Anyone know what happened to Audiokarma ?

cubdog

I was on their site hoping to get some info on some speakers I just purchased. I went out to fire up the grill and when I came back in there was a notice that AK was closed until further notice. ?

cubdog

RuSsMaN

Site Maintenance. We will have it back up as soon as possible.

cubdog

Thanks Russ.

cubdog

George Grand

It might have well changed its name to "The Bolly Show".

That place is a joke at this point, with most of the membership worshipping false gods.

F1nut

deleted

HBombToo

looks like a coherience nightmare to me but im just the class clown....

twin

George Grand

Well whatever those are, they're going to ba a shitload better sounding than the Pioneer CS series of loudspeakers, the Cerwin-Vega shitboxes, and the Sansui absolute laughs that are highly regarded there.

Wasn't a bad place at one time, but as membership grew, the knowledge base and average age shrank. There are still good people there, but they are far more tolerant of idiots and rip-off artists than I could ever hope to be. Screw it, I get PM's from okay people there that I care about, but participation is far too aggravating at this point.

(of the Jersey Grands)

RuSsMaN

You have 5 types of members on Audiokarma.

1. The newbie morons. This group accounts for around 10% of the membership, at any given time. Now, don't take that the wrong way, we were all 'newbie morons' to the audio realm at ONE time. These guys just need some advice, in the RIGHT direction.

2. The wannabe collectors. This group makes up about 10% of the membership. These are the guys that got BAD advice, and have loaded up their garages, basements, and spare bedrooms with JUNK. That leads us to the next group.

3. The collectors. On AK, this group makes up 70% of the membership. These are the members that have an idea of what 'good sound' is, but haven't (and probably won't ever) reach hi-fi nirvana. Why? They collect. Most of it has redeeming value, some of it doesn't. They are stuck in mid-fi, by choice, because they are in the 'horde' mindset. Instead of buying one GREAT pair of speakers, they buy 15 mediocre pairs. This group is big on 'instant gratification', buying frequency, over buying quality.

4. The know it all. These are the guys that don't have a great rig, per se, but work for someone that does. They think they are God's gift to the audio world, and you better listen up. 5% of the population at AK.

5. The Hi - Fidelity enthusiast. This rare breed (the last 5%) knows good sound. They've been around the block more than a few times, and in most cases have forgotten about more gear, than most will ever get to know in the first place. If they buy gear, it's to flip, has REAL historical significance, or for a trip down memory lane. These are the members that have Ronco'd their rigs. Not much gets swapped out anymore, if at all.

Cheers,
Russ

F1nut

deleted

F1nut

That's a good summary, Russ.

HBombToo

Yup!

BobMcG

I just had to get in there to see what's going on.

cubdog

Russ, your summation is pretty accurate. However I think many members do recognize quality gear/sound but may also be collectors. It's fun to listen to various equipment especially when the cost of doing so is relatively cheap. That is where I find AK to be helpful. It's amazing the amount of stuff those guys have accumulated.

cubdog

MacLeod

I think somebody had goten themselves a new holecutter for Christmas

LMFAO!!!!

nadams

Hmm, the speakers in that thread have a lot of Peerless sitting there!

Dennis Gardner

I just watch AK to see Bolly follow George's lead.

George Grand

Glad you like the show Dennis. There is something very wrong and underhanded about that child. His disciples are special too. I have it from very reputable ex-participants there (he drove them away), that he pays top dollar for almost everything he gets, and then hits the forum with tales of how he only paid $20 or so. Let's not even get into the amps that look and act like they were thrown down a flight of stairs that he wants absolute top dollar for. I may blow up all of Canada just to get that fool. Stay tuned, I plan on being banished from that site, in whirlwind fashion.

George

Dennis Gardner

George Grand wrote:

.........and then hits the forum with tales of how he only paid $20 or so.

That is what I find the most annoying, we all want good deals but don't have to have it rubbed in our faces with the contests to see who can find the most for the least. You never know who is feeding you BS. It all runs together sometimes.

I do agree with Russ that there is alot of good gear to be found from the early days of stereo Hifi, but much of what was sold was crap and many can't tell the difference. I like buiding my system with one goal in mind................. "Synergy". It doesn't have to be the best or the best value, it simply has to sound that way.

