappy with. The fact there are FOTM recommendations and you have followed them and found them not to your liking, then when another came along you went with that.

Or maybe the headphones being recommended was the best ever and headfiers say you hear all this and all that, and you couldn't hear what they were talking about.

I am a little confused on what it actually is made you so disenchanted or made you step away from the computer. Is it the cost, the conflicting opinions, the heated arguments?

I don't actually know you as I joined after you left. Why don't you go and watch a magpies game or go down Biggs Market. Then come back and post once in a while.

 

[Czilla9000]

No offense, but I've never seen Head-Fi as a substitute for other forms of social interaction.

 

[warubozu]

Yup, sometimes you just have to take a long break and not login in here to clear your mind. There's lots to read and opinions to be shared which can be overwhelming at times especially if you're spending a better part of your day or night here.

 

[Enverxis]

Ive often found people leave the computer realm because the prospect of women and things such as "the partying life" are far more alluring than a computer screen. I have seen many of my friends and acquantances of such a life as I, go through this and return if things have not worked out.

Good on them too, but seriously this life isnt so bad

I am not in anyway referring that this is what I think may have happened to pbirkett, furthermore i am also unaware of his age and anything about him apart from what he has written and his alias on headfi.

Disclaimer: (this is intended towards the male population of the computer realm, saying that this is from my eyes only, I myself have not had a girlfriend for nearly three years but I have seen many of my friends leave because of this reason and come back when the girls or exit the picture)

 

[Mastergill]

You made some valid points pbirkett and your posts are always fun to read but i also think you've made some strong generalizations here.

In fact i think the vast majority of audiophiles don't 'waste' their time on the internet, they have better thing to do like listening to music! Especially when you have speakers, it's not very compatible with browsing the net. And the headphone crowd is much more smaller than the 'traditional' speaker dudes, so the population you're talking about is very very small amongst all audiophiles.

IMO heavy posters are in fact more addicted to the internet and to the interaction with other members than to the forum's subject and i think this is true for every forum. Nothing wrong with that but they should better be called "Internet-o-phile".

IMO again a "true audiophile" is first a crazy music lover who get slowly addicted to better sound, but the core of the hobby is MUSIC, and for me music is part of my life, it's more than a "hobby". Great audio gear is just a way to get closer to this wonderful music.

Now about guys that change gear every 3 month, if they're beginners it can be normal, you have to find 'your' sound trying different headphones or amps, and headphones being less expensive than speakers you can afford lot of trial and error.

If i have some advices to give to a newb about audio and internet forum, it's first, yes, the traditional "listen before you buy". Second, beware of so-called experts, check the first posts of one guy if you have doubt...very, very instructive

, and third if you wanna be happy with your gear don't listen to better equipment that you cannot afford...wait to have the cash in the pocket before thinking of upgrade and don't forget MUSIC IS THE BEST!!

 

[mbriant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hciman77 So hifi is a cat that either attacks your dog or spreads out to engulf your whole life, brilliant

Exactly ! I'm glad someone understood my cat analogy, because I'm not really sure I did.

Even without a cat analogy, I think Mastergill has just said it best.

 

[PinkFloyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pbirkett And how can I, or anyone else for that matter, who is happy with their kit and not planning any upgrades, contribute to a forum like this? I find it very difficult to be honest.

There are two types of people who use this forum, givers and takers... once the taker has gleaned his knowledge from a giver and is happy with his system you never hear from him again..... he's out of here.

The givers, on the other hand, enjoy sharing their knowledge and experience with others and they tend to hang about the forum helping people out.... just because you're "happy with your kit" doesn't mean you've got nothing to contribute to the forum... I'm very happy with my kit but also get pleasure out of helping people. If this forum was made up of nothing but takers then it would be a very uninformative, sterile swamp of nothingness with no meaning and no direction.

The fact It's got a pretty equal dose of givers and takers is what keeps it going and is why it continues to evolve into a very informative, interesting Hi-Fi knowledge base... If everyone decided to up and leave just because they were happy with their system then this would be a pretty sad place indeed.

Mike.

 

[morphie]

Theres a good reason for some to leave tho, this hobby is really addicting. By leaving people put some space between them and knowing everything about every latest audio gear that comes out... and it's a good thing for the wallet!

I for one am satisfied with my current setup and will pretty soon give this hobby up, not only due to reason but also to an obvious lack of money. Would I stay on these forums and keep chatting, it would never end, I know it too well. When I'll have more money to invest in audio gear, I'll surely come back.

Another point I'd like to make, about the givers vs takers thing. I've been here for about 3 months and I have almost 1000 posts. Yes, I am indeed leaving after my setup is built, but that doesn't mean all I've done was take. I made many posts giving my opinions of gear I've heard, making pseudo reviews of gear I own, etc. Ok, maybe I only did so while I was into the hobby, but I don't really consider myself as a taker, considering I probably gave as much honest advice as what was given to me.

One last thing, I consider music to be alot more than just a hobby, however improving the music's sound by buying hi-fi IS a hobby. IMHO an audiophile properly said is more interested in sound quality than the music itself. Yes, they may be music lovers, but in the end, if you really loved music more than your gear, you'd be satisfied with a very good setup and buy tons of CDs (which I by the way plan on doing from now on).

As for heavy posters being more addicted to the internet than listening to music, I for one consider myself a heavy poster for the short period I've been here, and even tho I did make posts out of boredom sometimes, most of my time on head-fi was spent learning, helping, buying or selling. I asked questions, got replies, Pmed people for impressions on their gears, got PMed for impressions on my gear, and maybe my post count is outreagously high to you, but I personally think its very normal for someone new interested in learning more about hi-fi in general. Oh and btw, I don't think I've posted here once without having a set of cans on my head...

Anyway, just my 2 cents...

 

[pne]

the problem is, a lot of us are still chasing our idea of perfection, and are willing to spend money on FOTM's as a desperate hope. As for me, I've spent around $2500 and I'm still not happy. In fact, even listening to the $10 000 setups at local hi-fi shops still doesn't completely satisfy me. I've honestly never heard a system that made me say "wow. this is exactly what I want". So until then the best I can do is address the solvable issues in my system until I find one that pleases me.

 

[morphie]

Yea, I've spent over 3500 euros building the setup I want ^^

 

[kramer5150]

I guess that makes me more of a hard core nutcase... Although I am on a budget...

IMHO the science of acoustics and sound reproduction is fun. Learning about the human auditory system and the science of how the body translates acoustic energy into electrical impulses is addictive. Likewise, the technology in storing music, translating it to electrical signals, amplifying those signals, and translating those signals to acoustic energy has always fascinated me.

Ive had the social life, Im done dating and bar hopping, Vegas trips with the guys are through and done for me.

As a 34 year old father of 2 theres nothing more satisfying than when my kids are asleep tucked away in bed, wife is reading or doing a crossword, laptop is logged in and MS2s are soothing away the stress of daily lving.

Like anything else its a hobby.

Garrett