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When the Audio Critic was subjective.

I was reading through this old issue of TAC and it is quite amazing to see how subjective Peter Aczel was in his earlier days before the "all amplifiers sound the same" kick.  Yes I know he didn't say exactly that, but you know what I mean. 
I think I liked the magazine much better when he presented a more balanced combination of measurements and subjective listening. 
http://www.biline.ca/audio_critic/mags/The_Audio_Critic_V1-2.pdf

chayro
roberjerman
2,086 posts
 
At least he wasn't touting expensive wire and fuses - unlike many on this site!
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celander
1,036 posts
 
I seem to recall he was touting some rediculously-priced Class A amplifier in one of his initial issues. 
roberjerman
2,086 posts
 
That was the Levinson ML2 mono 25 watt amp. And Aczel was correct! A classic design and still one of the best sounding amps! Designed by Tom Colangelo (who also designed the ML1 preamp).
roberjerman
2,086 posts
 
The ML2’s were priced at $3600 a pair in 1976. Hardly qualifies as "high end" compared to the sky-high prices for a lot of today’s gear (Dagostino, Soulution, Dartzeel, MBL ...).
roberjerman
2,086 posts
 
I have followed The Audio Critic from the beginning (1977) to its end. For the most part Peter Aczel's recommendations were spot on! He made a serious attempt to reconcile measurements with listening trials. Unlike the all-over-the-map conclusions of the "golden ear" reviewers at Stereophile and TAS. And was the first to stress the importance of proper tonearm/cartridge alignment for LP playback - when LPs were the most common music source!
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