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I like all reviews so I enjoy reading about the expensive stuff too. I may not be able to afford them today, but I may sometimes in the future so I am interested in them also.

Right now I can't afford to buy the equipment I'd really love to own, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't read about it. Anyway, even now I hope to upgrade later on, so two or three reviews of equipment (such as the Rockport turntable or the Linn Klymaxx amplifier) per issue are fine by me.

Since I could see buying 10K speakers and amps, I like to read them. The out-of-reach stuff sometimes seems like fantasy stuff and is harder to read about.

I love reading about gear I can't afford. It's never too early to plan the spending of that lottery money. Besides, reviews of top-quality gear teach me a great deal about what's out there and what I should be looking and listening for in equipment that fits my meager budget. Don't give up reviews of the affordable stuff, though.

There are plenty of other magazines who limit their coverage to 'affordable' components. But megabuck stuff doesn't necessarily deserve to be reviewed simply because it exists. If a component advances the state of the art in some respect, or provides a different, but equally compelling mix of virtues than something already out there, then fine. But I don't see the need for full reviews of a product that is highly impractical or of limited appeal, even to it's target audience. Why not just a short review in that case?

Your balance of expensive to reasonable (talk about subjective terms!) is good. More reasonable analog would be nice as well as more ST.

For the first time this month, I've notice a reasonable price pair of speakets. Normally the speakers you show would require a person to sell their house and their wife's jewel inorder to purchase one.

I find the range of equipment reviewed to be a plus to the magazine.I will never owned very expensive equipment,but the articles let me know what will be available on my limited budget in a few years.It seems that the time it takes for the technology to trickle down is getting shorter as there are more players in the field.The computer giants have relied on quantity to make a profit and they will not change a winning formula,just look at that chip from Texas Instrument at$5.00. But please let me know also about the more affordable gem.

While I am a big fan of mostly budget/mid priced gear, I would like to see a review of expensive gear EVERY once in a while. That way, I'll know where the current state-of-the-art in audio is headed. Otherwise, I don't think that you should go overboard with it like you tend to do sometimes. More review/magazine space for Sam Tellig would be highly appreciated. He seems to be someone I can understand and relate with.

A few are fine- they set a standard. I think Stereophile could do a better job of comparing and contrasting high and mid-range products. I'd like a sense of what "big bucks" buyers are getting for their extra dough. Larry

I enjoy reading about true state-of-the art stuff like the Rockport Sirius, and I enjoy reading about stuff I might someday own (hint: NOT the Rockport). It's the gushing over a $5,000 pre-amp that's pretty good that bores me. But then, that's somebody else's affordable, I guess.

Don't make me use the Motor Trend/Ferrari comparison again -- it gets old. Just because I can't necessarily afford it doesn't mean I don't want to read about the bleeding-edge.

How else will I know what to buy when I win the lottery?

It's what makes the magazine exciting and different from Consumer Reports; high end components often feature technology that trickles down to mass market gear. Without the excitement generated by Stereophile and its ilk for high end components, there would be fewer buyers, and less incentive for manufacturers to innovate for consumer audio. Imagine Car and Driver without the occasional Lamborghini or Viper review -- where's the fun in that?

Sam Tellig all the way!

i think it's interesting to read reviews about expensive equipment, keeps me dreaming, but you still have to have practicality, not all of us have unlimited budgets

Reading reviews of expensive equipment is informative for several reasons: 1) I might want to buy such a product and since these are typically carried by fewer dealers, the more info I have, the better! 2) Innovations in top of the line equipment usually work their way down to less expensive products.

Reading about ultra expensive equipment is great, but what I really need to know is how close does equipment I can afford to buy compare to the "state-of-the-art". A review of a $50,000 speaker or amplifier is only interesting if you can relate it to the sound of a $3,000 (or so) speaker or amp.

