Since AudioKarma has so much traffic in Vintage related to different types of gear, how would everyone feel about having the Vintage forum split up similar to the Partswap area, with seperate subforums for, say, Pioneer, Kenwood, Onkyo, Marantz, and other?

We had previously shyed away from such things because the site didn't have the traffic to support them, but as we all know this is no longer the case :D

The main advantage of the seperate forums is that it makes the database much easier to browse.....however it does divide everything up even though it's under the same heading.

So let's hear your thoughts :)

No, we have enough forums as it is, and things aren't posted in the right place to begin with half the time.

Cheers,
Russ

I could see a limited expansion of forums. I'd say Pioneer and Marantz definitely deserve their own forums. Not sure about the others though.

On an quasi-related note, I think the Ak search function is underused especially by newbies. Maybe if it was featured more prominently on the homepage?

I know many hate change but I think this is a good idea, at least with Pioneer, Marantz and probably Kenwood.

Like Sansui and McIntosh, there is easily enough interest in each to support a separate forum.

I find the Sansui and McIntosh splits friendly in their ability to find model specific information or opinions.

Kenwood has a small yahoo group that would probably thrive much better in this environment with our software and rounded audio knowledge base. Kenwood at Yahoo (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kenwoodaudio/)

it'll be interesting to see what the masses say.

Good idea, IMO. Some folks' interest is very specific, and if AK can tailor its presentation to cater to those specific interests, win-win.

Yes, I agree that Marantz and Pioneer should have their own forum. Heck, if Sansui has one, Pioneer and Marantz should have one as well. Just my $.02



Retro

Almost 200 views of this thread and only 30 something votes ?

Not like you guys are being asked to vote for politicians :p:

If you want or don't want please vote. Thanks

grumpy

Yes, especially for Marantz and Pioneer; both of these brands generate enough posts to warrant their own sub-catagories. Technics and Kenwood should also be considered.

Kamakiri asks about splitting up the Vintage forum. If we have, for example, a Pioneer group under Vintage, then should we have another Pioneer for modern gear as well? I'm just wondering what we would do with current manufacturer specific groups. Specifically, McIntosh. That forum is full of vintage topics and modern gear, and future speculations.

If we do go for the individual manufacturer's forums, I hope that we don't label them as vintage. Someone may want to discuss current directions of products as well as the historical aspects.

The only problem I see with more forums is that it increases the odds that someone will post in the wrong group.

There are so many new threads these days, that it's almost impossible to read through all of them.

It may be time to split up some to tailor the interest a little better.

Marantz & Pioneer forums seem logical.

HDK

Good question.

Going out on a limb here but I would think each particular makers forum would encompass both new and old. Just to hard to separate them once they each have their own forums.

Just my thoughts...

Grumpy

So far the votes seem to be for Marantz and Pioneer forums, personally I think this is way overdue. As of now I plan on going with those in the next couple days and see how it all pans out....

So step forward all you Pioneer and Marantz freaks :D

Should we divide up Vintage by make

I guess I was thinking of vintage only forums.

Marantz, Pioneer, Kenwood, etc aren't really the same company they were 25 + years ago, and don't make anything nowdays, remotely close to the vintage audio equipment of old.

Mac still kinda does, but not Marantz or Pioneer, or any one else really, that was big into audio in the 60s and 70s.

But whatever, maybe I'm splitting hairs.

I don't think we need to specifically label the new forums as vintage since AFAIK nobody yet is getting nostalgic about BPC. Besides, there is some disagreement about what constitutes vintage. I highly doubt anyone with modern Pioneer/Sony/etc gear would end up here looking for info.

I hereby step forward as a card-carrying Pioneer freak (not as crazy as Auditech though) with a minor interest in Marantz.

Lastly, kudos to the mods/admins for their work on AK. The interface is my yardstick for all other message boards. I've bounced around lots of sites and I always wonder how much better they could be if they used AK's format.

Great Idea Kam I will have another home the Pioneer Forum. Got my vote.

Forums dedicated to individual vintage brands sounds like a good idea. I wouldn't want to have the vintage mixed with the modern though. The only downside I see is a reduction in comparisons and rivalries.(I kinda enjoy reading a good rant).

I kinda like it the way it is as long as the subject line is descriptive. When I login I use the "View new posts" option to bring up a listing of what is new and work it from there. In that way I don't necessarily read all of the new posts and I am saved the bother checking each forum for new posts.

As I imagine everyone knows I specialize in Yamaha, but that does not mean that I have no interest in other marques. I notice that it was Pioneer, Marantz mentioned but never Yamaha so we would probably not get a forum of our own in any case.

