Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

Dev.SN ♥ developers

NwAvGuy: The Audio Genius Who Vanished

posted by mrcoolbp on Wednesday March 26 2014, @01:32AM   Printer-friendly
from the or-so-I've-heard dept.

Angry Jesus writes:

There is a lot of snake oil in the audiophile world. A few years ago the pseudonymous NwAvGuy decided to do something about it. Not content to just criticize the hucksters, he designed a $130 headphone amp that competes with $1000 models. NwAvGuy released the design under the Creative Commons CC BY-ND license (attribution, no derivatives) and freely collaborated on revising it with multiple manufacturers looking to build and sell the amp. All he wanted was credit and to see that no one would take his design and degrade it with inferior modifications.

Then he disappeared. "In July 2012, NwAvGuy went silent. E-mails weren't returned, and blog posting ceased. 'He had gone quiet before -- for a month or so,' says Boudreau. But no one has heard a peep from NwAvGuy in more than a year and a half."

Since then some of the parts used in the last revision have been discontinued and one of the best values in high fidelity audio can't be manufactured anymore because NwAvGuy is no longer around to approve any changes.

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
NwAvGuy: The Audio Genius Who Vanished | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 1000 moderator points   | 34 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 26 2014, @11:12AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 26 2014, @11:12AM (#21543)

    cnet reviews have been exposed in the past to be deliberately misleading based on corporate pressures. Sometimes the best products aren't even mentioned aside inferior ones in reviews, due to corporate influence. Trust no reviews from cnet.

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   +2  
       Insightful=2, Total=2
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  
    Total Score:   2  

  • (Score: 1) by Hairyfeet on Friday March 28 2014, @06:16AM

    by Hairyfeet (75) <reversethis-{moc ... {8691tsaebssab}> on Friday March 28 2014, @06:16AM (#22441)

    Insightful? Really mods? I ask how the amp in TFA sounds compared to amps at a similar and lower price range and a diatribe against Cnet rates insightful?

    Careful guys, lets not end up another den of groupthink and bandwagons like the one we got away from, mmmkay?