Audio Ads that Drive Me Nuts

mep · Aug 2, 2011

Here is the kind of ad on Audiogon that comes up all too often where the guy blames his wife for having to sell his gear:

"Description (EAR Yoshino 868)
1.7 year old, pristine condition, upgraded with Telefunken NOS 7DJ8 tubes. Tubes and preamp have only about 250 hours on them. Four outputs, two RCA, two XLR, and a additional XLR input. I will also include the OEM EAR tubes- two 6922's, two 7DJ8's. Chrome faceplate and control knobs. very nice preamp. My wife is absolutely against the expensive audio equipment in our house and that is why I have to sell it."

This one is a slight variation on the theme of the "wife says it has to go because the stereo doesn't fit her decor." This time it's the wife doesn't like expensive audio equipment. I'm always tempted to tell these guys to get rid of the wife and keep the equipment. They would probably be happier in the long-run.

JackD201 · Aug 2, 2011

Since when have wives been less expensive than audio equipment?

DonH50 · Aug 2, 2011

Marketing hyperbole without scientific premise is my pet peeve... Along with tricks like showing massive differences in frequency response without noting the scale is like 0.001 dB/tick...

diibadaaba · Aug 3, 2011

It doesn't drive me nuts, but I wonder what's the deal with Linn Audio of New Hampshire. They regularly advertise in Stereophile, yet every photo on their site is clearly photoshopped.

Vincent Kars · Aug 3, 2011

You have bought some expensive gear and you realise it sounds horrible.
How to sell? Telling it is the worst POC ever or is it the most beautiful piece of gear ever but unfortunately your wife doesn’t like it?

Phelonious Ponk · Aug 3, 2011

I find it kind of refreshing, actually, that some people are that considerate of their spouse's needs. What drives me nuts is the guy with the 55" TV in double-wide's living room, totally dominating the room and rendering everything else in it secondary at best. Or the wife who won't even tolerate a reasonably-sized pair of bookshelf speakers in the only listening room in the house.

But racks of big chuncky audio equipment and huge speakers are no different than the 55" TV. Then again, I've carved out my own little listening space so it's easy for me to criticize.

What drives me crazy about audio ads? When they don't say anything but poetic platitudes totally devoid of any kind of reference to real performance. In other words, most of them drive me crazy. And yes, it's a short trip.

Tim

tony ky ma · Aug 3, 2011

My wife never know my diy project cost, no advertising of expansive parts
tony ma

MylesBAstor · Aug 3, 2011

tony ky ma said:
My wife never know my diy project cost, no advertising of expansive parts
tony ma

As my ex-wife wrote in one of her columns in Stereophile: companies like ARC don't change the look of their gear so that wives don't notice when hubby buys a new piece of equipment. Or as she quipped, like we [wives] don't notice $10K missing from the bank account

JackD201 · Aug 3, 2011

I loved reading Astor Place. If it was based on you, I think we are A LOT alike!

Hmmm. What bugs me most......

Audio ads with bikini clad models. Wait, there's worse. Audio ads with models dressed like they're auditioning for Vanna White's job and doing the hand gestures too. The add of those Open Baffle speakers (not Jamo) comes to mind. See? I remember how bad the ad was, but I can't remember the loudspeaker!

MylesBAstor · Aug 3, 2011

JackD201 said:
I loved reading Astor Place. If it was based on you, I think we are A LOT alike!

Hmmm. What bugs me most......

RUR · Aug 3, 2011

JackD201 said:
Hmmm. What bugs me most......

Audio ads with bikini clad models.

Is lingerie OK, Jack?

'Cuz it works for me.

JackD201 · Aug 3, 2011

Yes it bothers me. Get those stators out of the darned way!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Allow me to amend my other post. Bikini clad models THAT AREN"T HOT!

Phelonious Ponk · Aug 3, 2011

JackD201 said:
Yes it bothers me. Get those stators out of the darned way!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Allow me to amend my other post. Bikini clad models THAT AREN"T HOT!

I sometimes listen in my boxers. You want me to set up a webcam?

Tim

JackD201 · Aug 3, 2011

Hold on. I'm gonna barf.

cjfrbw · Aug 3, 2011

Heel, worm!

Maybe Martin Logan is claiming "G Spot Tuning". Where are the measurements?

RUR · Aug 3, 2011

cjfrbw said:
Heel, worm!

Maybe Martin Logan is claiming "G Spot Tuning". Where are the measurements?

Many speakers utilize port tuning, Carl. ML has simply taken this concept to a new level of excitation.

microstrip · Aug 3, 2011

JackD201 said:
Yes it bothers me. Get those stators out of the darned way!!!!!!!!!!!!! (...)

You should get Soundlabs. They became famous due the photgraph taken by Philip Greenspun, shown in his excellent text "The Stereos of the Rich and the Famous":

http://philip.greenspun.com/images/pcd3391/manipulated/speaker-5.jpg

At that time, when we (Soundlab owners) were asked what were our speakers, there answer was a malicious smile ...

You can read the whole article at

http://philip.greenspun.com/materialism/stereo

ack · Aug 3, 2011

All of a sudden I have a renewed interest in electrostatics, although it never really waned... and that's the naked truth

cjfrbw · Aug 3, 2011

microstrip said:
You should get Soundlabs. They became famous due the photgraph taken by Philip Greenspun, shown in his excellent text "The Stereos of the Rich and the Famous":

http://philip.greenspun.com/images/pcd3391/manipulated/speaker-5.jpg

At that time, when we (Soundlab owners) were asked what were our speakers, there answer was a malicious smile ...

You can read the whole article at

http://philip.greenspun.com/materialism/stereo

Looks like the "Ultimate WAF". It's THEM or ME, choose!

MylesBAstor · Aug 3, 2011

microstrip said:
You should get Soundlabs. They became famous due the photgraph taken by Philip Greenspun, shown in his excellent text "The Stereos of the Rich and the Famous":

http://philip.greenspun.com/images/pcd3391/manipulated/speaker-5.jpg

At that time, when we (Soundlab owners) were asked what were our speakers, there answer was a malicious smile ...

You can read the whole article at

http://philip.greenspun.com/materialism/stereo

Speaking of ads that drive me crazy, that article drives me crazy. What a load of crap!

Audio Ads that Drive Me Nuts

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