HP- Why I Quit the Absolute Sound or: Path to Personal Revelation

[Andre Marc]

Caesar, I do agree with you, the Giya is one of the best speaker's that I have heard. Problem seems to be that it takes a very large room, needs a very precise set-up and of course the looks are shall we say a '"defined taste". However, when all is good, IMHO it's a contender for world's best.

Vivd/Luxman is ALWAYS stellar at every show I have been to. They are really good speakers that everyone should hear.
Not cheap, but they are definitely unique, and have a lot of proprietary technology.

 

[untangle]

TAS = ~40K circulation

BW

 

[Andre Marc]

TAS = ~40K circulation

BW

With no circ audit to speak of, correct?

 

[MylesBAstor]

Home Theater's circulation is 93,000 (Stereophile is 72,000 as the latest; used to be from 45,000 to 60,000, then 60,000 to 80,000 and at the peak about 90,000, and now hovering around the 70,000 mark).
* Stereophile started back in 1962 (J. Gordon Holt as founder). ...John Atkinson joined in 1986.

The Abso!ute Sound, I don't know, but I'm sure it is lower than Stereophile.

Remember that TAS's numbers are unaudited!

You read need to read between the numbers in their statement eg. TAS presents number of copies run as their total but when you break the numbers down by subscribers and newsstand (and remember newsstand sell through for a great mag is 40%) sales, the actual circ is a lot less. Then you have the free copies distributed aka advertisers and copies left over.

From JA at stereophile.com

You are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts. Here's how the audited circulation of Stereophile has varied over the past 5 years:

2012 (first 6 months): 71,969

2011: 71,900

2010: 72,293

2009: 71,192

2008: 74,843

2007: 74,609

This is what I meant by stable. Yes, it went down slightly in 2009, but even Stereophile is not immune to the recession, please note. But in the past 3 years, while circulation has fluctuated slightly, it has plateau'd, ie, is stable. And please note that Stereophile's circulation is 3x that of our closest competitor and greater than the combined circulations of The Absolute Sound, HiFi+, HiFi News, and HiFi Choice.

 

[MylesBAstor]

TAS = ~40K circulation

BW

Again unaudited and is that total copies printed or the actual number of subscriber and newsstand copies (remembering newsstand sales are 40% sell thru at best so if they send out 5000 copies, they actually sell 3000 copies).

 

[NorthStar]

Still in the ball-park, close enough.

 

[untangle]

Make what you will of this from Echo Media.

BW

 

[MylesBAstor]

Don't you think you need to compare apples with apples?

 

[mep]

Is there a point being argued/debated here? SP's audited circulation smokes all of their competition including TAS whose circulation is much smaller and not audited. Next.

 

[Revel Salon 2]

Vivd/Luxman is ALWAYS stellar at every show I have been to. They are really good speakers that everyone should hear.
Not cheap, but they are definitely unique, and have a lot of proprietary technology.

Maybe you could review them in tone Audio ? ask Jeff....

 

[MylesBAstor]

Is there a point being argued/debated here? SP's audited circulation smokes all of their competition including TAS whose circulation is much smaller and not audited. Next.

As John posted:

And please note that Stereophile's circulation is 3x that of our closest competitor and greater than the combined circulations of The Absolute Sound, HiFi+, HiFi News, and HiFi Choice.

The fact is that High-end audio is a small niche. Has been and will always be since it's in part a socioeconomic effect at play.

 

[Revel Salon 2]

Is there a point being argued/debated here? SP's audited circulation smokes all of their competition including TAS whose circulation is much smaller and not audited. Next.

I prefer TAS over Stereophile..not by much. I'm gonna ditch my digital subscription at the end even if it's only 10$ a year. They both put all the majors
reviews free on their sites a few weeks after publication!!

 

[garylkoh]

Is there a point being argued/debated here? SP's audited circulation smokes all of their competition including TAS whose circulation is much smaller and not audited. Next.

