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Re: A reviewer`s opinion is no more valid than your`s or mine - they`re guides, not gospel.[nt]

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>Several years ago, Sonic Frontiers were the darlings of Stereophile.
>Every product was quickly reviewed and shot to the top of the
>recommended list. Sonic Frontiers were the biggest advertiser. Then
>they went bankrupt and the ads stopped. The next Stereophile review
>of a SF product was a combination of total pan and lukewarm praise
>while toasting the product between the lines. Coincidence?

Hi Robert. Are you the same "Robert" who wrote something very similar
on the Asylum last September? If not, then please note that there
is not a word of truth in what you have written. If you are the same
"Robert," then it is disingenuous of you not to mention that I
took the time to address this point last September. This is
what I wrote at that time:

I dug into the Stereophile archives and here are the number of
reviews and followup reviews that were published in the two years
preceding the Sonic Frontiers bankruptcy and in the three years
following:

Product Reviewer Publication Date of Review
Sonic Frontiers SFCD-1 (Harley) September 1996
Sonic Frontiers Power 2 (Reina) May 1997
Sonic Frontiers Power 1 (Kastanovich) November 1997
Sonic Frontiers Line 1 (Kastanovich) November 1997
Sonic Frontiers Line 2 (Rubinson) November 1997

Sonic Frontiers Bankruptcy and Sale to Paradigm, August 1998

Sonic Frontiers Transport 3 (Dickson) October 1998
Sonic Frontiers Processor 3 (Dickson) October 1998
Sonic Frontiers Transport 3 Followup (Phillips) February 1999
Sonic Frontiers Processor 3 Followup (Phillips) February 1999
Sonic Frontiers Power 2 Followup (Reina) March 1999
Sonic Frontiers Phono One (Damkroger) May 1999
Sonic Frontiers Power 3 (Damkroger) April 2000
Sonic Frontiers Power 3 Followup (Rubinson) June 2000
Sonic Frontiers Line 3 (Rubinson) June 2000

We have not reviewed any Sonic Frontiers products since June 2000
as the company's product line did not change, but Kal Rubinson and
Brian Damkroger continued to use SF products among their references.
Sadly, I was informed at HE2002 that Paradigm has discontinued all
the SF 2-channel gear in favor of multichannel products to be sold
under their Anthem brandname.

But with respect to your original point, as I said last September, the listing above clearly shows that your recollection of what
happened vis-a-vis Sonic Frontiers and Stereophile's review
coverage of the brand is incorrect.

Sincerely
John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile



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  • Re: A reviewer`s opinion is no more valid than your`s or mine - they`re guides, not gospel.[nt] - John Atkinson 11:22:56 06/12/02 (0)


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