How did HP lose his power?

Caesar-There are others here more qualified to comment on Harry's downfall than me. I was a subsciber to TAS back in the good old days when HP ruled the audio universe. Before he lost final control of TAS, he had numerous near-death experiences with TAS because he really doesn't have a penchant for running a business. Every time he was on the brink of failure he would swear he was going to be more hands-on in the day-to-day operations, but he never stuck with it. So now he no longer controls TAS. Unlike JGH who assumed the "crazy aunt in the attic" status with Stereophile after he sold it, HP is given some respect by the owners of TAS.

When it comes to recordings I'd say yes he's still got it. Equipment? I don't really know. When I tried his suggestion of running the XV-1s heavy, it was absolutely horrible sounding (pun intended). Personally I think my taste differs with JV quite a bit. What he writes and finds a bit dark, I find just right. Take his CA Titanium and LP2 joint review. He found that combination just right and I find it to be definitely on the brighter side of neutral. He finds Walkers near perfect and the TW "beautiful" like the Balabos, I find them to be on the dry side and the TWs just right.

I'm not a big HP fan but do think, along with Gordon Holt, he derived some terminology that is an attempt at putting into words, the things we hear.

Without going into any detail, I was in his home in SeaCliff to install some audio equipment on two different occasions for review (a very long time ago). His living room, in which he had some ginormous Genesis installed at the time, had virtually no acoustic treatment and all you could hear was bass that overwhelmed everything else. And in another room he had a pair of Maggies (wired out of phase with one another). While I don't doubt he knew a lot about audio, it was clear his taste and mine were not even in the same Galaxy. And for me, his credibility went due south when I saw and heard what I did. But he has/had a lot of fans and along with Gordon Holt, was instrumental in starting the high end audio industry.

That said, I think, not unlike Gordon Holt, he was a hobbyist and not a business man. He ran into (well documented) financial difficulties on more than one occasion and ultimately ended up selling out to another owner --- and lost his position of directing the efforts of the magazine.

I will tell a little story here. I bought a McIntosh C2300 partially based on the rave review that HP gave it in TAS. I absolutely didn't like it. The C2300 sounded very SS to my ears and I felt it to be a backwards step from my Counterpoint SA-5.1. Now, does that make me "right" and HP "wrong?" Hardly. Would it make me question any of his rave reviews and not assume that his word is gospel? Sure, but you're supposed to do that anyway.

Remember that the audio rags had their ascendancy when there was no internet. They more or less dictated what the high end was and had a narrow monopoly on the information and much greater power.

Their contribution, as stated, was that reviewers like HP coined a vocabulary for describing what is heard.

Nowadays, the print mags scramble for attention with online mags, blogs, and boards that provide a lot more of the information on products, no more monopoly on information. It is also easier with the information highway (or dump truck) to get an idea of reviewers preferences and tastes. You can tell quite a bit just from looking at their systems, and draw comparisons from several sources of information rather than just one or two. Also, with information proliferation and world connection, there is a much larger and more varied high end than in the 70's and 80's.

There is no "absolute sound", just the "absolute preference".

HP has a kind of mincing, pontificating style. He also seems to have ESP that transcends the vagaries of microphones and studio engineers to somehow clearly obtain with architectural accuracy the layout of the recording venue. His Eustace Tilly dictating is a throwback to when few voices were published to decree about high end components.

HP lost his power because of the internet, he became another competing voice in a sea of voices and his style did not keep up.

cjfrbw said:

HP lost his power because of the internet, he became another competing voice in a sea of voices and his style did not keep up.

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Carl-I started to disagree with you on this point, but the more I thought about, I think your right. The only point I wanted to make is that he lost control of TAS which diminished his internal authority before the other forces you talked about put everyone in check.

Does it really matter?

Does what really matter John? You, me, the world, or this thread in general?

John72953 said:

Does it really matter?

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it is significant in the study of the History of High End Audio, whatever that is. as far as relevance to today, and the trends in this hobby, he has almost zero effect.

i read the whole "Ortofon A90, HP (Fremer), Absolute Sound, Valin" debacle with a grin on my face.

John72953 said:

Does it really matter?

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Q "Why are the battles in academia so vicious, personal, unrelenting and murderous?" A "Because the stakes are so low."

HP in the day let out a mighty Tarzan yell that had the millionaires stampeding to the latest anointed products. Only, the outlandishly expensive products changed every six months or so, you were never "in style" long with HP.

That Tarzan's yell has been replaced by a gaggle of seers. They all envy the Tarzan's yell, but nobody can get away with it much anymore.

However, the high end seems bigger than ever. When I was an impoverished student, I used to drive down Sunset Blvd. and wonder how did all of these huge houses get built, and who did they have to kill to get all this money, it seemed overwhelming. That is kind of the way I view high end, who buys all this expensive stuff? Sometimes it seems that the pyramid is inverted.

mep said:

Does what really matter John? You, me, the world, or this thread in general?

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Maybe all of the above! C'mon , HP, GH and others are writers..they aren't demi-Gods. They had no impact on the everyday audiophile,but they did on those with deep pockets. And while I respect their intentions and knowledge, their opinions have little to no impact on any decission I make for a future purchase.

