++++StereoPhile Class A components+++++

You get better advices here in this Audiogon Forum than any other magazines out there......

I mean advices from audiophiles with no business interest......

Hey Jeff - Thanks for the kind words. I actually make myself wince when I read that stuff I tend to write late at night. It's impenetrable and pretentious by the light of day. I guess I do it because doing it entertains me, but I don't like reading it myself, and so shouldn't write that way out of consideration for others.

Anyway, to answer your questions, no and no. I'm not even a college grad, and didn't study language or writing beyond the 101 level when I was there. If I had, I probably wouldn't write as densely as I do, finding some more elegant and economical way of getting my points across. I'm considering keeping a copy of Strunk & White next to my computer and slapping myself with it every time I compose a run-on sentence or haul out a $2 word when a ten-center would've done the job just as well. I appreciate your reminding me of this by making me blush in public; good writing isn't supposed to call attention to the writer at the expense of clear communication. Still, I'm glad to know that not everyone shares my opinion of my bleary-eyed blather's insufferability. Happy listening, Zaikesman.

I use the guides in S'phile, and Ab Sound, etc as an informal guide if I am looking for something. A place to form some ideas of where to begin. Then I have to see if any dealers in my area (100 miles) carry the equipment. What do others say about it on the internet. How long has the equipment manufacturer been around. What else have they made that has been heralded as 'good'.
Some equipment manufacturers seem to not want their stuff reviewed, and consideration of those items is more complicated. (and if there are only four dealers in the U.S. and the stuff is made in Paraguay by a new company founded by an eccentric Tibetian monk I never heard of... it may fall off my short list of stuff to look for...)

the recomendations of the traditional mags have less to do with music than ever before...they're kind of like playboy...great pictures...mediocre commentary.

What is wrong with "stuff that is made in "Paraguay" by a new company founded by an eccentric Tibetian monk You never heard..." "Tibetian" monk haven't heard of you either!

Eduoardo!