I learned about inexpensive Class D and Chip Amp boards from this forum and now use both, giving up on the boat anchors I was using. I never got into the swapping out components, rather to use tone control boards if necessary.
I have a number of tube amps and record players that have been gathering dust for years, so my interests are not in that direction, and I have more than enough speakers.
I'm now busy ripping all my CD's to the mp3 format using WMP which catalogues them neatly on my laptop rather than having a jumble of discs in various locations.
So, using my laptop and Bluetooth technology I can listen to more music than ever I could previously.
I'm now working on scanning boxes of colour slides of both mine and my late father, many of which are over 50 years old and require a lot of adjustment due to fading.
I have a number of tube amps and record players that have been gathering dust for years, so my interests are not in that direction, and I have more than enough speakers.
I'm now busy ripping all my CD's to the mp3 format using WMP which catalogues them neatly on my laptop rather than having a jumble of discs in various locations.
So, using my laptop and Bluetooth technology I can listen to more music than ever I could previously.
I'm now working on scanning boxes of colour slides of both mine and my late father, many of which are over 50 years old and require a lot of adjustment due to fading.
Hi tapestryofsound,
I would truly love to see some of your work.
Most of us have more than one hobby. Probably because we are a curious sort, and that is perfectly fine.
As for experts "crapping" in a newbie thread, it's only natural this should happen. Most knowledgeable members won their knowledge and want to make sure other's don't repeat their mistakes. That and it is extremely annoying to see mistakes being put forth as truth. That's a trigger for me, and I know it. But, most of us can't allow myths and falsehoods to be repeated as the truth. It is a form of being helpful.
I think it is also human nature to get annoyed after seeing the same myths over and over again. This is especially true when the same folks are making the same claims year after year. To learn something that isn't true makes it more than twice as hard to learn the truth. It would be helpful if such statements that are personal preference would be posted as that, or "in my opinion, this is what I think". But facts are just that, facts, well known to anyone truly knowledgeable in the audio field.
-Chris
I would truly love to see some of your work.
Most of us have more than one hobby. Probably because we are a curious sort, and that is perfectly fine.
As for experts "crapping" in a newbie thread, it's only natural this should happen. Most knowledgeable members won their knowledge and want to make sure other's don't repeat their mistakes. That and it is extremely annoying to see mistakes being put forth as truth. That's a trigger for me, and I know it. But, most of us can't allow myths and falsehoods to be repeated as the truth. It is a form of being helpful.
I think it is also human nature to get annoyed after seeing the same myths over and over again. This is especially true when the same folks are making the same claims year after year. To learn something that isn't true makes it more than twice as hard to learn the truth. It would be helpful if such statements that are personal preference would be posted as that, or "in my opinion, this is what I think". But facts are just that, facts, well known to anyone truly knowledgeable in the audio field.
-Chris
I'm going to disagree with that Chris, based on what is seen in some very technical threads on this forum and others. You did include the qualifier "truly" but most who argue technical points would also argue that they are "truly" knowledgeable. Many of them have advanced degrees and years of experience.
Kinda goes back to George's quip about getting 30 cellphone engineers in a room.
This is why I really like the following part of a rather famous interview (Jordan Peterson interviewed by Cathy Newman):
YouTube
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OK, Scott - I'll bite. Perhaps your life experience is very different from mine, tho I would find that odd as we both live in the Western industrialized world at the same time.
IME, people who have a good grasp of technology in one area, are adept in other areas of technology. A mechanic who can fix cars is usually pretty good at home repairs. Someone who can design and build amplifiers is normally able to get the basics of photography right. There is a technical "knack" Being technically proficient normally spills over into other areas. While I would not expect an talented amplifier designer/builder in 1962 to be good at working with computers, I would in the 21 century because computer use is so common. I would also expect someone who is handy enough to build speakers to be able to change out a washer in the kitchen sink.
That's why it continues to surprise me that people posting here about complex audio subjects often struggle with using the forum software or figuring out how to properly post a picture. IME, those who are technical enough to understand DIY Audio should be technical enough to figure out more commonly used technologies. Many here are, but a surprising number are not.