HP's list (of top rated recordings) has been and probably will remain a valuable resource for many even if Gramophone's is broader and more up to date. In my opinion he deserves a lot of credit for that.

caesar said:

Was HP the the Walter Cronkite of audio in his time? Now it seems TAS is pulled in different directions. Valin thinks a product like balabo is "beautiful" (colored). Harley thinks it tells the musical truth.

Some people call HP deaf. Others say he gives good grades on everything that comes to his place. Others still thinks he is the ultimate king-maker.

Does he still have it?

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I think the subject of HP is far more complex than it appears and without solid data and evidence, most unfortunately is conjecture.

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Are you talking about HP's ability to make or break a product?

What age group are you talking about?

What socioeconomic group? BTW, give HP credit as he did have people on staff in the beginning and middle years who dealt with entry level equipment and ID'd many a great bang for the buck piece of equipment. The Amber 70 amplifier was just such as story as were many others.

Does HP still have the fire or is it just a job now?

HP as a visionary vs. businessman

The changing landscape of audio publishing, print and virtual, then and now. This is more than just the internet effect but HP's insistence upon TAS representing quality not quantity (number of mags published/per issue). OTOH, Larry Archibald deserves credit for turning Stereophile into a real business, bringing Tom Gillette in to handle marketing and subscriptions, John Atkinson to run the magazine and Ken Nelson and later Laura Atkinson to handle advertising. This "team" made Stereophile what it was and is. HP unfortunately either due to money or other reasons, couldn't do that and the magazine suffered.

Changes in the high-end audio industry period.

HP's interest in reviewing.

High end audio politics.

HP's refusal to jump on the digital bandwagon and give into political pressure when reviewers such as JGH were creaming over the Sony CDP101.

HP's system and set up people (no HP is no set up guru and is at the mercy of the people in house).

His writing ability (NO one is better than HP it comes to turning a phrase; everyone else is a pretender!)

The changing scene of audio equipment eg. back in the beginning, the equipment pretty much as a whole has major issues. Nowadays, I'd say even entry level gear gives much better performance than the stars of yesteryear. The best gear, is far more consistent both in quality (purchasers are no longer beta testers) and performance across the board.

Etc.

Etc.

I have had the privilege of being at Sea Cliff 5 times, four of them for extended listening sessions with HP and one for a party. I also invited him to attend one of my premieres during my digital cinema days and thus feel that I have some sense of who HP is and what makes him tick. It also does not hurt that I am a psychiatrist, which tends to encourage people to disclose things to me. So while I agree with Myles that this all conjecture, this is my version of conjecture on this topic. HP knows and loves music and has quite well seasoned ears. Technologically he is below average, but then he is the first to admit this and makes no pretenses. HP was also aware of the power that he had in position as editor of TAS. However, it is true, by his own admission, that he was not and never will be a businessman because it goes against his approach to the world. Said another way, he was not sufficiently aware as his power base was slowly and progressively eroded.

So while I have only spoken with HP once in the past year, it is my take that he has excellent ears, a genuine love of music, a broken heart that his baby was taken away from him by an entity that has different objectives and goals, and a fairly big dose of frustration that there are new pundits out there whose opinions he does not fully respect. To know HP is to like him as long as you accept that most people who live for the arts are a bit eccentric.

HP made a lot of enemies. Many of them public. Dealers who carried a line of equipment that either was trashed or passed over for a competitors product had nasty things to say about HP. None of which had anything to do with his review skills.
When Sterophile was bought out, it provided fierce competition for tas. HP never discounted or provided free issues. Sterophile went to a large format, published monthly and finished reviews much quicker. Tas had strict policies about ad placement and turned out reviews at a snails pace. HP refused to embrace digital. By his own admission he became enchanted with equipment most of his readers could never own because it was too expensive. Predictably manufacturers want to hedge their bets. Given Sterophiles superior position it just did not make sense to "double advertise." Even though many like ARC,CJ, Magnepan, etc. remained loyal but the handwriting was on the wall. Ominoulsy Stereophile published an article questioning the need for two major review magazines. Shortly thereafter tas collapsed.

Curiously at RMAf he talked about rising from the ashes and having some members of the audience "write for him." It is doubtful he could revise a print magazine. But the internet presents some interesting possibilities. Many of the guys who were loyal to him are dead, out of business,or sold thier company and retired. The fact remains he is the best writer in the audio review game. His blessing is still coveted by the audio industry and gets the attention of the audiophile community.

Gregadd-You have written a bit of revisonist history. Stereophile was out before TAS ever printed its first issue. HP started TAS in order to goad JGH into being more frequent with his publications. TAS is still here and HP still writes for them. It's just not the same mag as it used to be before HP lost control and his empire went the way of the Romans.

Uh I think not. JGH did found Stereophile. Yes JGH founded the high end review business.It was bought out by some Brits. It was Stereophile who took tas down taking my subscription of $100.00 which I put up in an attempt to help save them (they eventually made good when they came back.) My analysis may be debatable but that is essentially what happened. Yes HP does still write for tas but does not set policy. Things got so bad that he was writing a column for another magazine.

My apologies Gregadd. I misread your sentence where you said when Stereophile was "bought out." My eyes tricked me into reading "brought out" and thus my comments. I stand corrected.

No problem. It's why I don't my own proof reading anymore. My eyes not only miss typos, they fill in whole words.