[Milsurplus] Re: serious tube

[jfor at quik.com]

Hi David,

Very well put. One thing though. It's not always a money motive that
drives these guys. Sometimes it's just the desire to be regarded as the
leader of the flock, the elite de la elite.

The sad part is that there is often 'collateral damage' such as all the
finals for T.1154s going to audiophools for their silly amps. And the
rarer they get, the more they are sought after. What would the last living
Dodo have gone for on eBay ??

Thanks,
-John




>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "mikea" <mikea at mikea.ath.cx>
> Subject: Re: [Milsurplus] RE: [ARC5] serious tube
>
>
>> The "sound stage" verbiage is utter and complete bafflegab. Next thing
>> they'll be talking about threel proctors, the effect of the
>> transformer paint on the audio....
>
> Already been done, believe it or not.
>
> This is a very old con game,
> based on an emotional desire to be "in with the 'In' crowd."
> The chief con-men form a clique-
> usually by publishing a magazine or some other form of wide publicity-
> that promotes them as the "gurus" of  their particular con;
> "modern" art, audiophoolery, "fine" wines- it's all the same concept.
> They promote themselves as the experts
> about some exceedingly subtle distinctions or fine points,
> doing their best to corner the market
> on whatever thing they've pronouced as "special"
> (5AR4 rectifiers, Jackson Pollock monkey-dung splatters,
>  1954 Merde Vineyards Merlot (green bottle with Tuscan cork, of course)
> so they can take advantage of the demand they are going to create. The
> cons only need a half-dozen or so stooges to "me too" for them and,
> using their magazine or other P.R. vehicle,
> they develop a following of "me too" sheep
> who would sell their souls to be part of what they perceive as an
> "elite." The con-men create the phony distinctions
> and ethereal fine divisions on which their con is based,
> and their followers, desperate to be included in this elite new club,
> delude themselves into believing
> they  hear/see/taste the phantom distinctions.
> The sheep then reenforce each other in their common delusion,
> and the con-men can count on a steady income stream ever after.
> No one wants to be "the skunk at the wedding"
> and say he can't hear/see/taste "it."
> Even if a guy fudges and says:
> "Well, I think I might hear something,"
> the sheep all look at him with pity and whisper:
> "poor fellow; he just doesn't have what it takes to be one of us." Go to
> a CES show in 'Vegas and watch
> the "single crystal oxygen free copper wire"
> vs. "plain' copper wire" and other audio freak shows
> at that carnival midway of a convention.
> Speak up and say:
> "I can't hear any difference,"
> then watch the crowd around you.
>
> People want desperately to be thought "special" and "elite,"
> without ever accomplishing anything
> that would make them truly special or elite.
> By joining the mass delusion of audiophoolery,
> they can go to wine and cheese parties with other "connoisseurs" and
> discuss "transparent tintinnabulation of the 211 triode's sound stage
> when using progressive bi-lateral feed-forward"
> and other silly nonsense with a straight face.
> They know they will be validated and reinforced
> by people just as invested in the delusion as they.
> People are willing to pay massive amounts of money
> to have an "I'm special" feeling which they have
> not otherwise earned.
>
> Sometimes, I wish I were smart enough to figure-out
> how to run one of these fantasy farces; if a fool is going to
> throw away his money, he might as well throw it at me ;).
> But then I imagine what my daddy would say about making
> one's living by lying and stealing from the foolish.....
>
> D.S.