From: jeh@cmkrnl.com
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: How 'bout a new group for the rest of us?
Date: 16 Nov 92 23:51:08 GMT
Organization: Kernel Mode Consulting, San Diego, CA

In article <24201@alice.att.com>, jj@alice.att.com (jj, curmudgeon and all-around grouch) writes:
> In article <1992Nov13.161749.860@cmkrnl.com> jeh@cmkrnl.com writes:
> 
>>The reason there are few discussions here about $300 "stereos" is that there
>>isn't much to say about them, other than that they all sound terrible.  
> 
> A perfect example of why we could use another newsgroup
> that, if not specifically dedicated to budget systems,
> was specifically UNdedicated to those who feel the need
> to take a shot at anything under some particular price
> range.

Granted this was a bit of hyperbole.  

> Some $300 systems sound a lot better than you might expect,
> jeh, and yeah, some sound extraordinally terrible.  

There are certainly differences at almost every price level.  And there are
occasional bargains to be found -- units which perform out of all proportion 
to their price.  To discover one is lots of fun and very rewarding.

What bothers me is not requests for advice on low-priced audio stuff.  In fact
I have gone to no small amount of trouble to answer such requests on several
occastions.  (Often my response is to get more for the same $ by buying used 
equipment, but that's beside the point.)  

My beef is with the folks who, having ASKED FOR OPINIONS on low-priced gear,
object to being told about its deficiencies! .. usually on the grounds that "I
can't afford better, and it offends me to hear from anybody who can". To listen
to some of these people, you'd think there was an article in the Consitution
giving them the right to a free lunch. 

> That's why such a newsgroup would be valuable.  

We already have one; it's called rec.audio.car.  :-)  

> Saying "other than that they all sound terrible" doesn't 
> help somebody with that few bucks at all, and discussion
> about which is less terrible helps a whole lot.

True, but the folks who have no more money to spend than the questioner does
are not likely to be the best people to ask for advice.  

I was serious when I suggested that someone set up a "college audio" BBS on
their own computer.  Not because I think that the traffic would be an offense
to the net, but because then maybe he would get some idea of what he's asking 
for when he wants "the net" to create a new newsgroup.  

With every new school year we get bunches of new students discovering the net,
and a corresponding peak in the number of newgroup proposals.  As a result,
netnews is facing the classic problem of an unlimited democracy: The people are
voting more and more benefits for themselves, but they aren't in any way
helping to provide the required resources. 

	--- Jamie Hanrahan, Kernel Mode Consulting, San Diego CA
drivers, internals, networks, applications, and training for VMS and Windows-NT
uucp 'g' protocol guru and release coordinator, VMSnet (DECUS uucp) W.G., and 
Chair, VMS Programming and Internals Working Group, U.S. DECUS VAX Systems SIG 
Internet:  jeh@cmkrnl.com, hanrahan@eisner.decus.org, or jeh@crash.cts.com
Uucp:  ...{crash,eisner,uunet}!cmkrnl!jeh