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Re: Dear Rick

"I have returned every bit of all cables with three exceptions. Apogee Digital sent me some raw experimental cable, I paid to have it terminated, they told me to keep it. DH Labs told me to keep some under-$100 retail digital as a reference, and Stereovox told me to keep some under-$50 digital cable as a reference. I returned even the cheapest Nordost stuff-ask Joe Reynolds. All the CPCC power stuff went back. What I have for speaker cables and interconnects is stuff I bought, in some cases at retail."

Great. But let's be perfectly clear that this says absolutely nothing about the usage of loaner cables (just sticking with the category in question). Let's take Art's disclosure as an example.

In the article he tells us he returned Nordost Valhalla speaker cables last year after a lengthy stay in his system. In the October, 2006 review of the Nordost Heimdall he mentions the Valhalla being in his system for some number of years (3 I believe), and the Heimdall stuff is still currently in his system on loan. So since around 2003 he has had the usage of some very pricey Nordost cable in his system.

Permaloan seems a fit description. However is there a problem with permaloan?... more on this below.

"Preparatory to moving and downsizing radically, I sold or gave away a lot of stereo equipment that had been in boxes forever, I was not going to listen to it again, why pay to store it? The only thing I stored was a Nak 680ZX cassette deck, too cool to sell for $25 or put out with the recycling."

I don't see that what people, you or anyone else, do with their personal property is of much interest. However if you sold stuff that wasn't yours then that would be the end of your SF reviewing career according to John Atkinson's entirely non-ambiguous statement on this topic (in a thread below).

"So now, the criticism is not that I can build a suspension bridge with loaner cables, or that I can outfit the Playboy Mansion with stuff on "permaloan" (I am told one European mfr was told my a writer that they should not expect their spiffy new subwoofers back anytime soon), the criticism would be that John Marks does not have a longterm reference system, and therefore his judgments are inherently suspect."

There is an assumption here that the publication does not have the means to maintain a stock of "reference" items. Let's just assume that is the case, and further let's assume the utility of "permaloan" items to allow for "longterm reference system"(s).

OK, fine, is there a problem? Well it ain't perfect that's self-evident but with disclosure of loaner items the situation is considerably less flawed, i.e. it is then up to the informed reader to make his own judgements (about possible bias, etc.)

Can this be reasonably denied?



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  • Re: Dear Rick - bjh 10:17:39 02/26/07 (0)


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