Rob

:yes: If I may interject, the more specific the forums are, the better! If there is a Vintage section broken into smaller parts, it just makes it easier to find people with the same interests and will in turn provide more answers to questions.

I try to check out as many discussions as my time will allow, but I know I am missing quite a bit. It would be nice if I could jump straight to Vintage>Cassette Decks or even Vintage>Goldstar!!



:dunno:

Naaah. I have interest and knowlege in virtually all major, and many minor, brands. Its nice to just go to the vintage forum and post a question, and typically get an answer. Likewise, its an easy place to go and contribute my knowlege on a variety of brands. I don't find myself going as regularly to the current brand-specific areas, and am probably not contributing as much as I could. Call me lazy, but that's the way I operate these days...

Sorry, I don't think more 'brand balkanization' of the vintage site here is a good idea.

Whaddya do with all the more -- esoteric :-) -- brands?

A Scott forum?

A Sherwood forum?

A Yamaha forum?

A JVC forum?

A Denon forum?

An Onkyo forum?

A Philips forum?

A Superscope forum?

A KLH forum?

A Craig forum?

A XAM forum?

A Teledyne forum?

A Yorx forum?

A Soundesign forum?


Remember: Dilution is the solution to pollution (conversely, there is such a thing as critical mass to make a forum "lively"... I've never noted much of a signal to noise problem on any of the fora here).

I voted yes for adding separate forums.

Definitely yes for:

Harman Kardon
Kenwood
Marantz
Yamaha

Maybe yes for:

Fisher
Onkyo
Scott
Sony

IMHO, the group's interest would be more for vintage, good sounding 2-channel receivers and all of the above companies, plus Pioneer and Sansui (and a few other's I've inadvertenly left off) had some that are both collectible and sound good.

Yes, I'd like to see added:
harman/kardon
Yamaha
Pioneer
Marantz
Onkyo (just because I don't know anything about that brand). :naughty:

I figure a Luxman forum might be a good idea. There are a lot of people out there interested in Luxman, and besides a Yahoo group (which is somewhat lame,) there isn't much representation. Of course I may be a little biased but that's my opinion.

Rich

Well I have to agree with Russman on this one. We have to many forums now. In the "old days" I learned alot because I read more post about stuff I was not interested in (or so I thought).

Now, there are forums I dont even read because there is too much jumping around.

My 2 cents worth.

Rich

I read 70% of new posting every day. The moderators will concur because they hear a lot of questions and reports from me and some members will concur because I seem to be on everything and a few threads get sent to the right place occasionally. There may be eight pages of Sansui, etc but only 10-20% are really new replies or new threads, making it no problem to spend 35-60 minutes scouring and posting each day, C'mon, your AudioKarma is still no great pressure to participate in?

Steven

The main advantage to seperate forums is that it seems to make things easier to search for reference and info. It's also nice because you can subscribe to a whole forum that grabs your interest, so you get emails with subject headers every time there is a new thread in a given forum (see your user control panel for details). Or, you can ignore a whole forum too :tongue:

I always use the "new posts" feature to see what's the dish, so I see everything anyways. Sometimes having dedicated forums spurs a whole new group of members to join, such as our Sansui, McIntosh, and Pioneer forums have done. I don't think AK would get the traffic it does in those groups without the actual forums being there. In these cases, it's added volumes to what this site is.

Just no different IMO to a well organized filing cabinet. With all of the posts that we have, it's easier to look for something if it's in one area versus going through the whole site.

Maybe a Marantz forwould be a well viewed forum.um. Judging by the amount of Marantz gear owners I would think it would get a lot of hits.

IMHO if there should be another forum it should be Troubleshooting/Repairs. Many of us own vintage gear that has passed it's life expectancy but would like to get the heart pumping again. With the expected creation of the schematic I would see the need being even greater. Some posts about repairs or maintenance or in the general electronics, some are in the dedicated forum for that make.

Just something to think about.

Are the Pioneer and Sansui forums going to be moved into the Vintage forum? This would seem to make sense as 90+ percent of the posts on these forums are for their vintage gear. I think that Yamaha, Sony and Kenwood should be added. They are all very popular vintage makers and could stand on their own. You have a couple of volunteers for moderators and am sure you would get more if you ask. After all, who can turn down such an easy job at such high pay.

Yep, definitely need separate marantz and Pioneer sections, and possibly Kenwood & Yamaha. "Vintage" could be for all older equipment that doesn't fit in the specific brand sections.

