More Lying Over at Head-Fi

Looks like the hypocrites and liars at Head-fi just can't keep their mouths shut when it comes to bashing me. Now they're claiming I'm the one who was "arguing" and all the rest of the crap, when in fact, as the evidence in all the threads show, it was *ALWAYS,* in EVERY SINGLE CASE, one of those Head-fi losers who started arguing with and bashing ME every time I mentioned the DAC-Extasy or the Thunderbolt Max amp from Hotaudio.

All I would have to do is mention "DAC-Extasy" -- like they mention the uDAC or any other piece of equipment in thread after thread -- and they would automatically start piling on with their knee-jerk attacks. It's almost like some of them were actually just lurking there in the shadows, waiting for me to say "DAC-Extasy" so they could pounce and start attacking me over it. Pretty pathetic.

And it looks like Jude is still lying about his "multiple login" excuse for having me banned, even adding some bogus usernames under mine. That's because - as anyone can see who reads any of my posts at the Twilight Zone that is Head-fi - there is no real reason to ban me, so now I guess he has to make up some other lame excuse to attempt to justify it.

Once again, since the liars are at it pretty strongly over there, here is the post I made in the PH100 thread, in its entirety, that started all the flaming against me. As anyone can see, there is absolutely nothing offensive or out of the ordinary about it at all -- except that it mentions Hotaudio. It's no different from thousands upon thousands of other posts over there where people recommend gear:

[quote=userlander]

Having owned the MDR-V4s, which are very similar to the MDR-V6, and owning a PH100, I can give you some suggestions.

For about the same money or sometimes less, the Hotaudio Thunderbolt Max is imo an overall better sounding amp than the PH100.

If you want a similar sounding headphone to the MDR-V6 but a step up, try the Alessandro MS-1s. Great bang for the buck headphones.

Pair those up with a good DAC or CD player and that is a very killer rig.

gl :)[/quote]

That's it. That's the entire post. Literally only a few words about the Hotaudio amp, and then the attacks on me about it started, most amusingly from that one retard who didn't even own either amp. No attacks for mentioning Alessandro over the Sonys though -- why not? Because it's not Hotaudio, and they have all been conditioned like little lab rats to spit and bite at the mere mention of Hotaudio whenever anyone even says the name.

Then the low class losers joined in the bashing, like that "angle_shooter" d!ckwad who followed me around the forum bashing me whenever he could even after I spent literally weeks helping him in PMs. They started posting insulting pictures of me, and all the rest of the childish crap they engage in over there (and don't get banned for it). Instead *I* then got banned (for what??), and they deleted the thread to remove the evidence of how it was me who was attacked and banned, when they were the ones doing the attacking. Lol - what a bunch of psychos.

Fortunately I saved that entire exchange -- the one for which I was originally banned and that "angle_shooter" and a few others over there continue to say I "deserved" to be banned for -- and since they are lying about me left and right, I'll just go ahead and post it here.

If anyone can see any reason why I (and I alone) should be banned for what transpired here, please tell me what it is. I don't see anything ban worthy in the least -- just the opposite, in fact. I see a guy offering advice on some components he has heard to someone who asked, and then I see a whole lot of people who had never even heard it start attacking and bashing me, for which they were NOT banned. This is why I say stay away from Head-Fi. This is the kind of thing they engage in over there.

So without further ado, here is the first reply to my post above from Head-fi n00b #1. Notice how right away he is trying to discredit me by referring to this impedance issue, when I never even said anything about using the PH100 with the beyer headphones:

[quote=n00b #1]
If you are using your Beyer with the PH100, no wonder it sounds bad. Its made for low impedance headphone in mind not 250Ohms Beyers.
[/quote]

Notice that I also never said anything sounded bad. They have never heard what they are talking about, so they have to make up some false pretense to start attacking me over -- just like Jude had nothing to ban me for so apparently he had to make up his "multiple login" excuse. And that's exactly what n00b #1 did here by making up this issue about using the PH100 with beyers. But anyone reading this can see I never said anything remotely like that. The head-fi n00bs just make things up out of thin air. That's their M.O. The technical name for what he just did there is a "straw man" argument.

I set him straight on his straw man diversion, pointing out in a matter-of-fact reply that I had never said anything sounded "bad":

[quote=userlander]
Where did I ever say anything sounded "bad?"

I use my DT880s with the Thunderbolt Max, which sounds fantastic. I alternate with using my MS-1s with the Thunderbolt Max, which also sounds great.
[/quote]

Notice here and throughout how there is no personal attacking in my response. I just make my statement in a matter of fact way.

But that isn't good enough for the Head-Fi herd. Another one now had to chime in to bash the Thunderbolt Max -- which he even admitted he had never heard:

[quote=head-fi n00b#2]
I am guessing but if I tried hooking my K702 to "Thunderbolt Max" it would not sound very impressive at all.
[/quote]

He's "guessing." Well, isn't that reliable, useful information? He "guesses." That appears to be the level of information they value over there -- "guesses" about things, while they ban the person who has actually heard it. Makes sense, right?

So then I called him out on it:

[quote=userlander]
Actually, you're wrong on all counts. The T-Max has more power than the Shanling, it has more bass, it's warmer, and it also has better refinement and detail. Your K702s would likely sound much more expansive with a better soundstage on the Thunderbolt Max than they do with the PH100.

