Here is another posts in the industry mockery section of my site where will not mock the subject. Yesterday a visitor of my site sent me a link to Jim Smith’s new book “Get Better Sound”:

http://www.getbettersound.com/

As I understand Jim formatted his Avantgarde marketing material that he developed for years into as book format and reshaped the content into a self-guided improvement book. There is nothing wrong with this; here is the table of contents:

http://www.getbettersound.com/toc.html

The book looks like having a few hundred pages – I hope they are useful pages, not the recitation of others what they think about the book. I did not read it myself and I have no idea what the book has inside.

Jim himself is a heavy industry player and I do not know how much in this book he was able to drop those mental industry chains and look at the things liberated. Usually it imposable for the people who are in the cage, it is sort of metal virus that makes them all to sing the very same senses-immune tune. Still, considering that Jim at his semi-retirement and is looking for finishing his audio career I think it might be worth to familiarize with his points of view. Furthermore, I feel that EVERYONE when they reach the age of retirement MUST WRITE A BOOK about own views and positions. Here is the Jim Smith’s book about his audio views…. I have to admit that I have a sweet spot in me to Jim as he was an instrumental person in the process of me embracing the multi-way horns - I found it very positive event in my audio progress.

Again, I have no idea what in the “Get Better Sound” but $65 it cost might be worth admission price to learn about it. A few years back I was visiting an audio guy, listening his playback, taking about audio and he was drooling, absolutely going over himself, about the hew amplifier that he just heard somewhere but was not able to afford at that time. He said: “Romy, I so loved the sound I heard that I would give up one inch of my own dick to have it.” Well, it was a colorful colloquialism, why do not apply it to the Jim’s new book? I am very confident that $65 that Jim asks for his book represents just one inch of interconnect between the components of most readers of this site. So, would you give up one inch of those cables for the opportunity to familiarize yourself what Jim Smith has learned during his years on audio?

BWO wrote:

I'v read the book (missing a few of the last pages). The boook definetly have som useful information. Especially about setup, placing speakers at different positions and some decent and brief info on acoustic treatment. Unfortunately, there is in my opinion also loads of snake oil and vodoo. He talks about the importance of turning on the equipment in the right sequence to avoid pollution, cables, cable risers, demagnetizing CDs. He's not spending much time on several of these topics, but he doesn't disregarg them an unimportant. It's a little hard to understand why he is holding on to stupity when he clearly has a very good understanding in many areas. It brings the thought that he is simply avoiding to confront certain topics to not offend potential readers. That's just my thought however. Look here on some clipped out material Jim Smith says about computer and sound:

BWO wrote:

Look here on some clipped out material Jim Smith says about computer and sound:...

Romy the Cat wrote:

BWO wrote: Look here on some clipped out material Jim Smith says about computer and sound:... Certainly the position that Jim took in there is highly arguable to say at least. The only “excuse” that I might see in it that looking at the prices he quoted the article was written 10-12 years back. Anyhow, the most disturbing to me in this however is very different thing. It might some to do with my own disturbance but what it is – I just hate when people measure the size of hard drivers in CDs or even worse: in how many songs you can load to it. What I see people talk about hard drive that can hold 50000 songs I wish the whole American continent submerge in Ocean as this stupidity is only possible in USA. The Morons measure distances to stars in football fields, the size of hard drives in songs, taste of food in amount of hot dogs eaten per minute and the beautify of art in the amount of tickers sold… to the  people who understand the distances to stars in football fields. The Cat

BWO wrote:

Unfortunately, there is in my opinion also loads of snake oil and vodoo.

Amir, let I just I say it once.

Try engaging the not the people who express the ideas, unless the characteristics of the people are emblematic and demonstrable for the idea. It is not a first time you feel a need to pass annoyingly-positive comments about me and I do not like it. I made very clear about it before:

http://www.romythecat.com/Forums/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=4884

and I hope we will not return to this conversation.  If you do not cease it I will revoke your posting privileges.

Yes, Canada & Mexico add US $200, but Alaskans might pay by salmon and childhood pictures of Sarah Palin.  With all joke aside here is an interesting gisheft that Jim Smith offers nowadays.

http://getbettersound.com/roomplay.html

Particularly  interesting the “user comments” in this section:

http://www.getbettersound.com/consultation.html

After the room play session on audiophile paid his delinquent taxes for last 5 year and another recognized that he was a gay. For sure it was too much to ask from Calibrated Microphone and Marking Labels.  Do not make my mocking attitude as a sign of negativism.  I do feel that 99% of audio Morons out there might be greatly benefited by Jim visit.  Hey, no longer then last Tuesdays I was visiting one my local audio guy who was playing his right and left speakers in opposing polarity and complained that he with his new cartridge has no good center image. I fixed this “center image” and as the barter, instead of salmon I got a leather sofa from his house for my Opera Room….