Or you could have a poll and we can vote for the top 3 or 5 brands that we'd like to see have their own forums out of the many brands, (besides the current Sansui & Mc). You could take the top 5 or 8 or 10 brands and make their own forums.

No, posts are pretty few and far between to my way of thinking. I sit in front of my computer looking for new posts and I think they come up pretty slowly.
I don't want to look in several forums for something new to read and possibly reply to.

Hey, who tabulated the votes - Diebold or Triad?! :thumbsdn: No way it can be that close.

or :lmao: maybe I DON'T...

I DEMAND A RECOUNT!

(Isn't the Vice President supposed to break this tie)?

No will be too cluttered :yes:

I think that there should be fewer topics. I love going into the vintage board not knowing what models I'm going to learn about that day. I don't like having to go into different boards to learn about Sansui and Pioneer now.

Should we divide up Vintage by make?

NO!

:banana: I just voted yes and now the yes side is one vote ahead :banana:

Who says one vote won't make a difference.

I wouldn't mind seeing all the Yorx and sound-design threads relegated to their own section, maybe call it BPC......although all the yourx stuff is silver. :D

I am usually looking for specific stuff and the more it is separated the easier things might be to find.

Sorry to all of the "Nay" voters out there, but it looks like the "Yea's" have won it by an historical and overwhelming .76% of the vote. Obviously, AK has been given a mandate and much political capital, and by gum! they're going to spend it.

You may now go back home and rest assured that you have helped to strengthen freedom and democracy for all AK'ers, and have done much to prevent the evildoers who would seek to destroy our expanding of the forums.

....and remember, there will be NO recounts.

:smilemad:

Do we need to find Chad and hang him? :banana:

Yes, but all of the ropes are too big. The bastids keep slipping through.

A forum for each brand that seems appropriate and also keep the Vintage forum for score posts and general Vintage posts. I'd hate to lose that as you'd have to canvas all the forums to find out what everyone is up to.

We should start a poll on how many own each brand keep it to the brands that dont have a forum. Like Yamaha or marantz and scott well you get the idea. Then we could see if they need there own forum.

Ron

I just voted Yes, and would like to see Marantz and Kenwood forums added. Not that I'm volunteering to become a moderator and/or help move the archived threads into the new forums. :no:

You folks do realize that AK has something like well over 30 forums already right ?

I can hardly keep track of them already..

This poll should have been closed like 4 month's ago. Ballot stuffing now is a bit silly, don't you think? :D

It's fine as it is.
Learn to use the search functions and scan the new posts, and that's all you'll need.
Besides, the New Post button let's you see all that's going on, which could lead one to something interesting that they normally may have overlooked.

I agree with Andy...if it aint broke ....don't fuckin' fix it!....

Vintage is vintage......then we would need a seperate forun for Realistic......and yorx....magnavox...LXI...get my drift....
we dont need a yorx forum....unless it comes with free bottles of Mad Dog!.....

Let it rest....

PLEASE do not divide it up. . . We have enough trouble now without splitting AK up for a few self serving members. . . IMHO

The great thing about Vintage Audio is it's diversity. . . Personally I prefer to continue learning about all brands. . . If I had my way we would have no Sansui forum or Pioneer Forum. . . Although I was pumped at first with the new Pioneer forum I hardly go there anymore. No ones fault but as my preferences change where I go stays the same. . .

Tube and SS is enough PLEASE. . .

Before someone shoots me understand I do see both sides and I do understand someone wanting to specialise in their own area but man we have enough different forums now. . .

Again just my opinion. . .

Here's an idea - let's get rid of a few we already have! Got 30 plus right now right? I think we should be able to half that without to much effort.

/d

Maybe we should have a "SCORE" forum for people to gloat about their latest garage sale triumph. That would lighten the load in some of the other places, maybe get some horse tradin' goin on.

How about a wine, cooking, and BBQ forum......or a planes, trains, and automobile forum, both spin offs of off topic. Seems like there are a lot of people with these interests :)

PLEASE do not divide it up. . . We have enough trouble now without splitting AK up for a few self serving members. . . IMHO

The great thing about Vintage Audio is it's diversity. . . Personally I prefer to continue learning about all brands. . . If I had my way we would have no Sansui forum or Pioneer Forum. . . Although I was pumped at first with the new Pioneer forum I hardly go there anymore. No ones fault but as my preferences change where I go stays the same. . .

Tube and SS is enough PLEASE. . .

Before someone shoots me understand I do see both sides and I do understand someone wanting to specialise in their own area but man we have enough different forums now. . .