But the poster I was talking to wasn't even talking about K702s, was he? So your opinion is not only unfounded -- based on not even having heard the amp you're "guessing" about -- but it also had nothing to do with what the poster was asking at all, which was about MDR-V6s, did it?

You said you were only "guessing," which is partly true. It's more like you're just making things up out of thin air about an amp you've never even heard before. So that's kind of weird.
[/quote]

Which of course it is. But that's how they operate over there at Head-Fi. According to their in-group "rules," they can make up anything they want about Hotaudio products "not sounding very impressive at all," when they have never even HEARD what they're talking about, and they are never banned or attacked for that. They are applauded for it, in fact, by the rest of the herd. And then all the other fanboy shills there pile on against the person who actually HAS heard the gear. That's how they operate over there in Bizarro World.

Then head-fi n00b #1 posts again with some bogus power numbers, and I had to set him straight on that, too, calling him out on the fact that he has never heard what he is trying to bash:

[quote=userlander]
Not sure what that's supposed to prove, but the T-Max is subjectively more powerful. As you even said before, the PH100 can't even drive DT880s adequately. The Thunderbolt Max drives them better even than my Audiotailor Jade tube amp. I have never even raised the volume past 12 o'clock.

But then again, you've never heard the Thunderbolt Max, have you? So of course you don't even know what you're talking about.
[/quote]

He then tries to change the subject again, back to his irrelevant straw man post about impedance that was already discounted when he brought it up in the first place:

[quote=n00b#1]
Errmm... the PH100 is design to driver LOW IMPEDANCE headphones, it have been stated so many times here.
How many other headphone have you even tried with the T-Max? Also sound is rather subjective, just look at the opinions of SA5000, K701, W5000, W1000 you can see it there.

I don't even know what you are trying to prove, the fact is the PH100 is more powerfull SPEC wise. And $250USD+ for a IC amp with 12volt wallwart? No thanks. [/quote]

So I pointed out to him that the impedance question had already been addressed and was irrelevant because I had used my MS-1s, and then I had to call him out again for never even having heard what he is bashing:

[quote=userlander]Yeah, and my low impedance phones sound better on the Thunderbolt Max. It's a better sounding amp.

But you wouldn't know that because you've never heard it, have you? So maybe you should just take a break from posting about something you don't know anything about until you have a little bit more of a clue.

It's a little bit bizarre. You've never even heard what you're talking about, and yet you seem to think you're some kind of expert on it. Are you going to tell us all now what it feels like to drive the space shuttle? freaking weird.
[/quote]

To say there is mounting frustration with these n00bs and all their poor arguments and their diversions is an understatement. Nevertheless, I try to keep my cool as well as I can, not really wanting to drop to their level.

Seeing his first diversion tactic fail with me, the n00b then changed his focus again, and starts attacking what is well known in the audio world as one of the best sounding headphone circuits ever made. But notice, he still hasn't heard the actual application of the chip in the Hotaudio amp he is bashing, only some other implementation:

[quote=n00b#1]
pretty much ended it for me. My Essence's headphone amp have the same old TPA6210A2 chip on it, no matter how epic the circuit is the same chip is the same chip. No to say my Essence is cheaper, and a nice source. When I was thinking about IC is OpAmp IC not the whole headphone amp in a IC... $250USD for that? 100% NO.

Sorry but that

I seriously doubt how many other amps you have heard.
[/quote]

Notice his last line. I bolded it for emphasis. Remember what he says there. It will become EXTREMELY hilarious later. ;-)

Even after I go on to call him out AGAIN for never having heard what he's trying to criticize, he keeps up the Hotaudio bashing, saying that the T-Max is overpriced" (it's less than the PH100), and that if you buy it you will be "ripped off":

[quote=n00b #1]
No, I am just helping someone not to get ripped off buying a overpriced amp. [/quote]

No banning for that - why not? Because talking about getting "ripped off" by a Hotaudio product (that you have never heard) is acceptable at Head-fi. If you said you would get "ripped off" buying the uDAC or the PH100, they would attack you, and eventually YOU would be the one to get banned. That's how they operate at Head-fi, and that's why I say that if you care about getting all sides of the story in an objective, respectful way, avoid Head-fi like the plague. You are seeing why right now.

After more back and forth, I then try to cut it off with these attackers and appeal directly to the guy who was asking about buying the PH100 in the first place, directing him to this "angle_shooter" person who, like I said before, now appears to be an alias account for one of the mods or other people on the "inside" there:

[quote=userlander]... do yourself a favor. Don't listen to these people who slam something without ever having heard it. Anyone can see there is no credibility in that.

PM angle_sh00ter, who just went through the same thing. He finally went with the T-Max and says he loves it. Ask the people who have heard it before making any decisions, rather than relying on people who have never heard something and don't know what they're talking about. Then decide whatever you want.

But get informed first, from people with first hand experience, rather than listening to people who have never heard something and slam it for no reason as if they have. Obviously there is some agenda going on there, because what other reason could someone have for slamming something they've never heard? At the very least, that's not someone you can really trust, imho.
[/quote]

Banned for that? Pretty surreal, huh? Anyone can see that is reasonable, objective advice, telling him to get the whole story, instead of just the one-sided biased head-fi story. But instead Head-fi bans me for it.

