Essay bashing Primedia, Stereophile - and Audiogon

Still, on the whole, Stern is right about the industry - his abilities as reviewer not withstanding. Having access to good sites on the internet gives us an avenue other than the printed page to find the info we are looking for. Sterophile et al are in a position somewhat similar to the recording industry. They are blinded by the fact that they do what they have always done and don't capitalize on new technologies that would make them a little more accessable. Having detailed and expanded information on an advertizing supported web site would help all concerned, including the industry who are trying to get their product in front of the public ear. Instead Stereophile mostly just archives much of their magazine with now a great deal else. Sites like Agon and 6moons and a couple of others flourish because they give the people what they want. Detailed information about products under consideration for instance. Often with a less biased perspective. They also give info on tweaks and such. Remember this is a hobby and most of us like to tinker. Whether we get all we want in a one stop shopping format or not remains to be seen. But so long as there are sites like Audiogon where you can bounce ideas and opinions back and forth I believe we can winnow out the chaff.

To clarify my earlier comments. I don't blame Audiogon for the decline of B&M hifi shops. In an open economic market either you adapt to change or you die. As Flex points out above, there are some other factors involved in the demise of high end audio shops. Audiogon is great if you want to buy or sell equipment, but in exchange for good prices there are very clear costs. Most transactions go smoothly, but not always. Buying from a private party over the internet is inherently more risky than walking into a retail establishment. Furthermore, used equipment doesn't usually come with a warranty. Audiogon offers some tremendous benefits, but it's not without costs.

I am not going to focus on Stern's comments about Audiogon and get all hissy, defensive and nasty about it. There are people on this site who are very opinionated without the knowledge or experience to back it up, and there are people who waste manufacturers' and dealers' time by pumping them for info then run off to buy used off the Internet. I don't think Chip meant that everybody here is an idiot, and you can't discount everything is saying just because you don't agree with a small part of his argument.

Stern's article made several very good points about Primedia and their bottom-line mentality. There are good things and bad things about Stereophile, but if it goes out of business, then we lose the good things too. Primedia is to Stereophile what the big multimedia giants are to radio broadcasting and newspapers. Big companies are buying-up all of the smaller companies and their radio stations. Then they fire a lot of (good, qualified, and in their opinion over-paid) people and install their own hacks and bean-counters in their place. They then take all the freedom out of broadcasting by enforcing and playing pre-programmed, target-marketed, overly-commercial, "popular" crap music content that can change at the drop of a hat. They also fire any intelligent life at the radio station or newspaper that has the nerve to disagree with their business strategies or editorial policy. (which brings ugly business and political alliances into the mix also!)
Primedia is alienating their own employees, manufacturers and retailers with their lies, their money-grabbing business strategies and with all of the other stupid actions that Stern is decrying in his article.

So, you may not agree with everything that Stern has to say, but I'll bet you that at least he might take the time to debate it with you intelligently.
Primedia, on the other hand, doesn't give a shit what you think or want when it comes to quality music reproduction and this hobby of ours.

Good post Golden Ears.

Thanks,

Rant and rave, rant and rave. What can we learn from this? We may spend a bit too much time on the "new" since the old has much to offer. But frankly, Audiogon does more good than harm. Members are very open to questions about midfi, hifi and ultrafi. Newbees are embraced. Music is the heart and soul. We learn. We teach.

Sorry that this is a hobby of nuances and marginal improvements. Sorry that this is a hobby of "non-mass market". That's life. At least, that's our life. It's a free country and a free internet. Rant and rave away! Just don't get between me and my music. And don't insult my friends and advisors who are helping me on my journey.