CECAA850 Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 (edited) I had a pic of Heidi Klum in a bikini deleted once here. i saw Heidi Klum at Disneyland … we both were at the Dumbo elephant ride at the same time. True Story. I drooled on the keyboard just thinking about that. I've always had a thing for elephants. Edited October 11, 2014 by CECAA850 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxx Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 I've always had a thing for elephants Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 Comparing the selection process from "back then" to now.. "back then": You had a handful (or less) of electronics shops, all of which had very biased opinions on which gear was best. You didn't have access to nationwide or worldwide opinions. anecdotal reviews and experiences, but no real hard data to back them. "now": you google a piece of gear and there are seemingly infinite opinions both for and against the item. opinions for or against the type of equipment. historical logs of gear performance. charts and waterfall graphs coming out our ears. so which scenario is better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max2 Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I think because of measurements and hard data pioneers in electronics and speaker building have had a back bone to build and improve upon. Having said that, the hard data showing the improvement will vary with each new owner. Whether "improved" tweeters, mid drivers, phono cartridges, woofers are all better on paper than others....is it worth the price for the improvement? I think we should come up with a dollar value scale for improvements for our speakers and other items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 more simply.. i often times find myself in decision paralysis because of the vast knowledge base available on any given product. back in the day you had a handle full of choices on the shelf and a trusted sale's guys preference to help guide your decision making process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Comparing the selection process from "back then" to now.. "back then": You had a handful (or less) of electronics shops, all of which had very biased opinions on which gear was best. You didn't have access to nationwide or worldwide opinions. anecdotal reviews and experiences, but no real hard data to back them. "now": you google a piece of gear and there are seemingly infinite opinions both for and against the item. opinions for or against the type of equipment. historical logs of gear performance. charts and waterfall graphs coming out our ears. so which scenario is better? Back then of course. You could go to multiple shops and actually HEAR different gear and make your own mind up without wondering if the "unbiased" review you just read was written by a company shill or not. If you had a problem you could actually go back to the shop where you bought it from and get assistance from a real person who speaks English and has had hands on with the product and doesn't answer your questions from a script. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 Comparing the selection process from "back then" to now.. "back then": You had a handful (or less) of electronics shops, all of which had very biased opinions on which gear was best. You didn't have access to nationwide or worldwide opinions. anecdotal reviews and experiences, but no real hard data to back them. "now": you google a piece of gear and there are seemingly infinite opinions both for and against the item. opinions for or against the type of equipment. historical logs of gear performance. charts and waterfall graphs coming out our ears. so which scenario is better? Back then of course. You could go to multiple shops and actually HEAR different gear and make your own mind up without wondering if the "unbiased" review you just read was written by a company shill or not. If you had a problem you could actually go back to the shop where you bought it from and get assistance from a real person who speaks English and has had hands on with the product and doesn't answer your questions from a script. good point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 good point. Dang, I was hoping for a little back and forth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 Nah, it's definitely a critical distinction. I guess ultimately I was wondering if it was better to have the world of options at your fingertips and equally as many opinions to promote/object to you buying it or a small selection with nothing but local knowledge and some magazines to guide your decision. how did guys even find out about obscure German/Japanese/Italian audio products back in the day, let alone come to own them? here's a real world example: I've got some play money coming up at the end of the month and am thinking about a DAC + Stereo Integrated amp combo (Halide Designs DAC HD and Yamaha A-S1000 for discussion purposes) vs. an AVR such as the Denon 4520ci. All of these components have their fans and detractors in "normal people" forum threads. All of them receive rave reviews and "meh, it's ok" reviews. The number of people saying "separates are the only way to go!" and "top tier AVR's are the way to go!" are nearly equal. The issue is only compounded by the fact that I don't yet have the cash and am therefore left to window shop and read. I've yet to be disappointed by anything I end up purchasing, but I go through this cycle every time and I just wonder if older guys had it easy by not having so much choice or knowledge available pre-internet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Ah yes, life before the internet. Basically you had word of mouth and magazine articles. I'm sure most were biased in favor of sponsors products as they are now. I grew up in a very small town yet we still had several places we could actually audition audio gear. The salesmen were generally very knowledgeable and not too pushy. You could generally spend as much time listening to different pieces of gear as you wanted to. Virtually all shops took lay away, which was the only way I could purchase anything. There's absolutely more info out here today, granted but there's something to be said for letting YOUR ears decide and actually being able to see and feel the gear you were about to buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muel Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 One of the local shops gave us a deal where you could trade in any speaker within a year for full credit of your purchase price. That was a great deal that I took 3 years in a row! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigStewMan Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 save this thread … somebody say something funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 something funny. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxx Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 something funny 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max2 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 One of the local shops gave us a deal where you could trade in any speaker within a year for full credit of your purchase price. That was a great deal that I took 3 years in a row! Norman Labs had a deal like that where you could trade up the speaker chain if you kept your boxes. I can't remember the whole deal, maybe someone here remembers owning some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 good point. Dang, I was hoping for a little back and forth This isn't the place for that! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muel Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Waiting to see if I manage to get any fargin points before 1,000 posts. Suminumbatching bastages don't have any points for corksockin iceholes like me, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhetor Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 save this thread … somebody say something funny. When I first saw this thread title, "Thread CRAPPING Honey Pot," I jumped in thinking it was going to be a collection of Shu's "best of" posts . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 I may not be an expert at anything, but it sure is nice to have well rounded tool box of trade skills and experiences. We've had about 2 weeks of sleepless nights because the motor crapped out in our little baby swing. Fortunately I've got the tools and capability to track down the issue, replace the tiny motor (required mechanical dexterity, soldering, basic troubleshooting), and put it all back together without any extra parts. Super dad to the rescue! I'd like to thank my HS auto, wood, and electronic shop teachers - the basic skills learned in those classes almost 20 years ago have been far more valuable than any amount of Calculus that I've managed to forget. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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