So let's examine this logically: the person who has heard BOTH amps, and is still telling this guy to get the whole story is banned; the members who have NOT heard both amps and are telling they guy not to get the one they haven't heard are not banned.

How can you trust anything you read from those people over there with that kind of thing going on? They tell people not to get things when they haven't even heard them.

Meanwhile, in response to the guy asking for suggestions, I then post a very long, informative post comparing the two amps in detail. I won't copy it here because it is very long, very detailed. If they haven't deleted all my posts over there, anyone can go and see it for themselves (edit: as we now know, they have since deleted that entire thread to cover their tracks. It's unfortunate, but that's how they operate over there: cowardly and dishonest to the max). It's an extremely detailed and objective review, with more information than any of them have ever posted on either amp in the entire thread.

I closed my review with this:

[quote=userlander]
With my Alessandros, the two amps are actually pretty close, it's not like there's a hugely dramatic difference. You can definitely hear the "Class A-ness" of the Shanling, which makes it sound slightly cleaner and more direct, if not a little thinner in comparison. The T-Max has a richness and vibrance lacking in the Shanling, though, I guess from the audio IC. It's almost tube-like, in fact. At what point you start calling something "artificial coloration" is unclear to me - it's just the way this particular circuit sounds, apparently.

With low-impedance phones, the choice between these two I think would be a matter of individual preference. If you like a more SS sound, you'd probably prefer the Shanling, and if you like a more tube-like sound, you'd probably like the T-max better. Maybe in the end that's the best way to characterize it. Just don't use high impedance phones with the Shanling -- does not translate.
[/quote]

So where is all this "shilling: they are talking about? It's just an unbiased, objective comparison of two amps, which I have heard and own -- which they haven't and don't -- and yet they bash me over what they haven't heard anyway (and are not banned for it). Don't they know an objective and even-handed review when they see one? Apparently not. I even say that if you typically like a Class A or SS sound you might prefer the Shanling. So what exactly is all this "shilling" they keep referring to? When they have 100+ page threads on the uDAC and mention that POJ in every other post? For some reason they don't see that they are the shills.

Now here is where it really gets good. The guy who ignored everything I said about the Thunderbolt Max and went on and bought the Shanling anyway then started complaining that the Shanling didn't perform as well as he wanted IN EXACTLY THE AREAS I TOLD HIM THE T-MAX WAS BETTER! LOL!

So I wrote in to let him know that, and to answer his specific questions:

[quote=userlander]
Not to say I told you so, but as I said earlier, the T-Max has more bass than the PH100....

For your other question, in my experience with the amp, there is not much "break-in" at all with the PH100, if any. What you hear is what you're going to get, barring any psychoacoustic changes that might develop. Of course that's always a controversial subject. But in the 6 or so months I have had it, I haven't noticed much of a change from how it sounded initially. Definitely nothing major like going from bass-shy to having lots of bass.
[/quote]

Notice again - nothing but helpful, accurate information for the entire post. Way more helpful and accurate than anything he was getting from any the n00bs there, who were too busy attacking me to say anything useful to anybody.

But now the shills are really getting mad, because now someone else was CONFIRMING my objective review on how the Shanling really sounds. They want to pretend it sounds one way, but when it turns out that my review is more accurate and that it really doesn't, they attack anyone who says so:

[quote=n00b #2]
Sad to see the Shanling PH100 being dragged through the mud like this. I find this amp gives my K702 a really nice bass response. The amp is dead silent and is built a lot nicer than any of the amps it is being compared to. Mine is different from the pictures on here. The circuit board is green not yellow the power supply section is a different and some parts are colored different. [/quote]

Then I called him out on that - I have to do a lot of calling out, as you notice. All they seem to post are distortions, diversions, and personal attacks.

[quote=userlander]
"Dragged through the mud?" What are you talking about? It has less bass than the T-Max and is not as rich sounding. That's just a fact. That's not "dragging through the mud."
[/quote]

To which n00b #2 replied:

[quote]How about you start by taking your meds and start a T-max fanboy thread?[/quote]

Notice where the personal attacks are actually coming from. They're really mad that someone dares to say a Hotaudio amp sounds better, but they are not banned for their attacks on me, are they? I wonder why not, Jude? Why might that be? They attack me, while calling me the attacker. Classic delusional behavior. And they are not banned.

He then even calls me a "thread jacker":

[quote=n00b #2] Why should I care about this other amp you worship? The fact that you go on and on about it for 3-4 pages proves your just a thread jacker. [/quote]

Yes, sure. That's what it "proves," right.

Now head-fi n00b #1 chimes in again (they're attacking me from all sides - their usual tactic over there) to say it's not okay to compare the Hotaudio amp with the Shanling -- of course not, the Hotaudio amp sounds better, and they don't want to hear that:

[quote=n00b #1]How many times do you need to be told this is a PH100 thread not a T-Max thread. Now go and create you own one and waffle on there. [/quote]

So I called him out - AGAIN - what is this, like the third or fourth time pointing out that he's never heard the T-Max?

