"Jim Lesurf" wrote in message
...
In article , Keith G
wrote:

"Jim Lesurf" wrote in message
...
[snip]

Yes - if the innocent or gullable are mislead into thinking you *have*
to pay for the above to obtain good quality results for the sound.



How innocent or gullible can you be to actually *have* the money to
throw down on 'high-end bling'? (Different story if someone sold a
kidney/child/their only house to buy it - then the sooner they are
removed from the gene pool, the better!!)

Sad to say, the reality is that most of the people who go into a shop to
buy an audio system (and most of those who regularly read the relevant
consumer mags) have almost no real understanding of either the physics or
the engineering involved. They also are unlikely to have any knowledge of
the relevant physiology, psychology of perception, or how to carry out a
comparison in order to get meaningful results.


I know - *disgusting* isn't it? :-)



This does not stop them having the money. Nor does it prevent them from
enjoying listening to music. Indeed, they might know a great deal about
music.


Oops....



Even sadder to say, this means that they make choices on the basis of
ignorance and misinformation which easily misleads them. The mags often
don't give them reliable information which relates to their case. And the
man in the shop may know no more than them about the above, so cheerfully
misleads them. So it is often presented as 'mysteries man cannot
understand' why one item might be judged different to another. Ignorance
presented as a way of life.


Sure, but so what if it's smiles all round...??




But I maintain that if anyone perceives (or is persuaded to perceive) a
'better sound' from expensive (ridiculously expensive, if you like) kit
and *they can afford it* where's the harm? Said it a million times
before - not everyone seeks 'cheap' or even 'good VFM' - even with stuff
like casual footware, the 'badge' is all for some types....

Sure. But is that the same is taking money from people on the basis of
exploiting their ignorance?


Indirectly yes, I would say - the groundwork to set up the 'badge' as the
desired item will have been done some time in the past, but there's all
sorts of exploitation goes on, it's not uncommon and I don't think it's
always negative - I bet there's *dozens* of nuclear physicists cheerfully
getting ripped off by dodgy washing-machine repairmen every single day!!



If someone goes into the shop and says that they *don't* want the best
sound for their money, or to only to spend sufficient to get a decent
sound, fair enough, fleece them. But how many people say this?


Huh? It's OK to fleece people who say they only want a cheap but decent
sound?

I have overheard plenty of people say they 'don't want to go overboard' and
that they would be happy if the sound is 'merely OK' (my words) - I've also
heard a cheap, secondhand turntable described by the shop owner as
'perfectly OK if you just want to make a bit of noise'. Not everybody is up
there in La La Land wanting the 'being there' experience from hifi kit -
quite a few realise that 'you only get what you pay for' and don't expect
the very best for shirt buttons!



I for one don't think the dissappearance of the 'high end' in any
commodity is a good thing

Alas, "high end" is a meaningless term in this context as it confuses
"fancy price", "neat appearance", etc, with "better sonic results".


No James, it confuses nothing - it *encompasses* all those things! Most
sensible *ordinary people* have a pretty good idea of which way's up and are
well aware of the '****take possibilities' in most things, I find....

In my book, ignorant isn't somebody being sold a pup, it's when people buy a
pup *knowing* it's a pup!! Fake clothing and watches spring immediately to
mind, as opposed to *unknowingly* buying 'counterfeit goods' which are
indistinguishable from the originals, like certain car parts for instance!!


The problem being that this relies on exploiting the ignorance of the
purchaser and misleading them into sending money, thinking they are
getting
something for the extra cash which they may not.


I don't really think all high-end gear is sold like that, but perhaps I
should shut up - I don't own any 'high-end' gear, I don't want any and so
I'll never buy any.....