Reactions to HP's review of Antique Sound Lab amp?

Talking about the last issue of TAS, what I actually found even more interesting is Valin's comment towards the start of the Kharma speaker review. He talks about how his recent review of the Rockport Hyperion and addresses why he is not using it as his personal reference. One of his reasons is costs, but then he comes right out and says he could do it if the manufacturer sells him a "demo" pair. Big name reviewer in big name audio magazine will tout component as his reference if manufacturer gives reviewer pair at favorable price. I think this is outrageous. I know that reviewer pricing is common place, but the audacity of putting it in print is astonishing.

Ohn: Yea, you got it.

I agree. JV was once the bright, shining hope of TAS, the clear heir-apparent to HP in the days before the lame-o Fi experiment. I loved reading his reviews. But since his return, he's been almost a parody of a high-end reviewer and has lost a ton of credibility in my mind.

I agree. Aren't JV and JS - Jonathan Scull- really the same person.Every expensive piece is great.

On second thought, if we're back on-topic, why should I recuse myself? :-)

JV is a much better writer (and possibly listener) than J-10. I liked Fi well enough - found it mostly non-infuriating and congenial for an afternoon's read. That, and getting you enthusiastic about the stuff of audio every month, is the primary purpose of the rags as I see it anyway - entertainment, topped off with a bit of info. This is what Stereophile fails to deliver way too much of the time these days. I wasn't reading Valin back in his previous TAS days, but what I notice and fault him most on now is his terminal predeliction for ever-escalating paradigm-smashing raphsodics, combined with a worse-than-usual case of the typical voice-of-God uber-authoritativeness, a specialty of the guys who disdain to review any affordable gear. Although Scull could be maddening in his requiring you to read waaay between the lines to figure out what he actually though of a piece, both in his characteristic over-the-top reviewer's voice and the fact that a casual persusal could convince you that it was all equally great to him, I'd probably rather go on a boat fishing with an armchair playboy like him than a self-important priss like Valin, whom I ultimately don't trust. But then, I'd rather fish with the down-to-earth J. Gordon than either of those guys.