Hi-Fi Honesty

[_D_S_J_R_]

Searching all posts by Ashley James and flicking through them 2 pages at a time indicates that he has made multiple posts every month since September 2016. I have no doubt that if I were to go back further it would show that he's made multiple posts per month every month since the AVI forum was started.

There has been no period in which he has disappeared for several months.

Sorry you felt the need to analyse all of Ash's posts over the last year. My interpretation of his 'regular' posting is the all-but 'blanket bombing' of various popular threads, especially where AVI products is concerned. To me, he backed off for a good while, but then I didn't go looking too hard.

Regarding the SL150/1500, used the way its pictured, it's a bit grim. My experiences with two owned samples in the last few years (a 150 which I added the 1500 arm and a full original 1500) tells me they are tweakable though and can sound very nice with care (I'm not considering how it may or may not compare with the PL71). In fact, I'm considering getting the first one back to scratch a particular itch I have as it was a job not completed and it hasn't been used since I passed it on.

As you were chaps. Apologies for posting in the first place.

[Classicrock]

Are Ashley James and AVI of any real importance in the hi-fi industry today? I would say no so can't see what the fuss is over this piddling irrelevance v the likes of Linn and Naim (who aren't very big in the grand scheme of things) and only important for their effect in the UK rather than elsewhere. What James and that Harbeth bloke post on forums is hardly worth losing sleep over since neither run/ran significant industry players. Much more relevant would be discussing the crap B&W and KEF produce but of course they are in essence faceless businesses that produce product.

[Frasernash]

Are Ashley James and AVI of any real importance in the hi-fi industry today? I would say no so can't see what the fuss is over this piddling irrelevance v the likes of Linn and Naim (who aren't very big in the grand scheme of things) and only important for their effect in the UK rather than elsewhere. What James and that Harbeth bloke post on forums is hardly worth losing sleep over since neither run/ran significant industry players. Much more relevant would be discussing the crap B&W and KEF produce but of course they are in essence faceless businesses that produce product.

AVI probably have a small market share but it was a successful forum which got a lot of coverage and was in some ways one of the better Forums
although the magazines are dying off they are now becoming a bigger force on the internet.

[Frasernash]

There have been too many times in the last 12 years on hi-fi websites when someone has come out with something that's been untrue / misleading / bullshit / only-half-the-story.
Sometimes I have then decided to challenge them by stating my own experience.
To which their response has been to restate their original view.
To which I have challenged them again.
To which they have responded with ad hominem personal insults.
To which I have challenged their untrue / misleading statement again and asked them not to insult me.
To which they have offered no apology, whilst carrying on with their lies / misleading statements and ad hominem.


The psychology behind hi-fi is more interesting than hi-fi itself.


Here's a few of the lies / misleading statements that I've challenged over the years...
Linn made the best turntable in the 1970's.
Naim make the most musical amps.
AVI actives sound better than every passive speaker ever made.
Active speakers are technically better than passives.
When building a hi-fi system you should spend roughly 30% on source, 30% on amplification, 30% on speakers, 10% on cables and stands.
Valve amplifiers are for people who like listening to pleasant distortions.
£1500 brand new ADAM active speakers offer excellent value for money / sound better than any passives under £5000.


...and been given a hard time by the people whose views I've challenged.



Bake-offs slowly and gradually bring some truth to the hi-fi world. But even then it's not a level playing field.

One example.
In July 2016 lpv and andrewjvt got together via the What Hi-fi forum for a bake-off of ATC 11's vs AVI DM10's (with and without a sub-woofer). The AVI's won that bake-off and lpv proudly proclaimed them the winners on the What Hi-fi forum (and I think on the AVI forum).
In September 2016 I got together with both of them for another bake-off, that Included my EV Sentry III's. At the bake-off it was very clear to me that the EV's sounded best followed by the AVI's with sub followed by the ATC's. Andrewjvt agreed with me during the bake-off. I got the impression from lpv at the bake-off that he conceded that the EV's sounded overall better. The PM's and emails that he sent me in the 24 hours after the bake-off gave me the impression that he thought that the EV's sounded better.
In the aftermath of that bake-off there was a 5 page thread on the AVI forum with the most ill-informed drivel about the EV speakers and with some highly insulting comments about me. What was lpv's contribution to that thread? Did he stand up for truth and honesty? Did he correct any of the lies and bullshit being spouted on that thread?
His sole comment was to say "I was drunk.. can't remember a thing (lol)"*
On the What hi-fi forum he gave, what seemed to me, to be a series of disseminating comments. I asked him several times to state if in his opnion he thought the EV Sentry's at the bake-off sound better, about equally good or worse than the AVI's. He never answered this question.

If the AVI's had sounded better than the EV's then I have no doubt that he would have stated this loudly and clearly to all and sundry.







*the only alcohol consumed on the day was 1 glass of wine each, about an hour before the end. lpv and I drive home. Under the legal limit.

Thanks for the insight it was all very confusing at the time on who won the bake off, although the ATC did well as they didn't have a Sub, also Ashley I feel had to prune the discussion at the time as he know even he most staunch supporters could have commented on how great oldskool JBL drivers were and probably is not a great fan of Jordan single drivers pity they cant come to a future bake off.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Why do people think there are hi-fi experts or Guru's when there ain't, everyone is an individual. And as for paid hi-fi experts and Guru's they are the worst type. The unpaid Guru is driven by ego, so any lies that get him looked at or put him up the Guru ladder is the way, which is why I take great pleasure in sawing the legs of that ladder. A few years ago Marco was on that ladder, now apart from a few arse lickers he is just laughed at - we should be proud of that. The ones that make a living at it can't be honest otherwise they wouldn't get a job or get their slurp.

