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Original Message

My Response to Hansen and Atkinson's Personal Attacks

Posted by Arthur Salvatore on October 6, 2017 at 11:22:39:
First, to answer the original poster's query, which I appreciate: I have been absent for almost two months due to a family emergency and then immediately later by Hurricane Irma. I have recently posted a review of the Acapella TW 1S Ion Super Tweeter, and I should be back to my normal schedule by the end of October.
Now, for the specific reasons for this post:
I rarely reply to ignorant rubbish, such as Charles Hansen's post below (09:08:44 09/18/17), on Audio Asylum or anywhere else, but he has once again used an unrelated and innocent enquiry about me as one more opportunity to not only personally insult me, but to also convert his paranoid fantasies into "historical facts", so I felt a reply to his post was required.
For clarification: Sentences starting and ending with ">>>" are Hansen's original post, while my responses to him are directly below.
>>>In my opinion, Arthur Salvatore is one of those guys who would talk out of both sides of this mouth at the same time. While he would make valid criticisms of the audio press, at the very same time he disguised his quid-pro-quo relationship with Israel Blume of Coincident Technologies.>>>
Correction (Lie) No. 1- There is no "quid-pro-quo" relationship with Israel Blume (another person Hansen is obsessed with), now or ever. Every dealing I have had with him (and every other audio manufacturer for that matter) has been recorded in the "Personal Disclosure" on my website, which has more specific financial clarification about my audio purchases and finances than any other reviewer in history, period.
>>>When Israel purchased the then super hot Ayre C-5xe (all-format disc player that didn't need a monitor to navigate DVD-Audio and had the best sound quality at anything up to twice its price of $5950)>>>
Bullsh*t and Shameless Plug No. 1- What an arrogant opportunist. Hansen has the mendacity to actually claim, in a completely unrelated thread, that his own "super hot" player "had the best sound quality". Not only is Hansen, the manufacturer, the least credible person on the planet to make that claim, it also demonstrates that he will shamelessly use this particular forum, of all places, to promote his components, past and present. (Also, the Ayre C-5xe only played Redbook CDs in the 2007 Digital Shootout, and not SACD or DVD-Audio.)
>>>on accommodation for a friend, Ayre found out about it and demanded he return it, as he violated a written contract by selling to a friend.>>>
Correction No. 2. The "friend" was actually a family member, who was a member of Blume's extended listening group. I have no direct knowledge that a sale between Blume and the "friend" actually ever took place. Second, and much more important to the real issue, Hansen found out about this alleged sale only because the so-called "super hot" Ayre player performed so badly, compared to the direct competition, that the "friend" thought it was actually DEFECTIVE and called Ayre for an explanation! Charles Hansen really has a highly selective memory.
>>>Blume was apparently so offended at being caught breaking a contract, he responded by having Salvatore write a damning review, claiming it was the worst sounding player out of a lot of a dozen or more he tested, and that it was so bad he couldn't believe anybody liked it.>>>
Correction No. 3- I, Arthur Salvatore, did NOT write the review. I only edited it. This was CLEARLY stated in the first sentence of the actual review which Hansen linked to. Here is what is posted at the very top of the review:
"The below essay/survey was mainly written by an associate..."
Yes, Hansen's lying problem may even be "pathological".
>>>In the meantime it was in such high demand that used ones were fetching 88% of the new price ($5250) - if you could even find one.>>>
Correction No. 4- Hansen lives in a true fantasy world. I saw myself one of these models used around the same time in 2007, selling for around 60% of the list price, which means there was a decent demand for it, but it was definitely not "super hot".
>>>It was one of those reviews that causes the reviewer to lose credibility - big time. It's one thing to say that one prefers another player, but to claim the C-5xe "had no redeeming qualities" was such a ludicrous thing that he lost a lot of readers with that one single "review".>>>
Bullsh*t No. 2- Not in the real world. This phrase is how any serious audiophile could honestly describe a component that actually sounded "defective" (on Redbook) compared to the competition.