IME, people who have a good grasp of technology in one area, are adept in other areas of technology. A mechanic who can fix cars is usually pretty good at home repairs. Someone who can design and build amplifiers is normally able to get the basics of photography right. There is a technical "knack" Being technically proficient normally spills over into other areas. While I would not expect an talented amplifier designer/builder in 1962 to be good at working with computers, I would in the 21 century because computer use is so common. I would also expect someone who is handy enough to build speakers to be able to change out a washer in the kitchen sink.
That's why it continues to surprise me that people posting here about complex audio subjects often struggle with using the forum software or figuring out how to properly post a picture. IME, those who are technical enough to understand DIY Audio should be technical enough to figure out more commonly used technologies. Many here are, but a surprising number are not.
The last few pages have been excellent discussion, but I don't think anyone's even touched on communication. I bet there have been a few posts in the last few pages where the poster intended to have a positive message, but was taken the wrong way. Not everyone explains their points as well as they think they do.
I know that I often have to fight the urge to reply quickly. There's actually a frequent poster often in the same thread as me who's meaning I often struggle with and have learned to just wait and let somebody else "translate".
I know that I often have to fight the urge to reply quickly. There's actually a frequent poster often in the same thread as me who's meaning I often struggle with and have learned to just wait and let somebody else "translate".
I was reading a thread in the 'Parts' sub-forum yesterday, and found it interesting.
I was thinking about 6L6's comments a few pages back in this thread:
In that talk at Burning Amp, 6L6 mentions the difficulty new builders have in finding appropriate wire for projects.
Yesterday, a user posted some (reasonable-sounding, to me) questions about hookup wire, starting a new thread.
Best Hookup Wire? (for component internal wiring)
There were 9 posts in that thread when I checked a few minutes ago.
Original post.
One response from the OP
Three mocking responses
Three useful responses
One slightly off-topic response
Is this typical here?
Is this a problem?
Is this 'hookup wire' question a symptom of 'declining quality' as it will be of little interest to advanced builders?
Or, is it the kind of question we should welcome, as it gives us a chance to help less-experienced builders?
Does this type of response negatively affect new participants here, or discourage casual visitors from ever registering and participating?
Or do people just have to be 'thick skinned' enough to handle some mockery?
I was thinking about 6L6's comments a few pages back in this thread:
In that talk at Burning Amp, 6L6 mentions the difficulty new builders have in finding appropriate wire for projects.
Yesterday, a user posted some (reasonable-sounding, to me) questions about hookup wire, starting a new thread.
Best Hookup Wire? (for component internal wiring)
There were 9 posts in that thread when I checked a few minutes ago.
Original post.
One response from the OP
Three mocking responses
Three useful responses
One slightly off-topic response
Is this typical here?
Is this a problem?
Is this 'hookup wire' question a symptom of 'declining quality' as it will be of little interest to advanced builders?
Or, is it the kind of question we should welcome, as it gives us a chance to help less-experienced builders?
Does this type of response negatively affect new participants here, or discourage casual visitors from ever registering and participating?
Or do people just have to be 'thick skinned' enough to handle some mockery?
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+1
It's especially tricky when the poster is a "Moderator" who holds life-and-death decision power over a thread!
My late father was a card carrying cardigan. He was a shop floor master machinist in the aerospace industry, and a very keen amateur radio operator who did the whole lot. I mean absolutely everything from microwave slowscan television to building his own valve transceivers. He even worked Oz by bouncing signals off the ionosphere. For thirty years, he logged every single radio transmission and managed to fill nineteen RSGB logbooks. Back in 2004, realising all his pals were dying off, he switched to Internet ham radio, and never touched terrestrial radio again. He always had difficulties with reading and writing, could be extremely dogmatic, and adamantly refused to understand anything in any terms other than in either purely black or white. It took me almost thirty of those years to introduce him, albeit with a great deal of reluctance and resistance, to a world - my world - of an infinite number of shades of grey.