[kimangelis]

I place hi-fi gurus alongside both film and music critics. The former I can ignore but the latter get up my nose. There's no such thing as someone who knows more about subjective measurement / opinion/ thoughts etc etc etc... than anyone else. Who's to say whose reading of what symphony is better than anyone elses? As with all things I have my opinions and I know what is distinctly poor... but who is to say whether Previn or Ashkenazy reads Rachmaninov the better? As I'm sure we all do here, we should listen with our ears and not reading what X says about Y.

I am slightly embarrassed about being 'taken in' by those (in the1970's) who rubbished direct-drive turntables over the Sondek. I bought into this and invited pain into my life for the next two years until I swapped it for an Elite Rock. I didn't use my own intelligence and engineering knowledge but devoured all that was written in the likes of Hi-Fi Answers and similar.

As I've said before, I don't have an NVA system because I like the Doc or by what I have read. It's because I know what a violin sounds like in a good concert hall, or what a good solo piano sounds in an open environment, or what a tight band (Steely Dan for example) sound live. No system is perfect and can never be so. Anything that gets in the way of music is not required, and ALL hi-fi gets in the way of music. Less is more so-to-speak.

[Lindsayt]

Are Ashley James and AVI of any real importance in the hi-fi industry today? I would say no so can't see what the fuss is over this piddling irrelevance v the likes of Linn and Naim (who aren't very big in the grand scheme of things) and only important for their effect in the UK rather than elsewhere. What James and that Harbeth bloke post on forums is hardly worth losing sleep over since neither run/ran significant industry players. Much more relevant would be discussing the crap B&W and KEF produce but of course they are in essence faceless businesses that produce product.

The AVI gang have infested the What Hi-fi forum for over 10 years.

As soon as you think the infestation has died down it springs up again.

The What Hi-fi forum is probably the most influential forum in the UK for newcomers to hi-fi. Mainly due to What Hi-fi magazine's presence in Tescos, Sainsburys, Asda, motorway service stations etc.

The AVI gang have had far more of a presence on the What Hi-fi forum than the Linn or Naim gangs.


The AVI infestation on the What hi-fi forum was so chronic (as per the medical meaning of the term chronic) that the majority of the membership on there believe that active speakers are technically superior to passives.
There were times when the infestation was so acute that threads where the opening post was along the lines of "I have £x to spend. What CD player should I buy?" would be met with a predictable response by post #5 saying "Sell your amp and speakers and buy AVI actives".


My impression before the 2016 bake-off was that the majority of What hi-fi members actually thought that AVI actives would sound better than EV Sentry's or that they'd have a chance of sounding better than the EV's.

For years I've been saying on the What Hi-fi forum that I'd heard AVI actives (ADM 9's) and found them to be mediocre sounding speakers - at best. The response to me saying this was invariably nasty from the AVI gang. Lots of ad hominem personal insults.



There's an AVI infestation in the hi-fi section of AVforums now.


I do totally agree about not losing sleep over anything said by Ashley or the Harbeth bloke. I'd extend that to anything said by anyone on a hi-fi forum. It's only bloody hi-fi after all.

[Lindsayt]

AVI probably have a small market share but it was a successful forum which got a lot of coverage and was in some ways one of the better Forums
although the magazines are dying off they are now becoming a bigger force on the internet.

The AVI / HDD forum was always a marketing tool for Ashley James.

Only good for mild entertainment as an exercise in observing group psychology and for the Fantasy Island nature of the content.


In terms of it being a good forum to go for advice on hi-fi it's always been terrible. So bad that, along with the Linn and Naim forums, whatever the consensus of opinion - and there always was a consensus with Ashley controlling it - do the opposite for best results.


If the AVI / HDD forum were in a George Orwell book it'd be called The Ministry of Truth.

[Lindsayt]

Thanks for the insight it was all very confusing at the time on who won the bake off, although the ATC did well as they didn't have a Sub, also Ashley I feel had to prune the discussion at the time as he know even he most staunch supporters could have commented on how great oldskool JBL drivers were and probably is not a great fan of Jordan single drivers pity they cant come to a future bake off.

That's just it. No one on the AVI forum commented on how good old JBL drivers are. What we had instead was plenty of posts with inaccurate / untrue / misleading statements - all in agreement with Ashley's marketing

The AVI forum post bake-off thread then veered off topic after the first page and a half. With it including a brief discussion of lpv not being happy with the finish fading on his AVI ADM10's. And someone calling NVA cables a rip-off to which the Doc and one or two others from HFS responded. After a few days they got banned and the 5 page thread got pruned by Ashley to 1 post!

[Lindsayt]

Why do people think there are hi-fi experts or Guru's when there ain't, everyone is an individual. And as for paid hi-fi experts and Guru's they are the worst type. The unpaid Guru is driven by ego, so any lies that get him looked at or put him up the Guru ladder is the way, which is why I take great pleasure in sawing the legs of that ladder. A few years ago Marco was on that ladder, now apart from a few arse lickers he is just laughed at - we should be proud of that. The ones that make a living at it can't be honest otherwise they wouldn't get a job or get their slurp.

There are some people whose opinions on hi-fi I have a lot of respect for.

People who know what they're talking about. Are happy to admit to the limitations of their knowledge or experience - ie they don't bullshit. And who act with a high degree of honesty and integrity.


For me "Guru" would be too strong a word. I'd refer to them as people that I respect within the world of Hi-fi.