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In Reply to: Re: I'm not trying to be an antagonist here, posted by TomLarson on March 7, 2007 at 16:18:59:
First of all, the magazines make every effort to answer the needs of their readers, otherwise they'd cease to exist. Next, the high-end audio community is small enough that you can't help but get to know a number of manufacturers, reviewers or dealers if you spend any time at all in the industry. Sometimes friendships result. Nothing cynical or conspiracy-related about it.
There is no "club" that I know of, but then again, maybe I am not cool enough to know about the club if there is one. If by "club" you mean "free gear for everyone holding membership, and nothing but good reviews for all", you are truly missing the boat. The closest thing I have ever seen to a club is when a bunch of audiophiles, dealers, manufacturers and members of the audio press got together for beer and pizza for a couple of hours. After the beer and pizza were gone, the club disbanded.You see some pretty open and honest exchanges between members of the audio press and manufacturers on this board. One well-known manufacturer has been highly vocal lately. That alone should convince you that there is no vast conspiracy. Despite that, some people persist in the belief that there is. I don't know what to tell you. Perhaps if you had an opportunity to get to know some of these people a little bit you'd have a different opinion.
If you find it all sickening, why do you come over the CC and engage in conversation? Zantac yummies are pretty expensive.
Follow Ups:
Im just an old fashioned hobbiest who doesn't have any illusions about "getting to know" industry people. The web is great at fostering such illusions. I come here for the hobby. I am still sickened by a lot of the crap I read, the tap-dancing, etc (not necessarily in your particular post). If you actually think that the tas publishers initial post regarding this matter is believable, adequate, and makes sense....I have trouble understanding your assessment. I guess D means you're a dealer and so are in a MUCH different ballpark that me.
essentially irrelevant. JV has apparently satisfied those who must be satisfied. There are some side effects of this situation that will no doubt linger.The only way my "ballpark" differs from your is that I have to deal with customers. I have to qualify products that I think are good performers and a good fit for my customer base. It's not that much different than someone auditioning and selecting products for themselves, there is just more of it.
You might wonder what kind of reviews I rely on to help me in this regard, and the answer is none. I read the mags and e-zines for the same reason many others do, interest as a hobbyist and entertainment.
With respect to different ballpark. What I had in mind was, in response to your suggestion that if I got to know industry people it might help my outlook, that you, as a dealer, would have contact with these people as a matter of course. JV has perhaps satisfied those who must be satisfied at the mag, sure. And the fallout from the flap may be nothing at all for the AS. If I don't renew my subscription it won't be for this reason, but rather if I get weary enough of the same old same old positive reviews of everything. And I think being a dealer might be fun (Im sure it's often difficult), but one thing that you have to look at as a dealer is making a profit (which you should) and that's something I don't have to worry about. U can go strictly for 'bang for the buck' if I want, and if that turns out to be someone like Audio Alchemy in days of old who had great products but (from what I read in those mags) didn't have a good profit structure, so be it. And if I don't mind buying used on Audiogon, there's another difference in perspective. And if I can buy online at a discount from legitimate dealers (Audio Advisor, for example), I'll do it. However, if my ship ever comes in (and in Arizona that's unlikey), and I want to buy a pair of Quad electrostatics or bottom of the line Sound Labs or whatever strikes my fancy that way, I will seek out a brick and mortar dealer and if I can find one within some radius, will travel there to listen and get whatever advantages dealers (still) offer. Given your posts on this thread, if you had what I wanted and were close enough, I'd look you up. (But I would try to avoid discussing hifi mags and their ethics with you!). Thanks for the interesting responses.
I appreciate your comments.
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