How much have forums influenced what equipment you've bought?

I ask the question, because I've looked at what I'd bought and realised - relatively little.

The Linn set-up in the lounge was bought because I liked the sound Linn made, so I pursued it to its end (bi-amp active) and remain very happy with it. The interconnects are the Linn ones that came with the stuff and the speaker cable was chosen solely on the basis of extreme skinniness (hidable under little Swiss skirting boards).

The previous system (Marantz 63IIKI/DAC20/Quad 33/303/Rogers LS3/5A/Yamaha subwoofer) simply shifted downstairs. I quite liked the old Quads, so I later acquired a 44/405-2 from E-Bay. The LP12 then shifted downstairs in a domestic rearrangement. It's joined up with a mixture of whatever was lying around at the time and home-made stuff, and the speaker cable is bog-standard.

So, what differences have the Forums induced?

1. The arrival of the Meridian 588 - quite simply, Ian was selling, and having heard so much about Meridians and admired their looks, I couldn't resist owning one. A great machine.

2. EAR 834 - again, Ian was selling and, having heard that Quads were valve-like, I was interested in trying a genuine valve amp. I think they're right about the Quads - the EAR/405-2 combo don't sound very different from the 44/303 combo (a slightly lighter sound, perhaps) - I can switch between the two. And of course the 44 has tone controls that can make the two sound identical.

3. Slee Solo II headphone amp. A truly marvellous little device this. I do quite a lot of headphone listening, and this is 'way better than the headphone socket of the Marantz. Even got it at a bargain price.

4. the DAC20 (now retired) - a trial when TAG were selling "refurbished" ones cheap, as a result of the tireless evangelisation of CJRoss. It improved the CD63, but the Meridian is more than a match for the combo.

5. Net-Audio mods to 303. Made it sound much better. The equivalent (and much more expensive) 33 mods made no discernible difference whatsoever. 33 now in retirement.

I have tied cables, supports, power cords, etc., but because they made no difference to my ears, I went back to basics.

 

Hi tones,

It's very nice to have you around, but why are you here?

I got caught up in a spiral of relatively small but expensive Naim upgrades whilst on their forum. I was younger and more foolish. Then I got booted off to Mana where I discovered some cheaper big upgrades, and picked up two things worth having.

Now I think I've finished with buying hifi.

 

well, it would have to be forums in general...

thay have influenced me in buying the following -
NAD amp - bought this second hand (for 155 quid!), it's a great amp, my yammy is great for films, but doesn't cut it for music...

Dvd player - great poineer dvd player, bought new when first came out...

and my accessories like ferrites, focus rings and inner tubes to support my kit - these have all worked to some extent...

 

This is a question that I constantly ask myself, but have yet to provide a completely satisfactory answer! Well, initially, to see whether I could pick up any improvements to make to what I'd bought. Having answered that one mainly in the negative, I continue because I've found the community that is ZeroGain to be a pleasant, interesting one, and even if I've usually nothing worthwhile to say, it's nice to contribute what little I can, usually on the music side of things, which is what really interests me.

 

Looking at my setup (Michell TT, Sonneteer CDP, ATC amps and speakers), I can honestly say the forums have had virtually no influence at all on what I currently have. Whether this is a good or bad thing I don't know!

-- Ian

 

No influence on box's. Although Merlin notified of the RB1090 being sold s/h, but reason for buying wasnt due to forums.
Cable purchase and internal upgrades to my cornet have been influenced by advice recieved from forums.

edit to add
More influence on music buys than anything else

 

What is it you have Ian?

Maybe you should seek help from a professional if you can't get rid of it. Shame we couldn't help but then again I'm not a great beleiver in alternative medicine.

 

The forums have had a huge effect on my system.

Partially through being able to meet people, hear their systems and thus hear various components that I could not hear in a dealer, and that's the story behind my owning a pair of Meadowlark speakers.

But also through being able to discuss various components, and getting people who you know (and have met) to give you their opinions on them (which is, in my opinion, more valuable than the opinion of a magazine reviewer who you don't know).

The S300=Tabu Century thread pushed me towards the NAD S300, and combined with reports from people on this forum that it is a good amp, I bought it, and don't regret it.

The M-audio superdac is also something that is highly regarded and recommended here, so I gave it a try. Once warmed up, and especially with some mods, it thrashed my RCD-991's output so comprehensively that it just wasn't funny...

 

I use forums like magazines, to gather opinions and suggestions on what to look at/for. But most of my stuff has been bought on personal preference rather than someone telling me that it's the best thing since slice bread. Though I will admit that I bought my Rega P25 on the recommendations of forums/reviews, but I don't regret it.

 

probably more in tweaks than in boxes however everything i've bought i've either tried first and liked (so ultimately it was my own decision) or have bought at a decent price so i could sell it on again without loss. this makes it really difficult to say for sure what influence the forums have had. for me it's always been more about what's available out there ,especially obscure (in the uk) kit from other countries and the social aspects of bake offs and show meets that have kept me around rather than evangelical recommendations for naim, wadia or tag kit.
cheers


julian

 

Bearing in mind the amount of anti-Naim sentiment that seems to exist here, guess I don't pay that much attention to major hardware recommendations.

