OCD Hi-Fi Guy

[Verastarr]

Ahem! I say it is you, Sir, that is the one saying the daffy things!

The whole notion of the "HiFi Tribe" standing up to the Audio establishment and "the Man"
in order to enlighten audiophiles to true value and quality .... or something like that .... Do you
think anyone takes that seriously? The difference between your approach and everyone else selling something is that you try to sell
yourself as the only honest one.

I listen to some of your video's and think about 50% of the content has merit when you're not contradicting yourself all over the place! Your product line looks good too.

Hi Wil, My numbers are my proof. Ive had to stop taking cable orders as I cant make them fast enough and I sell Playback DAC's out of every production run. I buy every one he can make.. People are sick of the same old BS and Im in tune with the new buyers. I may ruffle feathers because Im not an establishment guy. Im willing to risk being hated and getting zero sales in order to tell it like I see it. So far the reward has been strong. I will continue in my path. Please point out my contradictions. Of its 50% of the time, then you should be good for at least 2 of them, right ?

 

[Verastarr]

There are always two sides to a story. I believe Denafrips dropped Mikey from the partnership from the conversations I had with Alvin.

Why would they ? I was working for a ten point margin and handling ALL USA repair. I can pull up all the emails to prove I left them. Why is there no new USA dealer ? Nobody willing to work for such crappy margin.

 

[Verastarr]

Actually there are 3 sides mostly
so need both in one room and shock collars and ask questions see who flinches first

LOL, AWESOME IDEA !! Count me in !!

 

[Verastarr]

"I stand for human rights!" LOL This guy is seriously full of sh**.

Howie, I thought you were looking for more meaningful discussions. Are you a liar ? This comment is meant to start Mud slinging. Shame on you.

 

[Verastarr]

He makes good points.

Thx Al

 

[Verastarr]

I used to love this channel as well when it was demos, A/B of products, peaks inside equipment and tweaks of a really cool system. I also am not as much of a fan of the ranty-rant rabbit hole the channel has gone down. Instead of telling me how others are doing it wrong, just show your way and discuss why you like it. This is all for fun and enjoyment. Negativity is not productive. The problems with competitor’s products do not sell yours; their virtue does. You don’t rise by pushing others down…. That said, Mikey seems like a cool dude who would be fun to visit and hang out with. I wish him well.

SPJ, I recognize a Jerry fan when I see one. Sometimes Ive got to show and prove why something is not as good as another or overpriced and that takes the form of proof. Nobody in the industry is willing to do it for you guys and If I did not show you first hand, you would most likely NOT know how to recognize it. Ive got a PERFECT selling record and an infallible return policy. I dont play games and I know how to build systems better than most other dealers because I did not come on to the scene as a dealer. I came into this as a manufacturer, so this combined with being on the dealer end puts me in a very knowledgeable (and jaded) position. I hope you can appreciate my candor. My intention is pure, though I am a rebel. ;-)

 

[wil]

Hi Wil, My numbers are my proof. Ive had to stop taking cable orders as I cant make them fast enough and I sell Playback DAC's out of every production run. I buy every one he can make.. People are sick of the same old BS and Im in tune with the new buyers. I may ruffle feathers because Im not an establishment guy. Im willing to risk being hated and getting zero sales in order to tell it like I see it. So far the reward has been strong. I will continue in my path. Please point out my contradictions. Of its 50% of the time, then you should be good for at least 2 of them, right ?

I'll have to re-listen to a couple of them with pen and paper at hand and get back to you with the specifics! 50% is an exaggeration, no doubt.

I do think the HiFi Tribe thing is a bit of a contradiction in and of itself. You are a dealer promoting product lines like other dealers. I think your lines are interesting and notable for being outside the mainstream and I like your approach of helping your clients in a systemic way. But I think the Us vs Them approach wears thin.

You criticize the dealers who are box pushers, but I feel that's mostly a straw man posture. I'm not aware of any box pushers in high end audio that fit your description. Really, most of the other dealers I've spoken with and dealt with have a similar approach to yours.

 

[howiebrou]

Howie, I thought you were looking for more meaningful discussions. Are you a liar ? This comment is meant to start Mud slinging. Shame on you.

The post has gone. Let's get back on topic.

 

[chuck]

Hi Wil, My numbers are my proof. Ive had to stop taking cable orders as I cant make them fast enough and I sell Playback DAC's out of every production run. I buy every one he can make.. People are sick of the same old BS and Im in tune with the new buyers. I may ruffle feathers because Im not an establishment guy. Im willing to risk being hated and getting zero sales in order to tell it like I see it. So far the reward has been strong. I will continue in my path. Please point out my contradictions. Of its 50% of the time, then you should be good for at least 2 of them, right ?

I have not heard you talk about the Playback Designs MPT8. MSB just announced a Digital Director that seems to copy the MPT8 digital connection functions (but without the transport and for more money). The MPT8 converts all digital connections to a single PLink output to the MPD8.

Playback Designs does not seem to have much presence on this board, I may be the only MPT8/MPD8 owner here. Almost all DAC posts are about dCS, MSB, Lampizator, WADAX etc.

 

[ihmeyers]

He makes good points.

I've got a fair amount of experience dealing with Chinese companies. In a previous life I was an investment banker and worked a lot on international deals. While I can't attest to anything specifically related to Denafrips because I have never done business with them, Mike's characterization of dealing with Chinese businesses is fundamentally correct. IMO, the focus is on making money pure and simple. Customer service (be they vendors, distributors, end-users, etc.) is just not a concept that exists in China and from my experience being truthful isn't as widely valued as it might be elsewhere. I'm not saying the lack of it is right, wrong or indifferent though I strongly prefer to deal with companies that take care of their clients. I think it's a cultural thing. Let's be honest, the Chinese government isn't truthful with it's own citizens. I don't think its always been this way, but certainly since the Communist Revolution of 1949 it has.

If you don't have any experience with it unfortunately you'll just have to take my word for it. Or not. I've been on the receiving end of the kind of e-mails Mike's talking about from Chinese companies 'you will do this' or else.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Tiny]

For what it's worth, I've learned quite a lot from his videos and I was even lucky enough to see that video where he is shopping in Costco or something pushing his cart and ranting about masks, haha. But that video was then quickly removed, I guess by YouTube.

Overall he seems like a funny fella and quite knowledgeable, but what do I know! Although his last vid about compact discs was like a stab in the heart for me, haha.

 

[facten]

Although his last vid about compact discs was like a stab in the heart for me, haha

I very rarely watch his videos but as a "CD Guy" your above comment lead me to take a listen; which lasted about 3 minutes out of the 19 or so. I'm very happy listening to CDs via my Neodio S2 CD Player nothing he said is going to change how I mainly go about listening. If anything, I'd add vinyl which he also poo poo'd before i went all in on streaming. But that's just me.

 

[Tiny]

What I can't understand is how can he dismiss/miss out on the potential improvement by carefully selecting the best sounding edition of a certain album. I have a very cursory knowledge and experience regarding online streaming but you are supplied with one version of each albums, and that's that.

Putting all that devotion, money and time into that great system he has and simply not maxing out the software side of the equation is mind-boggling to me. But, as they say, to each his own.