We need another spicy review thread now that the Tekton furore has died down….

[Somafunk]

I vote for something exotic, Wilson Chronosonic XVX would do, but then again the Tune Tots measured quite poor and Amir liked them so perhaps the Synergistic Research Galileo Powercell SX as it has a blue led inside it and a window so you see the electricity being conditioned and fluffed up - also comes with a free $10,000 power cord.

Any other ideas?

 

[kemmler3D]

If Amir really wanted to up the spice level (I seriously doubt that he does, but if he did) he could just re-review amps and DACs that other reviewers have given glowing subjective reviews to - show there's no audible difference between the various units they mention in their reviews, and call them out for it directly.

Or start another one of those $X,000,000 challenges for people passing blind ABX tests of amps or DACs under normal listening conditions, that kind of thing.

 

[Jim Taylor]

Just because we GET trouble doesn't mean that we WANT trouble. This isn't the National Enquirer of Audio; can't we just leave that sort of stuff to someone else?

Jim

 

[kemmler3D]

Just because we GET trouble doesn't mean that we WANT trouble. This isn't the National Enquirer of Audio; can't we just leave that sort of stuff to someone else?

Jim

Agreed... I can't resist drama but I'd really prefer we didn't get much/any. Not healthy, attracts the wrong kind of attention to ASR, etc.

 

[Vacceo]

I like Amir as a human being and I don't think that extra stress and anxiety are good for his health.

I also like Adam and BDWoody, and in the last case, he has to take good care of his health.

Drama ultimately means flaming and bad blood on the forum, and they are the "fire brigade", no need to want them to deal with extra chaos.

 

[Axo1989]

I vote for something exotic, Wilson Chronosonic XVX would do, but then again the Tune Tots measured quite poor and Amir liked them so perhaps the Synergistic Research Galileo Powercell SX as it has a blue led inside it and a window so you see the electricity being conditioned and fluffed up - also comes with a free $10,000 power cord.

Any other ideas?

The TuneTots were a perfect item for review on that basis: some obvious flaws in the measured results vs some positive subjective sonic characteristics (that Amir himself observed) plius a luxury price. But falling short of actual snake oil (aka claims outside the bounds of physics) or severe ethical failure (aka you know who). Thus, a wide range of fairly reasonable arguments were open from all angles.

I'd like to buy a classic Krell and drop-ship for review, maybe one day. Meanwhile I like the Chronosonic idea—an XVX vs 8381 shootout would be epic—but too heavy for Amir to manage unless a volunteer team turned up.

Just because we GET trouble doesn't mean that we WANT trouble. This isn't the National Enquirer of Audio; can't we just leave that sort of stuff to someone else?

Of course ASR wants trouble. Have you met Amir? Have you read these forums? I mean "crusade" or "cause" if not "mission" is invoked as often as not. And I've actually said, go in easy, use a bit of grace/tact ... more than once. Not likely.

 

[Purité Audio]

Sex sells!
Personally I find fascinating discovering through Amir the actual objective performance of a component compared to the marketing.
Keith

 

[restorer-john]

I like Amir as a human being

What else would he be?

 

[Jim Taylor]

Of course ASR wants trouble. Have you met Amir? Have you read these forums? I mean "crusade" or "cause" if not "mission" is invoked as often as not. And I've actually said, go in easy, use a bit of grace/tact ... more than once. Not likely.

Educators have a mission to fight back against ignorance. Medical entities are on a crusade to wipe out various diseases such as polio and smallpox. The cause of dealing with world hunger receives support all over the globe.

That doesn't mean that they want trouble, it means that they are exerting a tremendous effort to make people's lives better.

To put it another way: no good comes about without focus and effort. Dealing with elements of nature is one thing, but dealing with elements of human behavior can take many times the focus and energy.

Jim

 

[Vacceo]

What else would he be?

I could only like his work as a reviewer and not care about his personhood.

 

[Axo1989]

Educators have a mission to fight back against ignorance. Medical entities are on a crusade to wipe out various diseases such as polio and smallpox. The cause of dealing with world hunger receives support all over the globe.

That doesn't mean that they want trouble, it means that they are exerting a tremendous effort to make people's lives better.

To put it another way: no good comes about without focus and effort. Dealing with elements of nature is one thing, but dealing with elements of human behavior can take many times the focus and energy.

Nice generalisations of course, but things may be more complicated. For example here recently we've seen a number of university chancellors taking in million dollar salaries while illegally under-paying their teaching staff (as a matter of law, not just opinion). I suppose they didn't want trouble, but they invited it.

But mixed motives and practices aside, what is essential to any of those endeavours that precludes employing a bit of grace and tact because a) you have genuine empathy for the people you believe you are trying to help and b) because you want to reach more people, more positively?

 

[Jim Taylor]

Nice generalisations of course, but things may be more complicated. For example here recently we've seen a number of university chancellors taking in million dollar salaries while illegally under-paying their teaching staff (as a matter of law, not just opinion). I suppose they didn't want trouble, but they invited it.

But mixed motives and practices aside, what is essential to any of those endeavours that precludes employing a bit of grace and tact because a) you have genuine empathy for the people you believe you are trying to help and b) because you want to reach more people, more positively?