[quote=userlander]
You apparently missed where Razorjack asked for suggestions. Having heard both amps, I gave him my suggestion. Then you fanboys got mad because it's not what you wanted to hear. But that's not my problem.

The guy's phones originally are/were the MDR-V6, and -- from owning a similar phone to those, also, the MDR-V4 -- I can guarantee they would sound better on the T-Max, with better bass, better richness, and better detail. So why should he be steered wrong by the fanboys? It's not my problem that you fanboys can't handle the truth.

So let's see: I've owned both amps, you have only owned one of them. I have owned phones very similar to his, and you haven't owned those, either. So who does it seem is in a better position to give him good advice?

I know - you still think the answer is "you." That's what makes you irrational.[/quote]

Okay - now get ready for this one. Remember how I told you not to forget that n00b #1 accused me of "not having heard many amps?" Now he writes in not only to say that he's never heard the T-Max before, but -- and you'd better be sitting down for this one -- he's never even heard the PH100 that he's been bashing the T-Max over this whole time!!! LOL!!!

[quote=n00b #1]
What makes me a fanboy of the PH100? I don't own it or heard it. I have the same IC amp, and it SUCKS. If you like your T-MAX that much, be it that way.

But I would say I am a Luxman P1 fanboy..
[/quote]

Again, ROFL! He's never even heard the amp that the thread is about -- a thread that he's actually telling me to get out of, even though I *own* the amp! Lol, you can't get much more idi0tic than that.

Needless to say, I expressed the absurdity of these head-fi n00bs, as any reasonable person would:

[quote=userlander]
Lol - so you don't even have the PH100?? And you have never even heard it??? And you're telling me to get out of the thread, when I actually own it -- when it's sitting on my desk only 2 feet away from me and I listen to it nearly every day?

Lol, the fanboys keep getting even more absurd by the minute. [/quote]

Now noob #2 chimes in again to attack me again with his brilliant and witty "take your meds" comment, repeated about 3 times by now I think (these folks are not too bright - or original, obviously):

[quote=n00b #2]
Why would you think I am mad? Is that what you are here tying to accomplish? To see how many people you can piss off? It's not my fault that you're a headcase. You should take your meds. [/quote]

Notice how he even admits that they're getting mad that someone is daring to say the Hotaudio amp sounds better. He just said it - that's what's making him mad.

I replied again, still actually very patiently considering all the attacks I've been receiving:

[quote]I don't need meds. I have the T-Max to keep me happy.

I think the ones who need meds are the ones who, as it now turns out, don't even own ANY of the amps they're talking about. It's quite surreal, like the twilight zone, in fact. What's that guy doing in a PH100 thread giving advice about it when as it now turns out he's never even heard it?

Here's a head-fi thread positing that the TPA6120a2 is possibly, "the best headphone amp in the world":

TPA6120A2 best headphone amp in the world?

And anyone can search google and see all the stellar things that have been said about this IC over the years by all kinds of people. But according to this guy with a hundred or so posts on head-fi.org, it "sucks," lol. Everyone also knows it's as much if not more about the way it's built than the IC itself. Apparently this Ra970r doesn't know what he's doing and built a sucky amp with it, and now thinks it sucks. [/quote]

To which n00b 2 calls me a "troll" and a "headcase":

[quote= n00b #2]Keep trolling headcase [/quote]

Real witty and original, right? These n00bs aren't that bright. That's the level these Head-fiers are on. And notice how it's just attack after attack, name calling after name calling, and never once are they banned or even warned for it.

Why not, Jude? That seems right to you?

Sadly, I think it does seem right to him. That's why I say avoid Head-fi at all costs. It's like a loony bin over there, and the inmates are running the asylum.

Then this "angle_shooter" guy who wasted all my time PMing me for help for weeks also starts chiming in to make some digs and attack my credibility:

[quote=angle_shooter]
I have a Thunderbolt Max and will soon have a PH100 also. I don't really need 2 amps so I will end up keeping the 1 which sounds the best and selling the other. This is the best way is to get the amps and listen to them and make up your own mind. It makes no sense to argue about an amp you have never even heard before.

To userlander: Would I be correct to assume that you must find that the PH100 does somethings better than the Thunderbolt or you would have sold it and bought another Thunderbolt for your desk setup as they are considerably cheaper than the PH100. [/quote]

Notice his hostile tone, and yet I answer him completely straightforwardly:

[quote=userlander]Not really. It's been more just a case of laziness and inertia up till now. But when I read somewhere that hotaudio was making a Class-A amp, I decided to keep it for now to compare against that if it ever comes out. If not, eventually I will probably just sell the PH100 at some point - not because it's necessarily a *bad* amp, especially as a secondary setup, but I mainly haven't decided what to replace it with, what direction I'm going to go in as far as upgrading headphones, etc. So I've just not been in any real hurry to sell it up to this point. It serves its purpose for now. [/quote]

That should be enough for anyone. Most people without an agenda would just say, "okay, I see, thanks for the explanation." But he just can't let it go. For some reason (I wonder why? ;)) he feels the need to keep grilling me on it:

[quote=angle_shooter]
So my question is why do you use the PH100? You said just a few minutes ago that you use it every day. It would only take a few seconds to connect the Thunderbolt Max to your MS-1 as it is the tiniest thing in the world. [/quote]

So I patiently answer his attack on my credibility AGAIN:

[quote=userlander]I leave the T-Max at home for use with my beyers. Like I said, the Shanling is okay. I don't like it as much as the T-Max, but it's okay for its purpose right now. I don't have to have the absolute OMG best every minute. If anything, it just increases my appreciation for the T-max having the contrast. [/quote]

Wow - I'm really an unreasonable guy, aren't I? The only thing unreasonable about my responses is that I should have told them all to go to hell a long time ago. That's what makes me unreasonable. I take too much of their stupid shit.

