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Stereophile in my opinion, is only a shell of its former self. Over the years it has become just one of many magazines/sites that panders to audio manufacturers, and is a far cry from the hard-hitting, warts-n-all, type publication that it once was.
I can't remember the last time a product was actually criticized severely within the pages of Stereophile. Oh sure, there is the formula you have fine-tuned to the point of being impotent, amongst your reviewers that will temper the otherwise glowing rave that almost every piece of gear and every loudspeaker you review seems to garner. It goes something like this... this is the absolute greatest piece of equipment you could ever imagine and I am totally blown away by it!!!.... but I do have to criticize the fact that there was some dust on the rear of the enclosure and a spelling mistake on page 12 of the manual. So be warned!
Give me a break. To compare what you guys are putting out today, to the vision and integrity that J. Gordon Holt had (and stood for) is nothing short of blasphemy.
I gave up my subscription to Stereophile years ago and haven't looked back. There are far better choices both in print, and online, for the audio enthusiast to read in order to get a solid, impartial, and warts-n-all honest view of high-end audio and the hobby of audio as a whole.
The only thing this post has done for me (and probably has done for so many reading this) is make me feel a little sad, and long for the days when Stereophile actually stood for something in audio.
I do spend time on your site but sadly it isn't for the audio reviews themselves, but for the nice pictures that allow me to see product I might not otherwise see. So to me, you've become the Stereo Review of audio. I used to subscribe to that magazine simply because it was so inexpensive and provided the basic information on pieces of gear, along with nice pictures. I never once considered it a valid source of information for deciding whether or not a piece of gear was worth buying or not.
If you ever stop being the magazine that recommends every single piece of gear it reviews, and starts giving its readers honest, and deserving "real" criticism, then I will subscribe to the printed magazine once again.
Until then, thanks for the free content, because that is all I'm prepared to pay for it.