JA> it".  I also do not believe we should begin limiting ourselves
 JA> to the "high end" and exotics. I was recently taken back by a review in
 JA> Stereophiles Home Theater Magazine reviewing a projection TV. They
 JA> really clobbered this set. But their prime reason for hating this set
 JA> was its' "ability to been seen clearly with ambient lighting". I guess
 JA> no self respecting Home Theater Enthusiast would dare watch a movie
 JA> with ANY lights on. That woke me up to the attitude many in the high
 JA> end share. It must be ultra-expensive, exotic, and doesn't have to
 JA> make any common sense or  even offer proof that it works, to be a good
 JA> high end audio product.
 Very good points.  I am an audio hobbyist, but have never taken any courses
 related to it and I don't do it as a career.  I think some people lose sight
 of the fact that we aren't all audio engineers, and it isn't fair to
 patronize or talk down to those who may not be experts.  We were all
 beginners at one point, and trying to exclude those who may not know quite
 as much about audio as we do is an attitude I find extremely disturbing.
 Over the last few years I've read as much as I could on audio and gone
 through a lot of different components, and I am more than happy to act as
 a teacher sometimes and share that knowledge.  You are right, not everybody
 has thousands of dollars to spend on equipment.  There are some who think
 nothing of spending $5000 on a power amp because they think that anything
 that costs less can't possibly compare to it.  This is snobbishness and
 stupidity at the highest degree.  Whatever happened to looking for quality
 products at prices that won't break the bank.  There are people in my
 family who would ensure that I never heard the end of it if I were to put
 tower speakers in the living room.  They don't see the need for it, and as
 far as they are concerned speakers are just another ugly piece of
 furniture.  If I were a recording engineer and was living on my own, yes, I
 probably would have a $6000 stereo with big, weird looking speakers.  But
 for most of us compromise must be part of the equation somewhere.
--- GEcho 1.00
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