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The simple truth is, Stereophile is out of touch with most of its readers. To wit: I have been in the market for floorstanding speakers in the $1-2k range and Stereophile is barely of any help. I find myself buying British and Canadian magazines to get any reviews that might be of relevance for my search. You have also abandoned comparison reviews-Why? JA has said in response to this that your multi-speaker review of years past was the least popular one you've ever done. Well, that speaker review was also the most UNITELLIGIBLE review you've ever published! That's why it failed. I don't need to hear every comment from a panel of 10 reviewers to form an opinion-just a summary thank you would suffice. So please reconsider comparisons. PS. BRING BACK COREY!

The high end reviews are fine but slightly more mid price stuff would be more realistic personally.

Those reviews should also contain a serious, relatively elaborate, specific AND ACCURATE description on the "inside". And this should be done by someone how knows something about the technical aspect of this hobby

How about a 1/3-1/3-1/3 rule generally, with low- and medium-priced equipment getting an equal proportion?

When a $3000 pair of speakers is called good for a "budget" system, I wonder where the priorities are. Surely most people are buying these components to reassure themselves, not to listen to music.

I'd prefer more "value" components -- those with great performance for the money.

A balance would be nice. There are some very nice components not in the stratosphere, ie the AR 1 speakers.

Like a balance with affordable gear.

The whole point of hi-fi as a hobby is that it occupies your mind. We all need to know about what we can't afford, so we have something to aspire to. :-) You should review the best stuff regardless of price and irrespective of whether or not it is even available in America.

Ya Gotta Know what to wish for!

It serves to keep all the other gear in perspective. I don't believe expensive gear always offers the best sound, but the design and build quality can be very interesting when the designer doesn't have a price limit to work with.

Although I won't be buying anything for a while (I'm still a student), it's nice to dream about having good equipment and enjoying the best possible music . . .

Sometimes it seems that every issue deals with nothing but gear that--even on the used internet market--will never be within reach for me. And I'm a guy who's spent about $20k on my audio/home theater system. It's nice to read about the state of the art is once in awhile, but month in month out I'd like to read about gear I might actually own one day.

sam tellig cover to cover, at least for the new (and non technical) audiophile. let me comment on this for a moment; my nephew is a great trumpet player who can't get enough music. he's 16 and loves coming over to hear my system. while we were having our listening session one day, he saw a copy of the feb. 2000 stereophile on my coffee table. he read a few articles (sam tellig's really caught his eye), and then he saw the review for the Accuphase amplifiers. his question was a simple one as he pointed to the price- "what for?" was the only thing he said. i spent the next 1/2 hour trying to justify why someone should spend that amount of money. the problem was, i couldn't! my system costs more than joe sixpack's does, and it does more things right too, but there is not mark levinson or krell components in it. i know i'm not done upgrading and just getting good solid stuff together is still a challenge. the point is that every component in my system (even the analog side) cost less than $1000.00CAN. each to purchase, regardless of new or used. i'm married, expecting a child, and honestly, while i value music (i myself am a bass player- right-on JA!), i have priorities. and they don't include $2500 interconnects or 500 'magic' pucks. please review more down to earth stuff (sub $1000 ?)

I love hearing about the expensive stuff, but I think that you need to print just a few more mid-line reviews also. While I do realize that many mid-line products won't be worth reviewing, please tell us when you find products that are affordable and sound good, like the Paradigm line of speakers. Maybe you need another button up there that says, "love the expensive stuff but increase the mid-line"?

When I first started enjoying music on entry level high end equipment about 16 years ago, I thought I would never be able to afford a Krell amp or any of the other very expensive audio components. Yet, it was easy for me to hear the differences between these truly high end mega-bucks components and mine. Well, today I have the Krell amp -- an FPB 300 -- and $40K in the rest of my main system. My secondary system is entry level and very enjoyable. I guess I am trying to say that, if I was not aware of the entire spectrum of audio equipment, I would have never set my sights on the upper end and I never would have acquired an appreciation for just how good music can sound. I think it was important for me to have dreams and, while it took several years, I finally acquired a nice system. Yes, I do enjoy the music more than ever. I have subscribed to Stereophile for six or seven years because I like to read about the very expensive equipment that is available. Through the magical words of the reviewer, I can vicariously hear what a component might sound like. If I wanted to read about inexpensive equipment, I would have subscribed to Stereo Review. Stereophile, keep up the good work and remember that some us have built our systems on dreams.

Just keep it sane. Single components that cost $40k or higher are out, as you're looking at total system costs that are just way too high for mortals. :)

Balance is one of the keys to living. I am sure it must be the same for a magazine. A balanced mix of high-, medium-, and low-cost equipment covers the market for the magazine, the advertisers, and the buying public. Everybody wins.

I like reading expensive equipment reviews when the product is on the cutting edge of technology. Even though the product under review is expensive, the technology usually will find its way into more affordable high-end equipment. The B&W Nautilus speaker was followed by a new 800 series line, for example. I find the information about new technology or new design philosophies more valuable than whether the reviewer liked it or not.

Sometimes, it's a good idea to know how the "best" performs, so you use this information to measure the cost/quality ratio of the equipment you really can afford.

Letting readers glimpse into the "drool only" range is a great feature of your magazine. If balanced with down-to-earth and budget reviews, reviews of really expensive gear provide a benchmark. Those reviews can help answer the "How close am I?" question.

In my circle, it seems that there is obsession to get the most for the least. High quality sound is inherant of big money, but ideally, women like it when their men can restrain from spending everything, time included into our exclusive preoccupation of perfect sound.

But than only the Best !

Stay true to Gordon Holt AND John Atkinson's original vision. I feel you have already slipped somewhat and TAS was right there to fill the need. Your weaknesses have made TAS stronger. This all doesn't preclude Sam's insight which I look forward to & read every month.

Every now and then is OK, but every issue and item make me hesitate buying or subscribing to your mag when I can't afford the majority or the items reviewed.

I would like to see more reviews on equipment like Plinius Amps and Preamps that can hold their own against the most expensive stuff. Best Regards, Dave Hubbard

Of course! Who else would we want to tell us what's out there on the cutting edge of High Fidelity sound? Just don't forget the reviews on real world priced equipment and not just Sam. He does well in allerting us to things that might be of interest but we still want to see the nitty-gritty full reviews with measurements and listening comparisons with other similar equipment, reviewers bias and all. I like to hear about expensive cars and houses and many other things that I can't afford. It let's me know how the other half lives. Keep them coming!

The reviews of expensive equipment are interesting, not only to learn how the other half lives, but also because the trickle-down theory, which is dubious economics, does seem to apply to technology; to-day's high end is to-morrow's real world. But the first column I read in each issue is Sam Tellig's ....

A well written review of a good sounding equipment is much more important to me than the price of the product. That is the reason I will always enjoy reading Mr. Tellig, whether he writes about a NAD or a NAGRA.

although i have an entry level budget, i still like to dream and who knows someday i might hit the lottery. please continue both expensive and entry level equipment.