Again just my opinion. . .
I agree with gyusher. Not only can you learn about other brands, but quite often a fix or insight for one brand will work for another quite well. I mean, a resistor is a resistor... right? :para:

I thought about a Yamaha forum, but Andyman is right: search and New Posts are fine.

Tom

Yes all points are valid but remember that this will entail someone putting in alot of time creating new forums.I love this site and have zero understanding of whos doing what behind the sences.I don't want to know but those TCB, they should be asked about any additional work loads.

Creating a forum takes about 30 seconds......moving relevant posts to that forum (depending on the subject matter) is what takes the time.....

So I'm guessing the Brussels Sprouts forum is still out.

Put in a poll; Does asparagus make your pee stink and we might have a winner.

Actually a Planes, trains and automobiles sound like a lot of fun. I doubt there is a person here that hasn't been in at least one.

Cooking might go in Ladies Lair (just add to the title) and things like Fantasy Football could be seasonable with all the posts deleted after the Super Bowl. That would make for more room since it doesn't need to be archived.

A movie and television show sub forum in HT makes good sense, related but not gear.

Cooking might go in Ladies Lair (just add to the title)...


:yikes: :whip:

So I'm guessing the Brussels Sprouts forum is still out.

Check the forums homepage and never say that your input isn't valued here :D

People still use Pioneer and Marantz recievers??? jeeesh...

I say, lets give em a forum!

Check the forums homepage and never say that your input isn't valued here :D


:D :banana:

Does asparagus make your pee stink and we might have a winner.

Thatch Ear,
No it makes your poop stink!

Hell yes it makes your pee stink!Now poop thats a whole nother issue,it the skatole and indoles by products of protien digestion.Ya gotta love those sulfide gases.By the way another good use for brussel sprouts is in a sling shot,great ammo.

Does asparagus make your pee stink and we might have a winner.

Thatch Ear,
No it makes your poop stink!

Makes mine stink. . .

And to think I got PM'd for my content. . . . .

Easy now!!!!.. Tim might make a 'POOP' forum...!! (or even a Mad Dog forum...)
He has that kind of twisted sense of humor! LOL

:naughty:

I definitely want in on the POOP forum. Poop is cool.

I think we need a kenwood forum!

I don't agree with a split. Puts pholks in silos, I feel. Lots of questions are generic in nature, why isolate them to a particular brand?

Look at it this way: even the old Ma Bell is slowly putting herself together again :)

I don't agree with a split. Puts pholks in silos, I feel. Lots of questions are generic in nature, why isolate them to a particular brand?

Look at it this way: even the old Ma Bell is slowly putting herself together again :)

This thread is way old folks. The split has already occurred.

Rich P

Definitely need a Yamaha/Sony forum. Many of us Yamaha'ers are also Sonyers, as well. As these are two best vintage brands out of Japan :D , they should stay together in their own forum.

How about subforums for:
Pioneer
Sansui
Marantz
Kenwood
Maybe Sony
Would that not be the Big 4 from the 60's 70's?
McIntosh is a different animal alltogether so I am not lumping them in with the others.

Definitely need a Yamaha/Sony forum. Many of us Yamaha'ers are also Sonyers, as well. As these are two best vintage brands out of Japan :D , they should stay together in their own forum.


Roger that...

Where's the Acoustic Research, KLH, and Advent forums?

You volunteering to move all the posts and moderate them? ;)

Hell no. I can't stand most of the people that post about them anyway. I really appreciate the offer though.

I like the idea of splitting by manufacturer and second Grumpy's suggestion of the inclusion of new and vintage gear in eack maker's category. If their new stuff is not up to their past standards, there simply won't be many posts concerning recent models. I believe that this type of logical separation will improve navigation of the site, making it easier for us to find the areas of personal interest. :thmbsp:

Hell no. I can't stand most of the people that post about them anyway. I really appreciate the offer though. :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

Hell no. I can't stand most of the people that post about them anyway. I really appreciate the offer though.

That's too bad. I even had a suggestion for a co-moderator for you.

I have been a member here for only a short period of time, so I did not go through the growing pains that the long time members here had to experience, so I can only offer up an opinion based upon my own time spent here...

I'm a newbie in the hobby, although I have always been a devoted lover of music, I have never really spent the time or money to learn much about the technical aspects of what makes one piece of equipment sound so different from another.

All it took to get me hooked on the collecting/learning of vintage audio, was a chance encounter with a classified ad for a big, ugly Sansui receiver that needed a new home. A 20 minute car ride and an exchange of cash, and my life has never been the same since...

It didn't take long to find this site as I was Googling for info about my Sansui, and not much longer to join. I am still amazed every day when I sign in and go through the recent postings at the amount of info, talent, and commraderie that defines this site!

