Critic's Corner

Discuss a review. Provide constructive feedback. Talk to the industry.

Use this form to submit comments directly to the Asylum moderators for this forum. We're particularly interested in truly outstanding posts that might be added to our FAQs.
You may also use this form to provide feedback or to call attention to messages that may be in violation of our content rules.

You must login to use this feature.

Inmate Login

By default, logging in will set a session cookie that disappears when you close your browser. Clicking on the 'Remember my Moniker & Password' below will cause a permanent 'Login Cookie' to be set.

Moniker/Username: The Name that you picked or by default, your email. Forgot Moniker?	Examples "Rapper", "Bob W", "joe@aol.com".
Password:	Forgot Password?
	Remember my Moniker & Password ( What's this?)

If you don't have an Asylum Account, you can create one by clicking Here.

Our privacy policy can be reviewed by clicking Here.

Inmate Comments

From:
Your Email:
Subject:

Message Comments

Original Message

What can I say?

Posted by John Marks on February 13, 2012 at 12:40:34:
Thanks for sharing your perspective.

My perspective is a bit different.

I have never reviewed a piece of Cary gear; I can't recall having reviewed a piece of McIntosh gear, and I last reviewed a piece of Esoteric gear IIRC in 2003.

I don't think that there is favoritism in Stereophile's coverage, with the proviso that all such media are subject to what I have personally called "the tyranny of the new." Manufacturers such as Sugden, who have made basically the same amp for 25 years, I think do deserve special solicitude, and I have made efforts to highlight such products from time to time.

I don't think that it's a matter of "shame on Denon." I did note that their PR shop sends update emails quite often. I happened to be jammed up with things to write about already.

I also believe that things like: power supplies, analog stages, and even grounding schemes are as important (taken all together) than which off-the shelf DAC a manufacturer buys, which in any event is not likely to cost more than ten bucks.

As far as other fine pieces hanging out there goes, that is precisely why I attend pro audio events and shows, which is where I encountered the Bricasti DAC, and which is why Stereophile was the first US magazine to review it. A second product from a relatively new manufacturer. You may recall that JA saw fit to put it on the cover recently.

So, in my view there is no set process per se. Some times a manufacturer gets lucky (Bricasti); other times a manufacturer has a fine product that slips between the barstools. But as John Atkinson has said, it is not a magazine's job to become a substitute for a marketing plan (or words to that effect). A manufacturer with a great product who spends the time and money to cultivate a dealer base will get his product noticed. Even if only in the way that really counts: committed dealers recommending it to real customers.

Ciao,

John