Stephen Mejias

Ask Me Anything: Reddit

Stephen Mejias  |  Feb 13, 2013

A shot of me at the recent Consumer Electronics Show. The headphones are Skullcandy's Aviators. Photo: Robert Deutsch.

Tomorrow afternoon, from 3 to 5pm EST, I'll be joining the Reddit social news and entertainment website for an "I Am A" question-and-answer session. Participants can ask me anything pertaining to Stereophile magazine or, I suppose, life in general. I'll do my best to answer intelligently.

Tune in here.

COMMENTS
Ariel Bitran's picture
Submitted by Ariel Bitran on February 13, 2013 - 6:39pm

I know this guy. He's pretty cool.

music guy's picture
Submitted by music guy on February 13, 2013 - 8:02pm

..to this once venerable magazine.  

These two are so completely silly and self absorbed.  I guess I understand their stuff but must admit it sounds, to my ear, undeservedly self-important.

Guys who won't ever muster the skill set necessary to afford the products their magazine hopes to advertise.

Call me a cynic, but there it is...

Stephen Mejias's picture
Submitted by Stephen Mejias on February 14, 2013 - 6:31am

You're a cynic. There it is.

John Atkinson's picture
Submitted by John Atkinson on February 14, 2013 - 7:15am

music guy wrote:
what has happened to this once venerable magazine?

Well, we still are venerable, but a magazine is like the mythical shark that must keep moving forward. Ariel and Stephen have opened up what we do a younger audience (including women!), without pandering. That will ensure Stereophile's future existence.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

Stephen Mejias's picture
Submitted by Stephen Mejias on February 14, 2013 - 6:56am

I'm not a Reddit user, but I'm aware of the site's popularity and its strength. Any lingering questions or concerns about the community's worth were largely silenced when President Obama stopped by for an "Ask Me Anything" session last August. Without getting too deep into politics, I'll just say that if it's good enough for my president, it's good enough for me.

According to a recent report in the Huffington Post, in 2012, Reddit garnered around 37 billion page views, 400 million unique visitors, 30 million posts, and over 260 million comments. Not even Stereophile.com did that well.

Ariel Bitran, a longtime Reddit regular, discovered a thriving audiophile "sub-reddit" community, and sparked a conversation that has now led to my participation in this "Ask Me Anything" session as well as a future gathering at the New York Audio Show this April.

I'll be answering questions for curious, enthusiastic audiophiles and music lovers, many of whom have little idea about what Stereophile does and how we do it. There are many opportunities for growth, for building awareness and enthusiasm, and for fostering relationships. This is an excellent one. I plan on learning, sharing, making some new acquaintances, maybe making some new friends, and hopefully strengthening our own community.

So, to answer the question, "What has happened to this once-venerarble magazine":

We're getting better every day.

volvic's picture
Submitted by volvic on February 14, 2013 - 8:29am

I don't always see eye to eye with Stephen's or Ariel's musical tastes or reviews, but sometimes they open my eyes and ears to something new and while I can thankfully afford higher priced gear, I chose not to buy them as I am always looking for the bang for the buck and Stephen's reviews fit nicely with my needs and wants.  I agree with the editor, a magazine needs to move forward if it is to attract younger and newer readers or at the very least keep the ones it already has.  Sadly will be working and will not be able to take part in the Q&A but if I find a quiet moment I certainly will.   While I am writing, may I take a moment to congratulate the Stereophile team for packing in every month's issue quite a bit of interesting tidbits, hardware and software reviews.  I appreciate the hard work that goes in every issue and making it an interesting read for us month after month deserves some applause.  

Nick 

jelyon's picture
Submitted by jelyon on February 14, 2013 - 9:18am

I had quite an interest in, if not *hi-fi*, at least better-fi, when I wore a younger man's uniform. 

I recently sold those 27 year old speakers, and purchased some, oh, 10 year old planar speakers. In the store, they sounded a-maaaaay-zing! 

At home, better than the vernerable box speakers, but not as amazing and transparent as in the store. So I'm back to subscribing to an audio magazine, and appreciate the discussions of resonably priced gear in a "hi-fi" magazine. 

Thanks for the tip on that Audioquest Dragonfly, btw. /That's/ what I'm talking about; I'll never be able to justify the cost of an AR Reference DAC.

John Atkinson's picture
Submitted by John Atkinson on February 16, 2013 - 6:29am

www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/comments/18h3zd/iama_stephen_mejias_assistant_editor_stereophile/

I finally got the time to go through the lengthy Q&A. While some of the questions depressed me - Why not ABX testing? Are you in bed with advertisers? -  it was overall a stimulating read. And great job Stephen and Ariel for your grace and clarity in answering questions.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

Ammskore's picture
Submitted by Ammskore on February 27, 2013 - 9:03am

I thought it was an excellent Reddit session, Stephen.  Are you guys from Stereophile coming out to Chicago for AXPONA?  We're really excited about it and would love to have you guys.

Ariel Bitran's picture
Submitted by Ariel Bitran on February 27, 2013 - 10:16am

We will be represented by John Atkinson and Jason Victor Serinus in Chicago.

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