Having said that, has proved rather useful with:
- Tips on setup
- Wouldn't have bought the Eupen power lead otherwise, and that was very useful on the CD5i
- Did meet some very nice chaps, including Zanash who has supplied all the interconnects I use, and very nice they are too
- Have had the opportunity to listen to several members systems, which has helped me clarify what I do want from my own system and focus on it.

So I'd say that the forums have proven to be very useful.

 

The forum hasn't influenced my boxes in any way but has helped with tweaks. I don't often buy things on spec without hearing them first but there are some exceptions:

REL Storm III - ordered on spec after all the magazine reviewers concurred on its abilities. I'm very happy with it even though it is currently at the menders. I can't wait to have it back.

Olson Sounds Fantastic - bought after much favourable comment on this forum.

Audusa Eupen Mains Cable - bought after much favourable comment on this forum and because the science behind its construction was obviously sound to my engineering mind.

Van den Hul D102MkIII Interconnects - bought second hand after much favourable comment on this forum and in magazines.

I'm delighted with all of the above purchases.

The forum also influenced me to look at Towshend Seismic Sinks and a Trichord Powerblock but I heard what these could do for my kit before I parted with the cash.

 

i intially started along the naim cdp path when i was trying to decide what cdp to get, due to various forums. but i have to say that even though naim was one of the brands i demoed in my system, i ended up buying a wadia, so i guess in the end i was influenced not at all... and as for the rest of my kit, i fell in love with the original marantz 8b when i heard a friends when i was at university, and kevin hayes at VAC guided me towards Thiel speakers when he said that's what he used in the development of his amps. (he built and designed the Auricle, which is an updated marantz 8b, which i am now the proud owner of) again nothing to do with a forum.... however, i enjoy reading others thoughts and comments and having the opportunity to share my own. it has to be said that hi-fi buffs, are an increasingly endangered species. it's nice to meet a few....

 

Not much influence here to be perfectly honest, if any at all - I always canvas for opinion then seem to end up doing something altogether different out of the blue, taking myself by surprise as much as anything. It's very, very nice to have people's opinions and suggestions though, and I might even act on some of them next time... Watch out for my "what amp should I buy?" thread soon-ish though

 

When I joined the Naim forum I had a 32.5/HC/110; CDX/CDPS, 82/SC and a pair of 250s (I think). Now I have 32.5/(different)HC/110 and a Densen CDP and Dynavector amps. I'm not sure Naim would see this as a resounding marketing success.

Nonetheless, by joining various fora I've managed to sort out my mains and room acoustics (ongoing), both far bigger upgrades than box changes. I've also met alot of good people, many of them now friends and changed my hi-fi support 4 or 5 times in an attempt to be popular in the playground (failed).

 

Why is it that I now have an image of a Top Trumps deck of hifi racks?

 

Well, back when I started using forums (many, many moons ago, back when HFC forum was the biggest and best ) I will admit that other people's opinions and thoughts mattered hugely to me.

I needed to have the flavour of the moment kit, and it needed to be respected by the majority. I used to take peoples opinions about what was good as gospel to, which was a mistake. Now I've grown up I view things very differently, there are components in my systems that would be laughed off the planet in certain circles. Do I care? No. This is because it sounds good to me – which is the whole point.

I would say that many of my components are now laughed at because I haven't updated. The reason being that the flavour of the month no longer interests me. Much of my kit is second hand – and on doing some research (search engines and/or forum searches) it can be found that people once held it in high esteem, only for it to be forgotten about and/or slammed in the next breath.

Likewise I've bought components in the past (blindly at times) that people on certain forums said were absolutely fantastic – until I got them home and realised they were utter shite....to my ears anyway.

To be honest though this is why I've been very quiet of late – I'm happy with my system and due to this hardly demo anything these days. Much like Tones I don't have much to offer on the advice front these days and say what I can – but mainly prefer to read about others and get some useful ideas from the members (music and some cheap tweaks mostly). On the positive side I've gained a lot of knowledge in the past about HiFi from forums and shows, understanding terms and what a good sound is for example. I will also hold my hands up and say that I do still look to peoples opinions on kit as useful - it usually helps to shape any short lists I might be thinking about.

As a friend of mine has always sarcastically said “you never find out how bad the old model was until the new one comes out"....

So now you know

 

I very nearly got sucked into both the Naim and Mana upgrade spirals years back, but drew the line at spending any real money. I have actually ended up with a very different system to anyone else I can think of (Nottingham / Densen / Harbeth), so I guess I've escaped the grip (aside from the fact I run a forum, which might appear somewhat incriminating to some observers…).

I've learnt plenty from all the forums, discovered some amazing music and made some great friends. Can't really ask for any more than that.

Tony.

 

Well, I was about to say not at all but then realised that I bought the IsoTek cleanline on a recommendation from WHF forum.

Other than that though, it's all been chosen by the flappy things on the side of my head.

 

Not much influence on choices of kit, but made me look at s/h exdem as the way to go, prviously thought this too risky, eventually settled on exdem as better risk:Benefit ratio for me, Now have kit I could have only dreamed about a few years ago.

Thanks you guys.:groupies:

Now just see forums as a source of fun and entertainment especially this one as posts are a wee bit different to the norm, ie has anyone heard the latest 5* product , what should I buy etc, The members on this forum also seem to have a better sense of humour, not so deadly serious as some others.