Home General Asylum

General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories.

RE: 'High-End Systems Around the Globe' - What happened to that site?

If you think my statements were venomous, you should see what I'm like when in a foul mood. You got me on a good day.

Nevertheless, your post highlights odd reasoning on your part. You seem to be suggesting that magazines simultaneously wielded both absolute power and no power at all over the life and death of formats. This is extremely inconsistent.

I too bought HFN+RR for years. I used to read it when John Crabbe was editor, it was the predominant audio magazine over here and Crabbe (being a technically adroit recording engineer as well as an audio writer) universally championed 'open reel' over cassette. Cassette still won over here (in fact I think it took over far faster in Europe than in the US, in spite of the then more powerful magazines complaining about its poor performance), and won because it had the market, rather than the magazines, in tow.

Magazines have long touted better alternatives to the existing product, be it open-reel, Elcassette, DAT, Betamax or SACD. And the masses - who never read these magazines, anyway - just went for the smallest, cheapest, lowest common denominator option, thereby driving yet another nail in the coffin of the audiophile alternative. I don't recall any of the audio magazines (on either side of the Atlantic) welcoming data compression - the best it got was a 'cautious' reception, even when the iPod suddenly started cutting into sales of audio equipment.

I don't even share your dismissal of magazine reviews just because the magazines have advertising to support them. In fact, I am more likely to distrust a magazine that doesn't have advertising simply because its costs must be paid for somehow. I would rather know who's subsidizing my reading matter up front, than have an unknown backer pulling the strings behind the scenes like some éminence grise.

But most of all what really irks me is your FIGJAM (look it up) arrogance in claiming that just because your watch stopped in 1973, everyone else should follow your lead and all progress after that time is wrong. I guess whenever I see the word 'truth' on a page about audio, I always question. And I never find answers.



Edits: 02/24/11

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Signature Sound   [ Signature Sound Lounge ]


Follow Ups Full Thread
Follow Ups

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?
Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
  Remember my Moniker & Password  (What's this?)    Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:
Message:   (Posts are subject to Content Rules)
Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:  Automagically notify you when someone responds.