"
It would seem to me that any one in the industry or with commercial
ties to it should also use their real names (unless there is some
'whistleblowing' aspect to their activities)
" whart
@whart
Yes, whistleblowing and the fear of reprisal is very much a problem with a lot of industries - not just this tiny segment of the consumer electronics industry. The trade "press" salespeople like those employed by Stereophile are looked upon as a necessary evil. It's no secret that a number of manufacturers avoid them like the plague as much of what is said in reviews bears no relation to any kind of reality. It is and has been a pay to play system for a very long time. It's not difficult for anyone with a technical background to see through most of the ridiculous smoke screens they call "reviews".
Case in point (without mentioning names of people or products). A loudspeaker with an off the shelf 10 inch driver mated to a 1 inch dome tweeter was given high praise a while back. It was clear from the review/write up that a cozy relationship existed between the "manufacturer" and the editors/writers. And it was also clear that the loudspeaker had massive, highly predictable problems, which were born out in the measurements. A faint reference to poor integration between the two drivers was given without acknowledging it was a basic design flaw resulting in very uneven off axis response. The conclusion given was along the lines of "despite design challenges/compromises, the designer achieved what he set out to accomplish and with some careful setup/adjustment, the end result can be good. " What should have been said is that the designer violated some very basic principles, needlessly crippling performance because of a lack of knowledge/experience, resulting in a product that can't be recommended - especially considering there are many properly designed speakers costing many thousands less that outperform it in just about every category.
When was the last time you heard that kind of a review about anything from the likes of Stereophile or The Absolute Sound? Throughout its history, I can think of only one or two such reviews from Stereophile.
To educated professionals in the business, these trade magazines offer the illusion of integrity and honesty and nothing more. Mr. Atkinson's blatant censorship policy with respect to an unknown who has no industry affiliations - a person like Archimago - is a shining example of just how corrupt the "audiophile trade press" really is. Sadly, this pay to play game has helped decimate what was at one time a much larger market segment. The focus shift to ever more costly "audio jewelry" in recent years has accelerated the demise - to the extent that there really no longer is a presence at the CES. This year was a disaster. And the trade press have no one else to blame. With their greed, they brought it on themselves.
@whart
Yes, whistleblowing and the fear of reprisal is very much a problem with a lot of industries - not just this tiny segment of the consumer electronics industry. The trade "press" salespeople like those employed by Stereophile are looked upon as a necessary evil. It's no secret that a number of manufacturers avoid them like the plague as much of what is said in reviews bears no relation to any kind of reality. It is and has been a pay to play system for a very long time. It's not difficult for anyone with a technical background to see through most of the ridiculous smoke screens they call "reviews".
Case in point (without mentioning names of people or products). A loudspeaker with an off the shelf 10 inch driver mated to a 1 inch dome tweeter was given high praise a while back. It was clear from the review/write up that a cozy relationship existed between the "manufacturer" and the editors/writers. And it was also clear that the loudspeaker had massive, highly predictable problems, which were born out in the measurements. A faint reference to poor integration between the two drivers was given without acknowledging it was a basic design flaw resulting in very uneven off axis response. The conclusion given was along the lines of "despite design challenges/compromises, the designer achieved what he set out to accomplish and with some careful setup/adjustment, the end result can be good. " What should have been said is that the designer violated some very basic principles, needlessly crippling performance because of a lack of knowledge/experience, resulting in a product that can't be recommended - especially considering there are many properly designed speakers costing many thousands less that outperform it in just about every category.
When was the last time you heard that kind of a review about anything from the likes of Stereophile or The Absolute Sound? Throughout its history, I can think of only one or two such reviews from Stereophile.
To educated professionals in the business, these trade magazines offer the illusion of integrity and honesty and nothing more. Mr. Atkinson's blatant censorship policy with respect to an unknown who has no industry affiliations - a person like Archimago - is a shining example of just how corrupt the "audiophile trade press" really is. Sadly, this pay to play game has helped decimate what was at one time a much larger market segment. The focus shift to ever more costly "audio jewelry" in recent years has accelerated the demise - to the extent that there really no longer is a presence at the CES. This year was a disaster. And the trade press have no one else to blame. With their greed, they brought it on themselves.