Read The Damn Manual!!

[Takeereasy]

I recently read a thread in this section regarding how sick everyone is getting of answering the same questions about receiver purchases and so on. I'm getting sick of the questions where the answer is right there in the damn manual. Why can't people read the frigging manual that comes with the product that they just spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars on? I have no trouble with people referencing the manual in a question, or if someone says, "I didn't understand when the manual said this".... What I hate is someone asking a question that they could have found the answer to just by referencing the index of the supplied paper manual that they received. But Takeer, "What if the product didn't come with a manual, or what if it is second hand?" you might ask. Look the frigging thing up online. Don't ask me if I know where to get the manual. There is no big trick to it, just go to the frigging product manufacturer's homepage idiots! Don't take this to mean that I have given up helping these lost souls, but from now on I'm going to try and give them the right page # and leave them be. End communication

 

[shokhead]

Ever read a Denon Manual?

 

[RJB]

I'm with you on this one all the way!

People should just read the manual, although I know it's tough for some guys

If you don't have the manual, look for it online. Once those options are exhausted, THEN post your questions here...

It does seem that a lot of people find it easier to ask others to to solve their problems for them rather than giving it a good try themselves first...

 

[Takeereasy]

Ever read a Denon Manual?

I have actually . And I am aware that it can be very complicated. I am also aware that the manual contains an appendix and very comprehensive instructions. I'm not against people asking any questions at all, I just think they should have tried to fix the problem themselves before asking for help with vague, ambiguous, or open ended questions. LOL, I also need to finish my coffee, work is hectic as ..well..heck this week.

 

[mike c]

most of the time (ok, all the time) i would have downloaded the manuals for the stuff i want BEFORE i buy them.

excitement and all

 

[Francious70]

Since when does your average male read instructions?? Granted, I do, but I'm far from average.

 

[markw]

The problem is...

...that too many people think that this stuff is as simple to set up and operate as a toaster oven or a clock radio. This may have been the case in the days of analog two channel stereos where all controls are located on the front panel, but in this digital day and age where functions can be buried many menu levels down they get intimidated.

I gotta say, being in this hobby for 40 years, that when I got my Denon 2802 (yo, shok) I had to scratch my head a few times.

But, yes, I DID learn to read that manual for two days to get as much out of it as I could but, even then I had to place a query on a friendly HT board for a clarification.

But, as for these "I just got this TV, this receiver, this DVD and these speakers. How do I hook it up and make it work?" queries, I guess I am a bit less understanding than most. I expect the people to at least do a little research themselves. Virtually any receiver manual has hookup instructions.

But, I guess in this day and age some people would rather post on the 'net and have several people spend lotsa time answering them rather than do any work themselves. Thinking is too hard for some.

 

[Takeereasy]

Nicely said Markw. Like I said, I'm not against questions, I've had some some doozies to ask. But I read my manual and contacted the manufacturer without results before I asked for help.

Since when does your average male read instructions?? Granted, I do, but I'm far from average.

I know what you mean Francious, but I'd rather read the instructions than ask for help from another living soul, I think that that is a manly trait as well.

 

[Mort Corey]

Oh, and I suppose you expect people to have read their insurance policies too

Takereasy amigo....if this is your biggest gripe in life you've got it made

Mort

 

[10010011]

Reading the manual is pretty much admitting you don't know what you are doing.

That's not the kind of thing a man is expected to do now is it?

 

[philh]

Besides the fact my manual in nearly incomprehensible, it's filled with errors. Did anybody ever sit down in front of the device and actually try to follow the instructions? I got more then a little pit bullish one day and spent almost 5 hours on the phone first with Crutchfield, through three levels of support, then on the phone with Sony through another three levels of support. Finally figured out how to do what I was attempting to do by guessing.

 

[claudermilk]

I'm with you Takeer. This is why a number of forums end up with a pat answer: RTFM! Every technical forum I hang out at has the same problem, people are simply too lazy to actually crack open the manual & attempt to figure it out themselves. I figure finding the manufacturer site HAS to be easier than digging up an unfamiliar enthusiast forum like this one ("gee, where to I find a manual for my Bose POS or Sony DVD player? I know, I'll search for a couple of days to find a forum to ask!"). Those of us who actually do RTFM and use the search functions tend to get tired of the silly questions that already have an anwser at their fingertips; I just tend to ignore most of them now.