The equation is quite simple. We are all looking for the finest sound that can be reproduced outside of a recording studio or live concert, right? If you're with me so far on this, then you shouldn't object to the premise that in order to produce the finest sound in our homes, we must have the finest reproduction equipment available, correct? If you're still with me, I'm sure that you wouldn't disagree that the best equipment uses components that cost money. Uh oh! I know that I've lost a good many of you "audiophiles on a budget" now. But for those of you who are still with me, the true stereophiles, I submit to you that you MUST have the finest equipment in order to reproduce that wonderful entity called MUSIC. It is my sincere belief that Stereophile strives to provide its readers with reviews of the finest audio equipment, and, much of the time, such equipment is beyond our financial reach. However, were we not to always strive for the best, how would we know what the best at a particular point in time would sound like? We must also keep in mind that many of those pieces of audio equipment become "old hat," and thusly, their prices drop somewhat. I commend Stereophile for providing reviews of equipment that defines the current state of the heart in music.

I like to see a mix of price ranges. I find it unlikely that I will buy "A" list, but it's fun to read about where the tecnical limits are. I do have speakers which are on the "B" list, NHT 2.9's which I love. I think some of the writing gets to be a bit to esoteric.

I don't read them for the reviews of the equipment, but in the "sound" paragraph of the equipment under review I can read mini reviews of audiophile recordings which appear nowhere else in Stereophile, except in Quarter Notes. Why your reviews are 99.9% major label recordings I'll never know! It seems insane, especially since the majors produce poor sound with even poorer performances. Also why review CDs at all? I can't believe anyone is buying CDs anymore, especially with 96/24 DVDs and SACDs out there. 96/24 DVDs from Classic Recordings & Chesky have been available (and playable on any DVD player) for almost three years—between the two labels over 60 titles are available, yet you have only reviewed one, CASINO ROYALE. Why is this? Today's CDs are tomorrow's 8-tracks. In five years, you won't be able to get more than $1.00 each!

I am mainly bothered by Scull's ecstatic babbling about how he went to heaven and back with the Grande Godzilla amp mounted on Mbongo disks. When you review a statement product, make sure you keep possession of your critical faculties. Don't have an impressionable and rich old guy with too much time on his hands use this forum to pander to others of his own kind. Otherwise, when these elderly afficionados start dying off, there will be no one left to keep the hobby alive.

Keep the expensive equipment reviews coming. Without them, it is much harder to maintain a balance among the differing principles between entry level equipment and the ultra high end stuff. We need some sort of a guage to be able to compare and judge our gear against. Those expensive equipment reviews provide a good amount of that. What kind of a magazine would Stereophile be if they did their tasks half-assed? Stereophile does an excellent job of providing us with entry level reviews and the ultra high end expensive ones. I would much rather have Stereophile remain state of the art then turn into another Audio or Stereo Review. You don't look for Pontiac Fireflies to buy in the Dupont Registry. Nuff' said.

If you don't review the great, expensive stuff, then who will? It just so happens that the most intriguing equipment is also expensive.

I am borderline Sam from cover-to-cover. I have an MSB Link II and really good Stereophile-recommended interconnects and cables, but with four kids and a wife in school at a private university, there are trade-offs. If you want good sound, you can have it -- but little or no source material to play. I buy six or more source items per month and love playing them on my bi-wired Klipsch RB5s with a low-fi HT receiver. Any single component over $10,000 is useless to me. If I could spend more than that, I should be vacationing extensively and donating money to charity. Your publication remains more humble and well grounded than TAS; a little more Sam mentality would not hurt.

A balance policy on reviews is much better. Good gear regardless of the price.

too many $$$ reviews = no reason to read!

Expensive by whose definition??? Us poor Canucks north of the border have to add in a 50% exchange rate so a $5000 amplifier, for example, translates to $7500 of our dollars! I think $5000 is expensive, let alone $7500!!

Should compare to more products while reviewing (eq. Group test)

Sure- its fun to dream. I just don't like it when these type of reviews dominate the pages of Stereophile. It makes us less fortunate, financially, audiophiles feel like were under par with our one thousand dollar systems.