SBAF free advertising for Massdrop?

Discussion in 'Random Thoughts' started by brencho, Jun 12, 2018.

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  1. ButtUglyJeff

    ButtUglyJeff Stunningly beautiful IRL

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    Alright I get it now. We were conforming to Massdrop. Yes that would be a problem. I didn't see it before. Its unfortunate that just when Massdrop seems to be selling more good things, instead of polished turds, management here is pulling back. But I guess if its good, it'll drop more then once anyways.

    I still say our DAC Triumvirate did everything correctly, there was just no policy to worry about...
     
  2. brencho

    brencho Friend

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    I'm perfectly calm dude...
     
  3. Ringingears

    Ringingears Honorary BFF

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    Good enough for me Marv, as long as you slept on it. ;)
     
  4. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I'd argue that there are not that many critical reviews in the past two years period*, not just restricted to vendors we are friends with. There are several reasons for this:
    1. Maturity level of the members and the site in general has increased. This isn't Changstar anymore where we looked at all gear with the glass is half empty approach. We take the glass is not full approach now.
    2. Vendors aren't making as much crappy gear anymore. It's true.
    3. We have gotten sick of vendors who have a history of making subpar gear. It's not worth flushing SBAF loaner program funds down the toilet. As for me, I now do have people screen products in advance before it gets to me. This reduces the chance of me getting to bad gear. Life is too short.
    4. Underwhelming reviews of products simply cannot be written at length. Negative reviews of "favored" vendors' gear do exist, in some instances quite vociferious as in the case of the ZDT Jr. and Lyr 3. I will concede that it's harder to find them, as they are they buried within the threads.
    5. The senior members are being more cognizant that their preferences may not necessarily be the same of others. Unless I am presented with something that is egegriously bad, I will keep in mind people who would like a particular piece of gear's sound. This is a huge departure for me compared to the Changstar days where anything that did not meet my preferences was condemned.
    6. There's a growing emphasis that synergy is crucial. The senior members are going to try to get the best out of any piece of gear sent them to them. We have a lot of supporting gear at our disposal to do this.
    7. It's difficult to crap on budget gear, unless its egregiously bad. The favored vendors make budget gear. No one expects a Camry to outperform a Porsche.

    *The notable exceptions being the A-GD Singularity 19 DAC, the A-GD NFB-1 balanced amp, and Topping D30.
     
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2018
  5. Pilsnerpunk

    Pilsnerpunk Friend

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    Your avatar suggests otherwise.
     
  6. Ringingears

    Ringingears Honorary BFF

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    I know. I really appreciate your thoughts on this topic.
     
  7. brencho

    brencho Friend

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    Haha I think my sarcasm detector had been jammed. Ok I'll stop with the movie references I promise!
     
  8. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I will say this: How one is spoken to does matter.

    We don't need Massdrop. We don't need Schiit. The truth is that we don't need anyone. Yes, I'm trying to get a few bucks from SBAF so I can get a Dodge Charger Hellcat, that might prove to be unreliable. But SBAF at it's core is that we do not need anyone but ourselves. We can always buy shit ourselves and review it.
     
  9. BenjaminBore

    BenjaminBore Friend

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    I'm with @Hands in that more time is required for a considered long term approach to be settled upon. Most of the discussion thus far has brought up some good points but has been generally ham-fisted.

    This thread exists because something feels hinky about SBAFs participation in the recent massdrop. When breaking down the individual components of the matter there isn’t really anything untoward transpiring, and some of how things have been coordinated is simply due to the nature of massdrop itself.

    But. The issue as I see it is in the selective use of members who are expected, or even literally pre-determined, to like a product, and the exclusion of those that won’t. This has lead to SBAF unwittingly becoming complicit in creating a distorted view of new products. SBAFs strength is within the loaner tour because it provides a diverse set of impressions.

    How useful do you guys think the loaner program would be if members were only allowed to participate in them if they were expected or known to like the product?

    Exactly.


    Some thoughts on sponsors and subscriptions:
    Sponsorship may be viable, but only to a point. SBAF’s goals are too opposed to a sponsors motivations for it to be dependable. SBAF will need multiple sources to grow in an independent manner and maintain it’s integrity. The examples of subscriptions you guys have given are indeed lame. But one of the first to take that path was a website called http://giantbomb.com. It is, loosely, the video game equivalent of SBAF. They got into video before youtube influencers became dominant and are prospering for it. The subscription has literally kept them afloat early on, but has continued to give them independence and the breathing room to survive if they have sponsorship issues. Their story continues passed what I have described but subscriptions are still integral. They do not pay wall all their content, but they do offer additional content and other benefits in exchange for a low cost subscription. The question of course would be what can additional content could SBAF offer if more funds were coming in, if they weren’t already available for free I might have suggested the for sale and measurement sections.
     
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2018
  10. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    They do not pay wall all their content, but they do offer additional content ... in exchange for a low cost regular fee.

    That means they paywall their content. They are also a more formal review site, not just a forum.
     
  11. Ringingears

    Ringingears Honorary BFF

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    Exactly how I feel. This is why I hang out here. A Dodge? :eek: Also why I drive to SoCal to go to meets. Mostly to see people I like. Gear is kinda secondary.
     
  12. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    707HP.
     
  13. ButtUglyJeff

    ButtUglyJeff Stunningly beautiful IRL

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    Just be glad he said Hellcat and not that POS Denom...

    edit - right Demon
     
  14. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I'd take a Demon for fun if I were still in Michigan where they still have these things called dragstrips. The California tree-huggers and NIMBYs got rid of those decades ago.
     
  15. BenjaminBore

    BenjaminBore Friend

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    Yes, of course. My point was they do not do as others have and paywall the whole website, with limits on views etc. In this case they didn't interfere with any of their main line content and continued to develop new types of content that was still free, paywall stuff was more esoteric and generally covered the periphery. It was the sort of thing they probably wouldn't have done otherwise, in theory.
     
  16. Ringingears

    Ringingears Honorary BFF

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    My Dad flew an F6F Hellcat off of carriers in WWII. Had a 16 cylinder Pratt and Whitney engine. Seems like you are getting close.
     
  17. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    But those guys are huge though, even bigger than HF. And they have real content. That paywall stuff for esoteric content can work for their size.
     
  18. ButtUglyJeff

    ButtUglyJeff Stunningly beautiful IRL

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    The Demon has one job, go straight and fast. Instead it eats tires and makes cool "S" shaped rubber marks in the road...
     
  19. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I've been too long with a V8. And none of that high revving stuff.
     
  20. Ringingears

    Ringingears Honorary BFF

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    I drive a 1998 Honda Civic. Less than 78,000 miles on it. Does the job. But not much fun to drive. Actually I’d prefer a ride on Musk’s trip around the Moon. If anyone here can foot the bill for me, I wouldn’t refuse. :p
     
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