 

[mustang_steve]

Here's a rather amusing link you all wil probably get a kick out of

http://www.geocities.com/boxing4d/Q209354.htm



Yeah, for silly easy questions, I get annoyed as well....stuff like

"Why doesn't my tone controls work on my Yamaha?"

'well, do you have puredirect on?'

"Yeah, so?" *sound of my forehead smashing my keyboard at supersonic velocities*

'did you read the manual?'

"No, I thought asking would be quicker" ARRRGHHHHH!!!!!

 

[BostonMark]

keep em all

Ha, I still have the manuals of all my old AV equipment, and a couple times, when adding new things that took advantage of never before used features, they came in pretty #$@&in handy. Also have bought stuff that was demo model, and had no manual. I had a manual within less than 20 minutes with a simple web search for the manafacturers Website, looking through site for a PDF file of the manual for that particular product, downloading it, and printing it out for good measure. The only time I had a problem not addressed in the manual, a simple phone call to the company's hot line resolved the problem. I am amazed by the number of people who don't look in the most obvious places first. Reminds me of a day I had a client call me at home. I asked, "How did you get my home phone number?". She replied " I looked it up in the phone book!". (DOH, stupid me)

 

[hifiman]

The easy quip is to yell at someone to read the f-ing manual; the problem is reading some of these manuals. I don't know about most of the people on this forum, but the days of me owning a simple two-channel setup are long, long gone. In those days there was nothing difficult to understand and the manual was sometimes used to prop up one of the receiver's feet to keep it from wobbling. In the last 6 years I've owned three flagship A/V receivers and one pretty decent pre/pro. They all had similar functions, but often different ways of implementing them. Sometimes it was tough for me to figure something out and it took me waaaayyy longer than it should have. Hell, for some functions that I don't use very often, I still find myself having to dig out the manual and try to figure it out all over again-ridiculous, but some of this stuff is just not user-friendly. The worst time I ever had was a few years ago when my brother bought his first Costco Pioneer A/V receiver. I tried helping him set it up and operate it, but damn, that thing was one hard piece to understand. I'm not dumb;the pioneer just did things much differently than I had previously encountered and I was as frustrated as he was.

Now even if the manuals were always perfectly written for absolutely every person on the planet today, and every person ever to be born, there is still terminology that is confusing to many. Right? Think about how many bells and whistles come standard on any decent piece of equipment. How does one keep up, especially when a lot of these guys are new to the hobby. Don't even get me started on AC-3, DD, DTS, HDCD, THX Select, THX Ultra II,DVI, HDMI, 5.1, 7.1, 9.1, Neo this, Neo that, , 666.1, WTF, BFD, and BFE, to name just a few. And have any of you tried technical support for some of these manufacturers? Sometimes you'd think they hired their help straight from the local Best Buy. I can certainly understand why some people try to bypass this big pain-in-the-*** process and ask the helpful people here on this forum for a point in the right direction.

 

[Sheep]

takeereasy,

takeereasy!

I know what you mean. I was at a party 4 days ago, all people from highschool.....some of them are very frustrating. The house had in-ceiling speakers in every room, but idiots tried to change songs and what-not, I ended up keeping the tv's and stereo operational and safe.


Sheep

 

[shokhead]

Somebody already talked about downloading them. All of mine are on adobe. Much easier to read and follow.

 

[j_garcia]

Actually, I though it was RTFM I hate to say it, but I always read the manual, even if it doesn't make sense. Denon's manuals aren't that bad. Now my older Marantz stuff, THOSE are some very badly translated manuals.

With customers who I will be doing installs for, I always tell them to give me a list of their gear so I can see if I can find PDF manuals and read up on the connections and capabilities of their gear before I even show up. That way, I at least have an idea of what I am walking into.

 

[10010011]

I found it, the best manual ever. This was for an old computer and in the section about the turbo button it says:

For continue best operation mode please do not press button twice.

You would be pleasing me by remeber this next time you say RTFM .

 

[markw]

I guess in that same manual, for the bass control it says

I found it, the best manual ever. This was for an old computer and in the section about the turbo button it says:

For continue best operation mode please do not press button twice.

You would be pleasing me by remeber this next time you say RTFM .

"All your bass are belong to us"