He was also an obsessive amateur photographer, and between him and my late mother's love of literature, I managed to end up with the best of both. I am also a trained and qualified teacher in adult education, and one of the 1 in 8 who qualify, but do not go on into full-time teaching. So I have become my own master and pupil, having taught myself many things. In particular the confluence of thinking brought about by conflicts within seemingly disparate interests. You will never see either burnt out highlights or clogged shadows in any of my photographs. There always are, and always will be, shades of grey. This is what my mother taught me, and in return what I taught my father.
I see clear parallels between photography and audio:- what is a hornspeaker but an enlarger of music, or a microphone but a camera of sound? The only real difference is the relative frequency: turn it up you have got light, turn it down and you get sound.
Of course, the reality is a tad more complex than suggested by my meagrely awkward analogy. What I have learnt of late on diyAudio is: 'if in doubt, always give the benefit of the doubt'. It's a lot more fun and rewarding that way for all of us, including an audio dumbo like me.
We need the cardigans, we definitely need the snowflakes, and most of all we need one another to make any real sense of this here magnificent audio malarkey.
He was also an obsessive amateur photographer, and between him and my late mother's love of literature, I managed to end up with the best of both. I am also a trained and qualified teacher in adult education, and one of the 1 in 8 who qualify, but do not go on into full-time teaching. So I have become my own master and pupil, having taught myself many things. In particular the confluence of thinking brought about by conflicts within seemingly disparate interests. You will never see either burnt out highlights or clogged shadows in any of my photographs. There always are, and always will be, shades of grey. This is what my mother taught me, and in return what I taught my father.
I see clear parallels between photography and audio:- what is a hornspeaker but an enlarger of music, or a microphone but a camera of sound? The only real difference is the relative frequency: turn it up you have got light, turn it down and you get sound.
Of course, the reality is a tad more complex than suggested by my meagrely awkward analogy. What I have learnt of late on diyAudio is: 'if in doubt, always give the benefit of the doubt'. It's a lot more fun and rewarding that way for all of us, including an audio dumbo like me.
We need the cardigans, we definitely need the snowflakes, and most of all we need one another to make any real sense of this here magnificent audio malarkey.
Mr Peterson certainly illustrates how to argue in circles to defend a doubtful premise - you see that go on here a lot. But like him, simplest way to deal with it is to ignore... You don't used the ignore button to do that either. Just choose what you want to react to.
The mods in here, from what I see, do a thoroughly good job of differentiating between their personal appearances, and those with a mod hat on. So, not a problem.
It most likely is. I don't have an issue with being odd 😉
I'm very practical, mechanics, building, plumbing, electrics, etc...no problem. When I was with BT I learned the basics of computing, hexadecimal etc but the computing part wasn't a large part of my job at the time and I wasn't interested in it, that disinterest has remained 🙂 I've never had a computer as such, I use a chromebook, I know it limits what I can do, but I don't need it and can do without the complexity and hassle. I doubt I am alone in this, I suspect there are many technically capable people who have a blind spot when it comes to computers.
In either case, comments are not allowed.
I certainly don't want to be 'part of the problem' by not understanding that!
I wholeheartedly agree. Unfortunately common courtesy can only be encouraged, not enumerated in the forum rules.
I have to disagree here. Smart and stupid are not mutually exclusive. I've managed to be both at virtually the same instant.
Well summarized.
In fact, it's 'come full circle' now - if you define 'computer' as desktop or laptop/notebook computer, the number of computer users is plummeting.
"I do it all on my phone" is something I often hear...though the "all' is generally consuming 'feeds', Twitter, Facebook, Facetime and unedited selfies. 🙂
What constitutes 'technically capable' is a different discussion - I know of folks who can program Arduino or build a webpage but can't hang a picture or fix a flat on the bike.
But some believe that they are entitled to their own facts and thread quality takes a dive.
Yes. Misunderstanding is easy here, but isn't an issue with the right attitude, no one's likely to die due to it. It's also easy to let your ego go entirely (if you want to) and that can be very liberating. I have no use for the ignore list...no FOMO 😉😀
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