At this point, head-fi n00b #3 starts chiming in, because he doesn't like the fact that yet ANOTHER Hotaudio product is better than their mass-produced, budget junk they all shill for over there like the uDAC:

[quote=n00b #3]
So derailing the uDAC thread with your incessant s***ling for the Hotaudio DAC is not enough for you, userlander?[/quote]

Notice how he calls it "derailing" to mention a Hotaudio product. When someone compares a pico dac, or some other dac to the uDAC, they don't call that "derailing." Why not? Because they're fanboy hypocrites?

So I answered his personal attack yet again with facts, reason and logic (which they have none of, only fanboy love of gear that everyone else tells them to love):

[quote=userlander]
I didn't "derail" anything. I gave my impressions. Again, sorry if the fanboys didn't like it. The uDAC isn't jesus. Although you would never know it from the fanboy adulation for that dac. I'm honest, I'm not a fanboy. Comparing the uDAC to a $1,000 DAC, lol, when my $300 V-DAC beats both the uDAC and the DAC-Extasy. Get real.

And why *wouldn't* I talk about better sounding gear? This is an audio forum, to talk about the gear that sounds good, but some of you strangely want to fight and argue against better sounding gear (that you've never heard) in favor of gear that doesn't sound as good. I guess you base everything on the name it has and the amount of fanboys praising it rather than how it sounds. That seems kind of weird to me, but if you want to be a bottom feeder constantly manipulated by the latest 'uDAC' to come along, that's your business. [/quote]

Then he aggressively comes at me again to lie about me saying something in the uDAC thread that he took completely out of context and that I never said:

[quote=n00b #3]Says the guy who claims that the Hotaudio DAC is better than the Pico without actually auditioning it. [/quote]

And I corrected his blatant misrepresentation of that episode, which he is now trolling me about in this thread that has nothing to do with the uDAC -- a thread that he is not contributing anything to, but which he is coming into for the sole purpose of attacking me, and for which he is not banned:

[quote=userlander]I didn't say that. The uDAC fanboys said the uDAC sounded better than the Pico. Since the DAC-Extasy easily sounds better than the uDAC, according to what THEY say, it must therefore also sound better than the Pico, right?

I mean, that's simple logic, but of course these fanboys have nothing to do with logic. [/quote]

And then he posted a huge, bandwidth robbing picture attacking me, which the mods left up, while my response to defend myself yet again from their attacks was deleted. And at that point, *I* was the one who was banned. Makes sense, right?

So let's examine this objectively. Head-fi n00b #3 came into the thread for no other reason than to personally attack me, which he proceeded to do in post after post, finally culminating in posting a huge, insulting picture to attack me, and the post I made defending myself was deleted and I got banned, while he went along his merry way and was not banned.

That makes sense to somebody?

So there you have it. Twilight Zone material. I was banned, while they attacked me and posted goofy pictures to attack me, which were left up, undeleted, and with those users not banned. They come into threads with nothing to say about the topic at all, but only with the sole purpose of bashing and attacking me, and that is fine to Jude and the Head-fi mods. That's how they operate at Head-fi. Anyone comparing Hotaudio gear favorably to their gear is attacked, harassed, and ultimately banned. You just saw it happen with your own eyes.

Now to be fair, I have a Master's degree in Communication and Rhetoric, and scored a 98th percentile on the verbal portion of the Graduate Record Exam and a 92th percentile on the reasoning portion. And I was having a bad day. So yes, I have a little bit of an advantage over average people like they tend to be at that forum when it comes to analyzing textual discourse.

But let's be real. The exchange I posted is pretty straightforward. You don't need a Master's Degree or even a B.A. to be able to follow the progression -- to see their illogical, hateful, attacking responses to me, and by contrast the logical and well-reasoned answers I gave to their attacks. That should be pretty obvious to anyone.

And based on the feedback I've received about this blog, that is obvious to just about everyone -- everyone except the very same Head-fi n00bs who are still bashing me to this day, in the pathetic effort to maintain their delusional mythology about themselves being the intelligent reasonable ones and me as the "big bad wolf" who was picking fights with everyone, when I have just posted the textual evidence showing the exact opposite.

And that's the way it was in every thread like that one. You can go and search the archives yourself and see it happen time and again in virtually this same exact way -- unless they have started deleting those threads, too.

So now anyone can see it in an arena they have no control over. I'm sure they'll be fuming to see all this posted here, where they can't just ban me to silence exposing all the lies and hypocrisy. Anyone can read it for themselves - I have just posted the actual transcript here for everyone to see. And I'm sure it galls them to NO end, as the truth usually does to people who are intent on misrepresenting it. Oh, well - live by the sword, die by the blog.

