Why I Avoid Audiophiles - December 2025

I recently, received a comment (a long one as you'll read) from a casual viewer on the YouTube channel in response to an older video about how much you should spend on a Phono Cartridge:

"If you use a better cartridge, and you set it up properly (few people do, even if they think that they do), then that cartridge will sound better. Now, there are other factors: Your turntable must be level. You need to have your turntable isolated from vibrations. There are a number of ways to accomplish that. If you just plop down your turntable on a desk or a shelf, then it is not isolated from vibrations. Even if you do not hear any feedback, or anything that sounds wrong, you are losing out on the sonic quality of your stereo. After you isolate your turntable from vibrations, it will sound a whole lot better. Everything will become better focused. The next issue is the vinyl pressings. Most are defective. By that, I mean that their sound quality is between sucking and so-so. That is 50%+ of all pressings. Only 2%, in my estimation, have outstanding sound quality. And that is for only one of the two sides. It is rare to find outstanding sound quality on both sides of a pressing. If you happen to land one of the gems, you will hear how much better your stereo sounds. Perhaps 10% of pressings have very good sound quality. Basically, quality control is not a priority for record companies. If you professionally dial in your turntable / tone-arm / cartridge's vectors, so that the stylus rubs only where it should rub, and not anywhere that it should not rub, and also isolate your turntable from vibrations, and also play better sounding pressings, then upgrading your cartridge will make you very happy. But note that just because you purchased an upgrade does no mean that you will like that upgrade. Until you get into the extreme elite of phono cartridges, few of them sound neutral. They all have a character to their sound. And it is really hard to know which one will have a sonic character that pleases your ears. All it takes is one shortcoming, or one stand-out character that could grind on your nerves. Even with elite phono cartridges, they, too, sound different. They sound amazing, and yet different. Like driving a Ferrari, and then driving a Lamborghini, and then driving a Rolls Royce, etc. All amazing, and all different. There are 8 alignment settings (that I know of) for dialing in every vector of your turntable / tone-arm / cartridge. If you miss one of them, it is like having your car's tires rubbing against a curb. You must dial all of them in, accurately. You need special tools, and the skills to get it right. A $250 cartridge, professionally dialed in, will probably sound better than a $1,250 cartridge from the same brand, if the latter is not properly dialed in. Lastly, a big problem with cartridges is quality control. Approximately 50% of them have zenith alignment issues, which are uncorrectable. Adjustments can be made to compensate. But that is not as good as not having to employ a corrective fix (which will never be the same as not having needed the fix). A tiny zenith alignment issue is not a big deal (depends on how sensitive you are). But some cartridges, even multi-thousand dollar cartridges, have severe zenith alignment issues. Those are defective, and should be returned as defective."

And Here was My Response:

"You have basically stated every possible reason to not buy or even play records. It's this sort of approach, and I understand "perfection", that simply takes the joy out of listening to music..."

Nothing is perfect and it amuses me that people prefer a recording of a band over their live performance. That's why I point to "Audiophiles" as spending a lot on a system and having less than 50 recordings and those only "approved" by other audiophiles.

It is what causes others not even to try as they don't want the hassle to listen to music or just buy a Sonos unit and call it a day.

As for the principals of turntable performance, I stand by my comments.

-Lou

The Value of Genuine Expertise in a ‘Just Sell It’ World! - November 2025

I recently received a note from a fellow subscriber of our YouTube channel:

"Hearing your attitude on this really shows how much you care about your customers and how you handle business. You seem like a great business owner."

My Response:

We are trying hard in a very trying time. It is not only in our industry but many. As an equestrian, I have seen many good independent shops disappear and with them, sound advice and knowledge. Let me expand.

Formats like emails, text messages, and google searches do not truly include the nuances of situations. Any simple Google search, for example, is fraught with both unwanted advertising and irrelevant information.

And now, with the AI chucked in, fraught with erroneous information (we have had to correct Google several times about our business reputation alone as they kept tying in business behavior of "Audible", the Amazon book service to our own.

None of these methods come near the spontaneity of human conversation and interaction. Subtle clues or information in a conversation triggers questions and insights. A small fact may change the course of the reaction whereas a simple other small fact may change it again. It is this way with many trades.

What manufacturers are doing is replacing the knowledge base with what I call chicken marketing where customers are left to hunt and peck. Lowes and Home Depot are perfect examples of this whereas a real hardware store may suggest a better solution. It doesn't matter at their end how the product gets sold as long as they get paid, consumer be damned. The illusion of savings ignores the cost of errors but why care when it doesn't come out of their pocket? It becomes part of the trash and replace cycle. 

Years ago I sold a product line, which I had for years, come out with a new line which we could not get to perform properly.  When, at a major show, I addressed this issue with one of the owners and the response was: "I don't care what you think, just sell it."  I dropped the line.  This was not the type of company I wanted in my store.  "Just sell it has now become a motto of many companies. (Interestingly enough, within two years, that whole product line was revised but some of the reputational damage was done.  Years later, in the hands of one of their employees, we represent them again. It is a fine product line.)

It is up to the consumer how they wish to spend their money of course, but when a manufacturer begins to cut off knowledge for volume or simply doesn't care, well, that's where I draw the line.  It means, at least to me, that they don't care about their customers and likewise don't care about me. 

If they don't care about me, then it makes it very difficult for me to care about you. 

It is that simple.

-Lou

The Promoting Of Mediocrity In Audio - October 2025

I recently posted a video on Youtube, found at Audible Elegance, about the history of mediocrity in hi-fi as I see it.  It's not the end all and be all of history, but my perspective of it.  I had the pleasure of a viewer commenting about it and it allowed me to explain my thoughts further.  Hope you all enjoy.

Viewer:

"I think a more polite term would be compromise. I've been a consumer of these mediocre products, just recently I bought a soundbar and subwoofer in a box solution. $600 Samsung and no need to manually calibrate crossovers etc it just works with your TV audio. I think we all need to victim to these conveniences, I remember the day I ditched wired headphones for Bluetooth I just can't go back."

My Response:

While I understand what you are saying, you certainly must recognize how "the experts" of CNN, Yahoo, and other sites promote these products as the full and complete solution right along with a link to their paid advertiser or Amazon. You cannot even read any news site without these ads being interspersed with news stories with convenient links to the sellers. That is where I draw the line. It is promoted mediocrity, not a compromise to meet other needs. 

It's like home automation which promotes all these glorious things it can do which, if properly installed, may last a year before computer firmware, software, begin to take its toll. These "upgrades" come from both product manufacturers as well as those from the makers of the control systems themselves. And after a few rounds of this, the entire network becomes outdated like a Windows machine running Vista.

In short, it is the over-promising and underperforming that gets my attention and the obligation to simply point this out. What people do with the information, well, it's their money and their decision as it should be.

-Lou