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Calling all psychologists: the "my gear is me" syndrome...

I love a good graph!!!

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I make no secret of liking/buying Linn kit (and some Naim), but I don’t push it on people or try and discredit other people’s choices, neither have any other Linn/Naim owners I’ve known. Yet you see the same faces across various Facebook groups and to a much lesser extent Forums (probably because their posts are less tolerated on forums) obsessively posting hate against these two brands and their owners, either trolling on other people’s threads or posting trolling threads. One on a Facebook group posted a thread titled “Linn owners are the Scientologists of the audiophile world, discuss”, it’s the only thread he’s ever posted, he’s never shared anything on his own system… there are a string of derogatory comments on other people’s threads from him. It’s sad and pathetic behaviour.

You see similar behaviour from obsessive anti-Apple people, it’s bizarre.
 
I think the trick is recognising there are no absolutes here. Your cooking analogy is just right - just beacuase I cannot stand kidneys does not mean kidneys are bad.

And as per your Spectrum it requires a level of maturity to get that, not everyone sees it that way - the wonder of the diversity we see on the internet (and I suppose humanity). As long as we treat the discussion as "opinions" or "my input" we can all get along swimmingly.

I am no pyschocolgist but I think this may well relate to the innate "tribalism" we all have to a degree, it seems history is littered with examples of the impact of this.
 
TheDecameron said:
I find it an amusing tactic when a dealer enquires after what you’ve got then declares it crap.
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That’s always been the cue to leave. I actually applied for a job at a local dealer many years ago, didn’t get the job, the manager’s nephew did… no hard feelings though, went back as a customer about a year later, where this lad got to me before any of the other guys did, I was looking at a Rega turntable for a second system (otherwise all Linn), he enquired about what the rest of the system was and then spent the next 10 minutes running Linn down and suggesting alternative products that I could replace it with (they had them all in stock)… his manager/uncle was in earshot and looked a little uncomfortable. I told him that I just wanted a turntable but that I’d go and look for a dealership with some integrity to buy it from.
 
norliss said:
I thought it might me an idea to start a conversation on a topic that has long-since baffled me. Many years ago, I remember having 'debates' (arguments) about which was better: the Commodore 64 or the Sinclair Spectrum. They were utterly pointless and childish but then I was and we were, children. 10/11 year old, children, to give a figure. Move forward only a few years when things had moved onto the Commodore Amiga and the Atari ST and, despite only being a few years older, such arguments ceased to exist.

Similar arguments have existed and continue to do so to this day: Nintendo vs Sega, Playstation vs Xbox, Apple vs Microsoft and, in reading some of the ways in which proponents address each other with such mature and considered gems as:

"Typical brainwashed Mac zealot..."

"Idiotic Win-droid"

"You're just a Sony fanboy!"

etc

...you'd be forgiven for thinking it's still the same sub-12 year old age group that participate in this kind of discourse. Except that it's not. And more surprising, given that HiFi is in the main, something of interest to a somewhat older group of people, is that a similar kind of mindset exists within its circles.

I've lost count of the amount of times I've seen threads descend into embarrassing spectacles between people that argue for no other reason than that someone dislikes or prefers a piece of gear other than the one they own. A classic scenario being:

OP says "Hey, I'd like to buy a <insert component type> and have a budget of X". To which someone replies advocating that said person buys make/model X (usually because they have one) followed by someone else advocating something else, in small part because they've tried/owned make/model X and didn't like it and/ or preferred make/ model Y. Net result = a back and forth between 2 (most likely) 50-80year old males where they basically trade insults seemingly for no other reason than that they have opted for different gear. It's almost as if by saying:

"I heard the same amplifier you have and didn't like it"

is akin to saying

"I've seen your wife and she's as rough as a bear's posterior. Her cooking's terrible and she's the most boring woman I've ever met and I'd rather hook up with the ropey girl that hangs around the pub down the road!"

So tell me, why does this happen? Why do people care? What difference does it make to them if someone else buys/ likes the same gear as them? Is it because the gear is an extension of themselves and they find that if someone doesn't like their gear it's akin to them saying "I don't like you"? Perhaps it's a tribal thing? People feel like they belong to tribe X, tribe Y or tribe Z?