George Grand

I like old Nikko, and old Onkyo electronics. I like old AR, KLH, Allison, and some Advent stuff. Bozak too. Not much else. Pioneer and Sansui electronics have a sound all their own that to me is unlistenable. Let's not forget Kenwood and Marantz also. Technics electronics AND speakers? Give me a break. Now all that **** is acceptable for a garage rig.

Then we have all the world class speakers from those very same manufacturers (that combined could all fit in my shirt pocket). I've never heard a JBL speaker that didn't make everything sound like an electric guitar. Almost the same for Infinity

George

mhardy6647

ahhhh, I just like cheap junk!

I do own a couple of nice things, though... which I do listen to. Quite a bit.

shack

I like playing around with the old "Silver Pioneer" stuff from the 70s and have a few pieces. I also like the old Advent and AR speakers. Why? Because it is the gear I started with when I first got "serious" about audio. I am a creature of habit and chances are if I liked something then I like it now. Nostalgia I guess, but I find that while my tastes often expand they rarely change completely.

George Grand

As much as I like Carver, and despite the fact I'm on the Polk Forum, I think the original AR was the greatest American hi-fi organization. Not a bad product in the line, and great value for the money.

Edited to say I sure HOPE MH knows where I place him in the AK categories. Hell, he lives almost in AR central.


George

mhardy6647

Thank you, George.

The "collection" at Casa Hardy does include a number of classic New England loudspeakers.

Let me add, though, that I am a born and bred Baltimoron and attended the same august institution of higher learning as did Mr. Polk... and own a few of his speakers as well. The Polks were not dump finds, by the way.

ohskigod

George Grand wrote:

Stay tuned, I plan on being banished from that site, in whirlwind fashion.

George

I have to pay more attention, its one thing to like the show, and another to keep missing it altogether.

billbillw

I checked out this site for a short time based on my brother's (Punker X) involvement over there. He warned off the bat: "Don't even think about buying anything from Bolly. He peddles a bunch of crap."

George Grand

Hot **** Punker X is your brother! He's one of the much more knowledgeable dudes on that site.

He's probably pretty pissed at me, because I had some gorgeous Marantz "Esotec" pieces that I really had to sell to another good member for a lot more than he could part with. I hope that's not the case, but I feel it is. He's a good guy. He's up north isn't he? Michigan?

George

cubdog

I'm learning more about AK members from this thread than on AK. Things have been getting nasty over there lately. To bad, after all, this is just a hobby for most.

cubdog

billbillw

George Grand wrote:

Hot **** Punker X is your brother! He's one of the much more knowledgeable dudes on that site.

He's probably pretty pissed at me, because I had some gorgeous Marantz "Esotec" pieces that I really had to sell to another good member for a lot more than he could part with. I hope that's not the case, but I feel it is. He's a good guy. He's up north isn't he? Michigan?

George

I doubt he's pissed. He doesn't really hold a grudge. He probably forgot all about your stuff when he fell in love with his current Blue Circle amp and preamp setup. Nice stuff, all hand made and built like a tank. They really sound good with his Ohms.

Yeah, he's up in Flint, MI, about 50 miles from where we grew up.

Manitoulin

First post for me, been lurking for a while.

My 2¢. Despite the changes due to rapid growth at AK, most of the older AK members are worth "listening" to IMHO. I found a few of the other Audio forums were too opinionated for my taste. The fact that the hardcore AK members are willing to answer vintage audio questions is quite helpful.

Some of the newer and younger members need to grow up, but we were all young once.

Joe

mg196

Wow, this sounds like a bunch of high school nerds bickering over some insignificant Star Trek plotline.

So there are some people there who don't know what they are talking about. And maybe there are some people that lie about what they have or what they paid for something. Who the hell cares?!

If you are there enough to make judgements like "The majority of AK'ers are this..." or "They don't know what they are talking about," then you should respond to some threads and let people know what you think.

All I know is the Mods do a great job of keeping the spam/flames/insults to the most minimum of minimums and members are always willin gto help another person out. Whether that means forming a delivery chain from Florida up to Detroit, or sending spare parts at no charge.

I guess there are Know-It-Alls HERE as well!

ND13

Wtf????