According to their policy, users also are supposedly not allowed to discuss bans or discuss members who were banned. But they are discussing me quite often there. Just go look in the Hotaudio thread. Even the forum owner "Jude" is joining in on it. Apparently discussing banned members not only is completely allowed when it's me who was the one banned, but the owner of the site himself even joins in to libel and attack me. I guess they have a way to justify everything they do, no matter how backward or hypocritical. That why I say to avoid Head-fi and the Twilight Zone atmosphere over there. Who knows - if you were to try to discuss some audio component over there that you liked and they had never heard, you might be the next one to be harassed and banned for it, just like I was.

Another thing to notice that I find interesting is that, except for the obvious antagonizers like that "Ra97or" person, almost no one can ever figure out why I get banned. You always see posts (like this one, or this one, or the multiple ones in the PH100 thread that Head-fi deleted) asking, "why did userlander get banned? I liked his posts and was interested in what he had to say." No one can figure out the reason why I should be banned. That's a big clue that there really is no good reason, that it's all political - Head-fi trying to protect the source of its revenue, i.e., the sponsors. It's just a shame that Head-fi can't acknowledge and own up to its own bias and underhanded tactics.

Perma-Ban in Effect!

Well, it took them long enough to get around to it, but Head-fi finally perma-banned me today, on some pretext out of the blue having to do with alleged "multiple logins." There I am, basically minding my own business, not having participated at the forum much at all lately (having become a little bored with it, to be honest) when I start getting attacked in the hotaudio thread by the same guy who started everything the first time in the PH100 thread. And then a PM shows up out of the blue from the site owner, Jude, demanding to know what my "affiliation" is with Hotaudio. Coincidental? I don't happen to believe in coincidences, but you decide for yourself. ;-)

Jude denies it has anything to do with Hotaudio, but then why make such an issue of it, and seemingly out of the blue like that? Why single me out? I told him that there is no "affiliation," aside from the fact that I bought a couple of amps and DACs from hotaudio and generally liked the products, which is exactly the truth, and then he banned me, with some big long diatribe about how they don't favor their sponsors' gear there (I think the lady doth protest too much ;-)).

But if it had nothing to do with all this continual flack over Hotaudio products, then why does he single me out to question me about it? Does he go out of his way to single out and PM anyone else who recommends gear to ask them what their "affiliation" is with the manufacturer? Kind of doubtful. And why does all this start right as that other guy is also chiming in out of the blue to attack me over the hotaudio gear, just like he did in the other thread? And why is Jude suddenly posting about it himself in the hotaudio thread? Again, it all seems like more than a coincidence to me (it all seems kind of pathetic, actually - don't these people have anything better to do with their lives?). He also denied that he knew anything about this blog, which I find to be very far-fetched and unlikely.

I think the truth is that they just can't stand real adults there at Head-fi, adults who speak their mind openly and without fear. Most of the members there appear to have what has often been identified as the "herd" mentality, but if you show no interest in being a sheep they try to beat you down to conform to what everyone else thinks. The "administration" there really is like little children, not really worth my time to deal with all their petty and childish games. Except for some of the senior members, and with a few other exceptions, I would be surprised if the average age of the forum is much above 16 or 17.

I might update this blog occasionally if I happen to see anything especially humorous or absurd over there, but as my headphone set up is pretty stable and enjoyable now, I probably won't be wasting much more time at that forum. Life is too short for petty squabbles about -- of all things -- headphone amps. I definitely also have noticed that I enjoy music much more when I don't frequent that forum, which seems to try to feed a kind of constant dissatisfaction, most likely so that you will buy more gear (more of their sponsors' gear ;)). As always, caveat emptor, and head-fier beware. ;-)

Update on the Proceedings

So the "ban" is expired now, and no new ban (yet), so we will see how it goes. My mailbox is also mysteriously back up to 125 PMs -- it's amazing what automated software can do these days. Increases and decreases your PM mailbox amount randomly. ;-)

I'd like to think this whole thing was just a huge mistake on the part of a trigger happy mod, an unjustified banning in the heat of the moment, but it seems more to be something that fits a pattern rather than just a one-time occurrence. The attacks from the other members for mentioning Hotaudio were certainly no accident, and those are all over the forum in multiple threads, not just that one.

I noticed, however, that Head-fi deleted the entire PH100 thread, so that removes all the "evidence" of what actually transpired. Maybe they just removed it temporarily to review it and "scour" out all the unsavory parts, which itself speaks volumes about how things are handled over there. Luckily I saved those parts, which I can post if the situation warrants.

But for now I'm going to reserve any further judgment and see how things progress from here. People should be able to recommend any gear they want without being attacked and banned for it, so we'll see if Head-fi can live up to being "fair and balanced," or if in fact it is as biased and sponsor/money driven as it often appears to be. Only time will tell.

I hope this incident at least alerted the head-fi administration to a bias that perhaps they weren't aware of, and that now the forum will become a little more welcoming of people mentioning other gear, as well as more tolerant of minority viewpoints that don't happen to agree with the "group mind" consensus. It should be all about the music and what sounds good, but if you can't even mention gear that sounds good without getting attacked for it, then what's the use of even participating at a forum like that? In that case, just read the manufacturers' own advertisements and get your information that way. I don't think anyone really wants that -- no one, that is, except the manufacturers. But the extent to which those motives are interwoven with those of the Head-fi ownership and administration yet remains to be seen, and imho it remains a valid point of consideration. What happens from here will go a long way to answering those concerns.

