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