Originally, you said :

Of course ASR wants trouble. Have you met Amir? Have you read these forums? I mean "crusade" or "cause" if not "mission" is invoked as often as not

You cited the words "crusade", "cause" and "mission" as evidence that, "Of course Amir wants trouble".

I replied that those words are not an indication of wanting trouble, by showing that those words are used to describe human efforts of the highest moral caliber. I gave you the benefit of the doubt that this was just a simple misunderstanding, and that the matter was closed.

You have also implied that Amir does not employ grace and tact, that he does not have genuine empathy for the people he believes he is trying to help, and that he does therefore not want to reach more people, more positively. If that is the viewpoint that you want to advance, you need more than innuendo. You need proof.

You also bring illegal activities into the discussion, citing the university chancellors. What does this have to do with Amir and ASR? Are you insinuating that Amir has done something illegal?

That would be a smear of the lowest, filthiest sort. You know as well as I that Amir has gone to the greatest of lengths to avoid any semblance of corruption or malfeasance in his handling of this website. You yourself seem to be lacking in grace and tact.

By your continued criticism, you advance the idea that in order to conduct himself acceptably, he must conduct himself in a manner that is acceptable to you. I believe that there is no value in that viewpoint. You may have your personal opinion, but continued sniping and criticism of this order is totally unwarranted. Neither Amir, nor I, nor anyone else is required to conduct themselves in a manner that fulfills your personal standards. You are not God.

It would be fitting if you were to apologize to Amir.

Jim Taylor

 

[sam_adams]

What else would he be?

Well, he could be a Centaur. Then he could easily carry all those heavy speakers up to the living room to listen to them. I don't know how his family would feel about that though . . .

 

[Axo1989]

Originally, you said :


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusades
You cited the words "crusade", "cause" and "mission" as evidence that, "Of course Amir wants trouble".

I replied that those words are not an indication of wanting trouble, by showing that those words are used to describe human efforts of the highest moral caliber. I gave you the benefit of the doubt that this was just a simple misunderstanding, and that the matter was closed.

You have also implied that Amir does not employ grace and tact, that he does not have genuine empathy for the people he believes he is trying to help, and that he does therefore not want to reach more people, more positively. If that is the viewpoint that you want to advance, you need more than innuendo. You need proof.

You also bring illegal activities into the discussion, citing the university chancellors. What does this have to do with Amir and ASR? Are you insinuating that Amir has done something illegal?

That would be a smear of the lowest, filthiest sort. You know as well as I that Amir has gone to the greatest of lengths to avoid any semblance of corruption or malfeasance in his handling of this website. You yourself seem to be lacking in grace and tact.

By your continued criticism, you advance the idea that in order to conduct himself acceptably, he must conduct himself in a manner that is acceptable to you. I believe that there is no value in that viewpoint. You may have your personal opinion, but continued sniping and criticism of this order is totally unwarranted. Neither Amir, nor I, nor anyone else is required to conduct themselves in a manner that fulfills your personal standards. You are not God.

It would be fitting if you were to apologize to Amir.

Jim Taylor

Not at all. I was pointing out that the words in question are applied to activities and people with a wide range of motives and morals. Sometimes it's a matter of the facts, sometimes a matter of perspectives. We all know about the eponymous Crusades, surely? That part of the post had no implications beyond a discussion of relevant semantics.

As for grace and tact, I recall I once had a relevant exchange with Amir (regarding the best response to Darko's podcast with Cameron aka GoldenSound a while back) and we disagreed in the end. While I had a different suggested approach, Amir's actual approach is up to him. How could it be otherwise? Your rant is way overcooked (imho) and you quote me incorrectly, but you can always apologise to me.

 

[Jim Taylor]

Your rant is way overcooked (imho) and you quote me incorrectly, but you can always apologise to me.

I will tender to you all the apology that you deserve.

Jim

 

[Axo1989]

I will tender to you all the apology that you deserve.

I'd say do it sincerely, or not at all.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I guess you guys have managed to make this thread the spicy thread over nothing. Wow.

 

[Keith_W]

On another note, I am a member on a group on Facebook called "Rebombori". Every day they post pictures of high end audio systems for members to drool over. Most members are your typical high end audiophile, who love python-like power cords and all sorts of tweaks. Not the kind of hobbyist who has any love of ASR.

Yesterday, a picture of a Tekton speaker was posted. A good number of the responses were negative, saying that they would boycott the company for going after reviewers.

 

[Jim Taylor]

I'd say do it sincerely, or not at all.

I did both.

Jim

 

[Axo1989]

On another note, I am a member on a group on Facebook called "Rebombori". Every day they post pictures of high end audio systems for members to drool over. Most members are your typical high end audiophile, who love python-like power cords and all sorts of tweaks. Not the kind of hobbyist who has any love of ASR.

Yesterday, a picture of a Tekton speaker was posted. A good number of the responses were negative, saying that they would boycott the company for going after reviewers.

Interesting to see that negative repercussions are occurring beyond the usual tribal delineations. Mr Tekton could have employed some grace and tact of course. But his case is particularly egregious.

On the spice front, I haven't thought of any new subject matter beyond my suggested but unlikely heavyweight standoff unfortunately.