Head-Fier Beware

If you are into headphone audio and you want to get complete, honest, and unbiased information, you should probably avoid the Head-Fi.org forums. They are driven mainly by their paid sponsor marketers, and if you mention or recommend things like Hotaudio gear there, you very likely will be harassed and banned. That is what they did to me, and I have recently found out that they have also done it to the owner of Hotaudio in the past.

I'm writing this blog to give people who are unaware an idea of the kind of thing the Head-Fi forum is known to do to you just for mentioning Hotaudio gear there, especially when it competes favorably with gear from their sponsors. They ruthlessly attacked me for it, called me a "shill," reduced my PM mailbox from the standard 125 to 50 just to harass me, and finally just banned me. All for talking about a Hotaudio product no differently than they talk about all their mass-produced sponsor products they shill for over there.

They will typically have 10, 20, 30-page threads on mass-produced junk like the uDAC -- before the product is even available to buy. The sponsor gives a head-fi member the product in advance to shill for them, and they drum up interest among the more impressionable members that way, getting people worked up and talking about it, often before it's even available. It's not uncommon for threads like that to go on for 50 or more pages. The uDAC thread is now over 80 pages. That's a lot of shilling!

They will talk about and recommend entry-level, budget gear like the uDAC in every other thread, but strangely enough they don't call that "shilling." That's because that gear is from a paid sponsor. But they will call you "aggressive" for simply MENTIONING a product that you have heard from a place like Hotaudio, when the entire time they are aggressively pushing that other gear on the forum in every other post.

If you mention a Hotaudio DAC in the uDAC thread, they will say you "ruined the thread" with your "shilling." But they mention their uDAC in post after post all over the forum, even though it's not even half as good as products like the DAC-Extasy. They have also mentioned all kinds of other DACs in the uDAC thread, like the DacMagic, Keces Dacs, Pico Dac, and others. How come they don't call that "shilling?" How come they don't say that has "ruined the thread?" Only when someone mentions the Hotaudio product do they say that it's "shilling" that has "ruined the thread." It's very bizarre. You have to wonder what planet some of these people are living on, where it's okay for them to mention anything they want at any time, but no one can mention Hotaudio basically EVER.

And it's the same in any thread. If someone is looking for a good DAC, for example, and someone recommends a uDAC, or any other DAC, that is perfectly fine with them. You can do that all day long. But if you so much as mention the Hotaudio DAC-Extasy even once, they will attack you ruthlessly for "shilling." It's so funny to observe - they make up all kinds of reasons why they don't want the Hotaudio product as soon as you mention it ("it's not as portable as the uDAC" - when it's basically the same size; "it's not in my budget" -- while they consider DACs other people have mentioned that are the same price), and then they attack you for "aggressively shilling" for Hotaudio, when all you did was recommend a DAC, just like anyone else did. The one you recommended just happened to be from Hotaudio.

For the record, the DAC-Extasy is a hand-made, silver-soldered, wolfson-based DAC that sounds fantastic -- why on earth wouldn't I recommend that? Why wouldn't anyone recommend it? It sounds awesome - of course I would recommend that. But the fanboys there can't stand that, because it competes with the sponsors' products that they have been duped into shilling for. So they start attacking.

Anyone can see how lopsided and biased that is. The "aggressive" thing is marketing a product to gullible fanboys for 10-20 pages before it's even available to buy, or mentioning the uDAC in every other thread. That's what's aggressive. Most of the fanboys there don't seem to be bright enough to understand that they have been roped in by these marketing tactics and are shilling for products like the uDAC, and yet they ruthlessly attack anyone who so much as mentions Hotaudio gear that sounds better. It's like Alice in Wonderland.

Below is the post I made that started the whole thing - the post they call "the aggressive way you mention Hotaudio." Anyone in the actual, common-sense world of reality instead of the Twilight Zone world of the Head-Fi fanboys can see there is nothing in the least "aggressive" about the post at all. The idea that it is in some way "aggressive" is totally ludicrous. The post was made in response to someone who was asking about buying the PH100 amp, and asked if anyone had any other suggestions:

[quote=userlander]
Having owned the MDR-V4s, which are very similar to the MDR-V6, and owning a PH100, I can give you some suggestions.

For about the same money or sometimes less, the Hotaudio Thunderbolt Max is imo an overall better sounding amp than the PH100.

If you want a similar sounding headphone to the MDR-V6 but a step up, try the Alessandro MS-1s. Great bang for the buck headphones.

Pair those up with a good DAC or CD player and that is a very killer rig.

gl :)

That's it. That's the entire post. As you can see, I even mentioned the MS-1 headphones there, and no one ever said anything about that. I have recommended those headphones in numerous threads at Head-fi, and not once did anyone EVER say anything about "shilling" for Alessandro. They only say something is "shilling" when you're mentioning or recommending a Hotaudio product.