Personally, I couldn't give two f..... er.... figs if you like or dislike what I own. If you want to tell me that you think any/ all of what I own is crap, then that's fine. It makes no difference to me whatsoever! In fact, I almost take the opposite view: if anyone asks me to suggest what gear they should buy, I would be more inclined to suggest makes/models other than what I have because I like the idea of people having different gear. How boring would it be if you and your pals all had the same gear?

If I come around your house to listen to music, I want to hear a different turntable/cart, amplification, speakers etc to what I have as that's interesting to me. If you had the same gear as me I'd be less inclined to come around because it would be just like me listening to my own system (albeit the room would be different, of course). For me, variety is the spice of life but perhaps others just want to be like the Borg/Daleks and assimilate and conform?
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You might have forgotten the knee-jerk reaction which boils down to: "If I can't afford it, it's over-priced crap"... :)
 
uncl_nigel said:
You might have forgotten the knee-jerk reaction which boils down to: "If I can't afford it, it's over-priced crap"... :)
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And there was a time when if I didn’t hear a change, I was embarrassed at my lack of perceptiveness. Now, those who don’t hear a change proclaim that this is because they are immune to suggestion and any change was imaginary.
 
norliss said:
Agreed on 1 & 2. Was point 3 aimed at me by any chance?
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Only in the sense that you are the OP. I think you have identified a number of features of {this forum/ hifi forums/ male hobby forums}. Everyone is agreed that they are widespread. But only in other people.
 
linnfomaniac83 said:
I make no secret of liking/buying Linn kit (and some Naim), but I don’t push it on people or try and discredit other people’s choices, neither have any other Linn/Naim owners I’ve known. Yet you see the same faces across various Facebook groups and to a much lesser extent Forums (probably because their posts are less tolerated on forums) obsessively posting hate against these two brands and their owners, either trolling on other people’s threads or posting trolling threads. One on a Facebook group posted a thread titled “Linn owners are the Scientologists of the audiophile world, discuss”, it’s the only thread he’s ever posted, he’s never shared anything on his own system… there are a string of derogatory comments on other people’s threads from him. It’s sad and pathetic behaviour.

You see similar behaviour from obsessive anti-Apple people, it’s bizarre.
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Yeah, I just don't get this either. Linn or Naim stuff hasn't been my wheelhouse thus far (I'm more of a Japanese gear whore) but I don't get why people would expend energy doing them down. For me, people being enthused by HiFi is cause for celebration irrespective of brand because it's basically a shared interest. Plus, variety is the spice of life - I love that different people like different gear: old, new, SS, valve etc as it's a large part of what makes this whole thing so interesting.

The kind of person you described in your post has something seriously wrong with themself and in their life to behave like that.
 
adamdea said:
Only in the sense that you are the OP. I think you have identified a number of features of {this forum/ hifi forums/ male hobby forums}. Everyone is agreed that they are widespread. But only in other people.
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The reason I asked is because I've been a member of multiple forums for a decent number of years but have never got into slanging matches about gear because it's not important and I really don't care what anyone thinks of what I have. We're all here and that's all good.
 
norliss said:
The reason I asked is because I've been a member of multiple forums for a decent number of years but have never got into slanging matches about gear because it's not important and I really don't care what anyone thinks of what I have. We're all here and that's all good.
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Mazel tov. But getting into such slanging matches constitutes quite a lot of what goes on around these parts, in one form or another.
Who are the people who have this "My gear is me" syndrome in the thread title? They must all be hiding.
 
norliss said:
The reason I asked is because I've been a member of multiple forums for a decent number of years but have never got into slanging matches about gear because it's not important and I really don't care what anyone thinks of what I have. We're all here and that's all good.
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You remind me of Billy Connelly's character in 'What we did on our holidays'. I essence, his attitude to life is that we all flawed and stupid and wrong but...who cares. None of that matters. Just try to love the people who matter to you.
Which, i have to say is admirable and in some ways right, but only for the old.
It's important to argue and stamp and puff out your chest when young. It's how you find out who you are.
 
Rockmeister said:
You remind me of Billy Connelly's character in 'What we did on our holidays'. I essence, his attitude to life is that we all flawed and stupid and wrong but...who cares. None of that matters. Just try to love the people who matter to you.
Which, i have to say is admirable and in some ways right, but only for the old.
It's important to argue and stamp and puff out your chest when young. It's how you find out who you are.
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Yeah but most of the people that argue about HiFi and take offence because someone doesn't like what they've bought are about 60+ years old :D
 
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