I see your point Ceasar. Just remeber there remains a higher power at tas than Valin. Scaena and NOLA both enjoy the blessings of God himself-Harry Pearson!
TAS leaves the Maxx 3 off the Editor's Choice Awards - Ouch!!!!
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I see your point Ceasar. Just remeber there remains a higher power at tas than Valin. Scaena and NOLA both enjoy the blessings of God himself-Harry Pearson!
I count 4 NOLA models on TAS latest Editor's Choice list, so I'm not sure of what you mean. In any case, TAS is rapidly becoming irrelevant without HP's leadership.
I find the Magico speakers to be somewhat overrated. The Q at RMAF was less than impressive. It may have been a different story at CES which I did not attend.
Nola, on the other hand, sounds amazing in multiple showings.
Nola, on the other hand, sounds amazing in multiple showings.
Methinks you doth grant JV too much power. While I'm certain there are people out there that hang on his every word, I am also certain there are many times more people within his target readership that don't.
Jack, you got a good point. But looking at the data, when JV writes a regular blog, he gets over 10K hits in a week or 2. Guys like Neil Gader and Alan Sircom get 2,000 hits over the same period of time. Valin's CES report got over 48K hits so far. The nearest guys are at 18K and 16K hits.
In Fremer's recent MBL review, he pretty thoroughly analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of the speaker. There a couple of small comparisons to his reference Maxx 3s, but there is no slimy sales job of pushing his speaker as "the best".
Overall, I am really bummed that TAS has given up live music as their standard in favor of the Magico standard.
Although this is by no means representative of the total hits but there is a larger number of posts hitting him vs. commending him. You've gotta wonder what percentage of the lurkers share the bash poster's views. The same can't be said of Gader, Sircom or Harley whoaren't "challenged" nearly as often.
If JV has a problem, it's his beat. If you're assigned to cover the most expensive stuff (not necessarily the best stuff mind you), you're going to have resistance built in. That he is confrontational also makes for more hits, I think. That said, it's tough to gauge his influence. His constant reference to Magico is an extension of what he's always done. Kharma and MBL were his past darlings/references. Maybe it's just his style to anchor his observations vis a vis his present standard. I personally don't like it much but it is his prerogative. It is a prerogative with a danger. The Fanboy label is easily attached but difficultly removed. This is exactly what he is being accused of being and of having been.
I still think it is farfetched that Alon Wolf has put into motion some grand scheme to take over the world by buying off the media. The products are good products. Products would actually be appreciated more if the expectations set by the press weren't so high. Using marketing is great for expanding a dealer base, after all, with a dealership model, the initial customers are the dealers and not the consumers as opposed toa factory direct model. The real test is if the dealers can move the products. If they can't because their clients aren't buying, that network will implode.
If JV has a problem, it's his beat. If you're assigned to cover the most expensive stuff (not necessarily the best stuff mind you), you're going to have resistance built in. That he is confrontational also makes for more hits, I think. That said, it's tough to gauge his influence. His constant reference to Magico is an extension of what he's always done. Kharma and MBL were his past darlings/references. Maybe it's just his style to anchor his observations vis a vis his present standard. I personally don't like it much but it is his prerogative. It is a prerogative with a danger. The Fanboy label is easily attached but difficultly removed. This is exactly what he is being accused of being and of having been.
I still think it is farfetched that Alon Wolf has put into motion some grand scheme to take over the world by buying off the media. The products are good products. Products would actually be appreciated more if the expectations set by the press weren't so high. Using marketing is great for expanding a dealer base, after all, with a dealership model, the initial customers are the dealers and not the consumers as opposed toa factory direct model. The real test is if the dealers can move the products. If they can't because their clients aren't buying, that network will implode.
Jack, I agree with most of what you have to say. I don't mean to imply a conspiracy and Alon Wolf's grand scheme. However, Wolf is pretty shrewd. He understands that the audio market place is confusing for most people, with a boat load of products that are not clearly differentiated, subjective, and hard to audition. When people are confused, they follow the hoard and look to authority figures to help them make choices. And Wolf would love to have most influential audiophile figures and icons like Valin, Fremer, Atkinson, HP, Peter McGrath, Gordon Holt (if he were alive) or heck, even David Wilson's son - if he could buy him off, using his products as their reference.
Valin's and TAS's problem is that they have lost their reputation. Once that is compromised, good luck! Sad indeed.
The rise is definitely meteoric. Granted that Alon is shrewed, he should also note what happened to the press darlings that never created a strong user base. That is the ultimate asset. Only time will tell if Alon Wolf and Co. will be able to build that up.
That's something Wilson has enjoyed for some time. Was it first mover advantage perhaps? Maybe so, his timing was all but perfect. More importantly he kept on bringing out products that catered to his already loyal following even throwing in a price reduction despite improved performance as in the case of the Sasha. His product life cycles reminds me of Porsche's. Not a bad model to follow if you ask me.
You are very right, it is a confusing market having so many players now. There surely weren't as many as when Wilson started. Wolf seems to have been the only one to break onto the scene this fast and this forcefully, again only time will tell if he'll have the staying power.
That's something Wilson has enjoyed for some time. Was it first mover advantage perhaps? Maybe so, his timing was all but perfect. More importantly he kept on bringing out products that catered to his already loyal following even throwing in a price reduction despite improved performance as in the case of the Sasha. His product life cycles reminds me of Porsche's. Not a bad model to follow if you ask me.
You are very right, it is a confusing market having so many players now. There surely weren't as many as when Wilson started. Wolf seems to have been the only one to break onto the scene this fast and this forcefully, again only time will tell if he'll have the staying power.
Jon Valin...oh my. I spoke with Jon at RMAF last fall and was somewhat surprised to learn that this guy hasn't been a spring chicken in decades. Granted neither am I but then I don't make subjective comments that can make or break small companies. JV has got to be in his mid to late 60s and doubtless has experienced hearing loss...you just cannot avoid that one as you age...and as far as I know, Merck hasn't come up with a pill for that one. I'm a little troubled that we all sit with bated breaths, waiting to hear his or any number of other old farts' opinions regarding uber-expensive gear. I think congress should pass a law (or perhaps a presidential executive order) that each and every audio reviewer/journalist must pass a federally approved hearing test. JV would likely be forced to put aside his Magico pom poms.
One interesting thing is that GregAdd mentions that Nola and Scaena are HP's favorites and references. JV, however, seems to have a bad case of "destroy your father". Everyone knows HP's reference is live music, but by calling HP's choices "beautiful", "as you like it", or colored instead, he is politely saying HP is the deaf one.
I think it would be creepier if they agreed on everything. Imagine if we all agreed on everything? It would make the Twilight Zone look like daycare.
I agree as you said about RMAF. OTOH as I wrote, hearing them in a different situation, different room, electronics, etc, the Q1s definitely sounded much better. But they aren't to everyone's taste.
Which also raises another point. One can not make a judgement about a product until you've heard it in your system! I've had people come over and leave saying they never heard Maggie's, ML or Wilson's sound that good. It takes time and effort to extract everything one can from a given product and to expect an exhibitor to get one of these showrooms to workmtomthe max in a couple od days is expecting a miracle.
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