Now it's my turn to make an uninterrupted reply...
Hansen has made many "ludicrous" charges about Blume and myself in the past, and all of them without even a hint of real evidence. Examples: I supposedly received "kickbacks" and had an imaginary "business" buying and selling components over the Internet with Blume. Hansen even later claimed that Blume could be providing me with "sexual favors" (I assume prostitutes) as payment for my "services". That's how low Hansen has gone in the past, and it's all documented on this website (he later apologized).
Hansen is his own worst enemy. He has actually humiliated himself in public by posting easily disproven lies, spurious charges and assorted bullsh*t, more than once, and now we have the evidence of his most recent letter.
Hansen's recent post could only have been written by someone who is truly frightened by me. I honestly pity Hansen, because all of his suffering is completely unwarranted. I have no "vendetta" or animus towards Hansen, now or in the past, even though he has repeatedly insulted me personally, in public, for 10 years now, simply for posting a single negative review written by my associates in 2007, and nothing else about his company since then.
Further, if a reader of this post is sceptical that I have no lasting animus towards Hansen, well, here's some historical actions on my part that should provide evidence and proof of my claim...
In that exact same 2007 Digital Shoot-out, which so obviously traumatized Hansen, the APL Denon CD player was judged to be the 2nd worst player. The designer of that APL Denon was Alex Peychev, who also personally insulted me at the time. Now imagine Peychev's reaction when a player he built only a few years later, the APL NWO-Master, became my top (Class A) Digital Reference in February 2015!? (See Link below.)
What this specific incident proves is simple; I don't care about audio personalities and/or politics. I review only the component itself, and it doesn't matter to me if the component's source loves me or hates me. This is why I have true "credibility", while Hansen and his "friend", John Atkinson, do not and never will, at least with serious and experienced audiophiles. Example: Any experienced audiophile knows that it's IMPOSSIBLE to have 60+ SIMULTANEOUS "best available" amplifiers, and/or 60+ CONSECUTIVE reviewed components receiving a "Recommendation". By the way...
Hansen's associate, and trusted mutual defender, John Atkinson, another "little man", is also terrified of me. Far worse, Atkinson is a sad and pathetic coward as well (which I can NOT say of Hansen). This degrading description of Atkinson is continually confirmed by his behavior in public.
First, like Hansen, Atkinson can't resist making gratuitous attacks and insults at nearly every mention of my name, on any forum. However, it gets even worse; Atkinson further lowers himself by using both a second party (in this specific instance Robert Deutsch) and now even third parties (Deutsch's unnamed associates) as the secondary and prime sources of the actual pejorative description of me he posted ("crazy"). Why would he do this? Atkinson used this slimy methodology so he could later GUTLESSLY shield himself from any criticism (as he did in this topic!), instead of being direct and responsible for his own actions, like any true adult, even 1/3 his age, is expected to do.
Finally, I would like to end on a positive note and actually thank Charles Hansen! That's right: Thank you, Charles Hansen, for the direct link to the "Digital Shootout of 2007", which is in the same large file as all the other DIGITAL reviews, observations and commentary on my website.
Asylum members who read this digital file will discover that the "Winners" of the 2007 Digital Shootout were later outperformed themselves by other models from other manufacturers, and with no punches pulled in all the various sonic descriptions. Please consider this link as an invitation to compare our direct and detailed reporting to the (everything is "great" and "Recommended") results routinely found in Stereophile for the last 25+ years. (Readers can also discover why I admire the APL NWO-Master digital player, and learn about my earlier negative history with its designer, which is all reported in detail.)
Audio is ultimately about music and components and it should always be a fun and positive experience in the long run. The negatives of audio are all about "politics", greed and fear, which should be avoided and/or ignored. This is actually easy to accomplish, because the "audio politicians" always expose themselves, as they have in this thread.