Did anyone ask Jeff how many copies of ToneAudio are downloaded a month?

 

[Andre Marc]

Did anyone ask Jeff how many copies of ToneAudio are downloaded a month?

Yes, over 300,000 unique downloads per issue.

 

[Andre Marc]

Maybe you could review them in tone Audio ? ask Jeff....

I doubt it. The importer does a very good job, and he has a "home run" reviewer in John Marks, who has done
a good job creating awareness.

 

[mauidan]

I prefer TAS over Stereophile..not by much. I'm gonna ditch my digital subscription at the end even if it's only 10$ a year. They both put all the majors
reviews free on their sites a few weeks after publication!!

Plus, there's so many other free reviews on the net:

http://www.dailyaudiophile.com/

The only subscription I'm going renew is for Jazziz.

 

[Revel Salon 2]

Plus, there's so many other free reviews on the net:

http://www.dailyaudiophile.com/

The only subscription I'm going renew is for Jazziz.

thanks for the link !! I go to http://www.ultrahighendreview.com/ everyday for the latest reviews on all sites.

 

[caesar]

With such profound personal hatred to Magico (and TAS), sounds like YOU were hurt in a big way...

I can see how you could get that impression from some of the posts, but the meaning you draw is completely out of context. A small story can help illustrate. During Axpona at Chicago, I met up with a very good friend, whom I hadn’t seen for a while. We went to the famed steakhouse, Gibsons. I ordered the bone-in rib eye, medium. He ordered the filet, medium rare. I like the full flavor of the rib eye, and think the filet is thin tasting. My friend, however, loves the tenderness of the filet, and compensates for the less flavorful taste by putting stuff on top. Your claim that I hate Magico/ Magico fans is as true as a claim that I hate my friend or his food order.

Being a “make the pie bigger” type of guy, I tend to think that the manufactured Magico publicity is draining away attention from many other excellent brands like Rockport, Genesis, von Schweikert, Evolution Acoustics, Vandersteen, Marten, etc., etc., etc…, and hurting the hobby. I also think that TAS is playing really small ball these days, compared to the legacy of their publication.

This really has nothing to do with me, as I'm just observing and commenting. I’m just an amateur in the truest sense of the word. I get no overt financial reward. I get no covert financial reward. I just have a demonic passion for this hobby as it has a chance to put human beings in a state of psychological bliss.

 

[mep]

I don't know what stuff your friend put on top of his filet at Gibsons, but I know mine was phenomenal tasting as served. I wouldn't dream of putting something on top of any good steak except my teeth.

 

[MylesBAstor]

I can see how you could get that impression from some of the posts, but the meaning you draw is completely out of context. A small story can help illustrate. During Axpona at Chicago, I met up with a very good friend, whom I hadn’t seen for a while. We went to the famed steakhouse, Gibsons. I ordered the bone-in rib eye, medium. He ordered the filet, medium rare. I like the full flavor of the rib eye, and think the filet is thin tasting. My friend, however, loves the tenderness of the filet, and compensates for the less flavorful taste by putting stuff on top. Your claim that I hate Magico/ Magico fans is as true as a claim that I hate my friend or his food order.

Being a “make the pie bigger” type of guy, I tend to think that the manufactured Magico publicity is draining away attention from many other excellent brands like Rockport, Genesis, von Schweikert, Evolution Acoustics, Vandersteen, Marten, etc., etc., etc…, and hurting the hobby. I also think that TAS is playing really small ball these days, compared to the legacy of their publication.

This really has nothing to do with me, as I'm just observing and commenting. I’m just an amateur in the truest sense of the word. I get no overt financial reward. I get no covert financial reward. I just have a demonic passion for this hobby as it has a chance to put human beings in a state of psychological bliss.

Did you feel the same thing when Infinity dominated the scene vis a vis the then unheard of priced $25K IRSs?