If they had just left it there, that's probably as far as it would have gone. Just a simple statement: "I've heard both, and in my opinion, the Hotaudio amp sounds better." What in god's name is so horrendously wrong about that? From the standpoint of a reasonable person, nothing. But that's not good enough for them - they just can't leave it alone. Someone has said that a Hotaudio product sounds better than their "fanboy" product, and they just can't stand that. So that's when they go on the attack.

You can read how their attacks progressed from there by reading it for yourself on the forum:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/shanling-ph100-opinions-cheap-fully-discrete-head-amp-280277/index19.html

-- unless the head-fi mods and admins are so dishonest they start deleting the posts. I would not put it past them - apparently they even read your PMs there. But I have saved all of those posts, and I might post them with commentary later. The long and short of it is that they relentlessly attacked me, they called me a "shill" just for mentioning Hotaudio products the way they mention everything else, and ultimately the mods ended up banning ME. Yes, it is surreal.

I had over 1500 posts there, and only a very small fraction of those ever mentioned Hotaudio -- the vast majority had nothing to do with any of those products at all. I had really contributed a lot of my time to Head-fi, giving as unbiased and objective information as possible. Numerous times I recommended KSC75 headphones, MS-1 headphones, PX100 headphones, PK3 earbuds, the Sansa Clip, the Audiotailor Jade amp, the V-DAC, HD600s, DT880s, and on and on and on -- even the uDAC a few times -- always trying to make a useful recommendation to suit the person's situation and needs. Not once did anyone ever called me a "shill" for mentioning any of those products, ever. But Head-fi is so biased against Hotaudio that n00bs with even fewer than 100 posts (like this suspicious angle_shooter character, more on him below) chime in to call me a "shill" simply for mentioning a Hotaudio product, and the mods ban me instead of them. The bottom line appears to be that they just can't have anyone talking up products that compete with their sponsors' products.

Pretty pathetic, as anyone can read for themselves at the forum. The attacks from the head-fi n00bs finally culminated in one of them posting a huge, bandwidth robbing picture to insult me, and the mod did nothing about that. He left the picture up, while deleting the post I made to defend myself from the attacks. And then I got banned. For what? For daring to mention a Hotaudio product.

So there you have it. That's how they operate at Head-fi. Anyone comparing Hotaudio gear favorably to their gear is attacked, harassed, and ultimately banned. Unless they've removed it to try to hide the truth, you can see the whole exchange with your own eyes at the forum. And if they ever do remove it, I'll just post it here.

Isn't it interesting how all those people who were personally attacking me were never banned? Telling me to "take my meds," posting insulting pictures, attacking me at every turn. They don't say that to someone who mentions Little Dot, or Woo, or Headamp. Only the guy who is saying positive stuff about Hotaudio gear is harassed and banned. They even say negative thing after negative thing about the Hotaudio gear that they have never even heard and they are not banned. One guy bashing the Hotaudio amp in favor of the PH100 admitted he had also never even heard the PH100! But there he is, slamming me and the Hotaudio amp left and right, and he is not banned for that.

Very interesting, isn't it?

The other guy in that thread -- "angle_shooter," who just joined the forum a few weeks ago (who is this guy really?) -- actually followed me around the forum, chiming in on practically any thread where I mentioned a Hotaudio product just to bash me. That was after he relentlessly PMed me for "information" on the PH100 amp and then a Hotaudio amp, literally a dozen or so PMs back and forth, where I spent a good deal of my time over a couple of weeks answering him very patiently and thoroughly. Then he turns around and attacks me at every turn. Very classy, huh?

Right after that is when my PM mailbox got reduced from 125 to 50 overnight -- what a strange coincidence. It seems that even if you recommend Hotaudio gear in private messages you get persecuted and harassed for it. I suspect this angle_shooter is an alias account for someone affiliated with the forum somehow - there are numerous clues for that - but regardless, if you search the forum you can see him popping up all over the place where I have posted about Hotaudio gear just to bash me and try to attack my credibility, most notably in that thread and the uDAC thread.

Edit: Yes, this "angle_shooter" guy is very suspicious, indeed. His join date is only a little over a month ago - most of which time he's been repeatedly PMing me and following me around to discredit me - and I notice today that even after I've been banned he continues to chime in about me, this time saying I am some other poster based on some speculations he basically just makes up out of thin air. I posted myself that my PM mailbox had been reduced, in this thread:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f11/notifications-471983/#post6395123

Anyone could have read that, but this guy appears to be so obsessed with me that he will try to come up with anything in the attempt to attack my credibility. You have to ask yourself why a regular, ordinary user would go to that much trouble just to discredit someone when he has no vested interest in it at all -- or does he? Lol.

So that's how it appears to work over at Head-fi. They try to pretend it's some kind of "objective" serious audio forum, but it's really just a huge advertising-driven marketing forum that exists to shill the products of the advertisers -- just look at all the ads they have there -- while anyone who mentions competing Hotaudio gear gets viciously attacked and banned. Anyone can read it for themselves - just go to the PH100 thread I linked to above and see for yourself. If they delete any more of it, I can just post it here later.

I've also analyzed and exposed how some of the big sponsors market to the fanboys there, without the fanboys even knowing how they're being manipulated. It will make an interesting case study in marketing. That will be the next exposé, and I'm sure they'll like that even less!