I, like most of the members, have particular interests within the vast world of audio, and have taken far more from the forum than I will ever be able to return, by going through as much of the postings I can to get my audio "Fix". At first, I thought that dividing up the forum by manufacturer would be a good thing, but the more I thought about it, I felt it would be a diservice to our community to do so.

I thought of all the things I would have passed by, as I skipped right to the Pioneer forum, or the Sansui forum, instead of taking the time to explore what was right there in front of me. I think of the members I may not have met, or exchanged info and humor with, and I think how much less satisfiying my time here would have been spent, if I had just been to one or two sub-forums.

I feel that any more fracturing of the forum, unless necessary due to volume or moderating needs, would only serve to dilute the overall experience of the current, and even more likely, the future members of this wonderful place.

Again, I'm a newbie here, so my summation may be flawed, but I think I'm not too far off base, I felt I needed to say more than just a yes or no on this subject.

To all who make this the place that it is, from the founders and moderators, down to todays newest members, THANK YOU! I look forward to reading the next posts, and to posting back, maybe helping some one else out as much as all of you have helped guide me.... And isn't that what Karma is all about?

Birddog

I have been a member here for only a short period of time, so I did not go through the growing pains that the long time members here had to experience, so I can only offer up an opinion based upon my own time spent here...

I'm a newbie in the hobby, although I have always been a devoted lover of music, I have never really spent the time or money to learn much about the technical aspects of what makes one piece of equipment sound so different from another.

All it took to get me hooked on the collecting/learning of vintage audio, was a chance encounter with a classified ad for a big, ugly Sansui receiver that needed a new home. A 20 minute car ride and an exchange of cash, and my life has never been the same since...

It didn't take long to find this site as I was Googling for info about my Sansui, and not much longer to join. I am still amazed every day when I sign in and go through the recent postings at the amount of info, talent, and commraderie that defines this site!

I, like most of the members, have particular interests within the vast world of audio, and have taken far more from the forum than I will ever be able to return, by going through as much of the postings I can to get my audio "Fix". At first, I thought that dividing up the forum by manufacturer would be a good thing, but the more I thought about it, I felt it would be a diservice to our community to do so.

I thought of all the things I would have passed by, as I skipped right to the Pioneer forum, or the Sansui forum, instead of taking the time to explore what was right there in front of me. I think of the members I may not have met, or exchanged info and humor with, and I think how much less satisfiying my time here would have been spent, if I had just been to one or two sub-forums.

I feel that any more fracturing of the forum, unless necessary due to volume or moderating needs, would only serve to dilute the overall experience of the current, and even more likely, the future members of this wonderful place.

Again, I'm a newbie here, so my summation may be flawed, but I think I'm not too far off base, I felt I needed to say more than just a yes or no on this subject.

To all who make this the place that it is, from the founders and moderators, down to todays newest members, THANK YOU! I look forward to reading the next posts, and to posting back, maybe helping some one else out as much as all of you have helped guide me.... And isn't that what Karma is all about?

Birddog


It didn't take long to find this site as I was Googling for info about my Sansui, and not much longer to join.

I thought of all the things I would have passed by, as I skipped right to the Pioneer forum, or the Sansui forum, instead of taking the time to explore what was right there in front of me.

In the larger sense, I agree with Birddog. Going only to a specific forum definitely limits the scope of the experience this forum offers. There is great diversity here and much enthusiasm, spread among all the forums. Limiting yourself to just one or two will restrict the take-home of your visit.

In a more pragmatic sense, however, I suggest that, as Birddog mentioned, it was the Google search result for Sansui that landed him here. By having forums for each brand, we will facilitate the visitation of new potential members who do Google searches for their brand. If they find what they want, which most certainly will, they will become regulars. Then, they can be encouraged to explore beyond their narrow brand interests. The strength of this forum is the diversity and enthusiasm of its members. To keep that strength long term, new blood will be required. If providing brand-related forums will facilitate the visit of prospective members looking for information on their newly acquired vintage equipment, I would suggest it is a worthwhile investment, with the caveats that the server can handle it, etc. I see the provision of new forums bringing in new visitors/members with minimal additional effort on this board's part. If it also streamlines the visits of existing members by helping them get the information they need sooner, so much the better.

I see little to lose for the trying, with a very large potential upside. Additionally, it is understood that, if the additional forums do not generate the requisite traffic to warrant their maintenance, they could be closed at a later date. I say let's give it a shot.

Yes! Anything to get a Yamaha forum :thmbsp: