State of the industry - Roy Gregory Editorial

[jazzdude99]

Mr. Fuller on fire. Black drivers the king of the Tannoy vintage line.

Zero star general - do you happen to know which LP is playing?

 

[tima]

Tim,

Can you tell us in what exact fundamental points you agree with Roy?

Francisco - the post you quoted was a response to Lee's post, not the RG article.

 

[microstrip]

Francisco - the post you quoted was a response to Lee's post, not the RG article.

Ok, thanks.

 

[Kingrex]

Rex, one of the many excellent features of the Reed 3P is the adjustability of azimuth in real time. It is a beautiful design where one can dial in azimuth by ear without changing any other parameters very quickly with the right source material.


Rex, what was the first thing I did before you listened to a note? Recall I changed the seat cushion so that your ears were precisely at 37" off the floor, which was absolutely critical to getting the optimum sound from the Alexx V's. As I have written before, ear height alignment is extremely critical for any Wilsons that use a (modified) D'Appolito design for their upper modules. (The same is true for the Alexandrias). It stuns me that this continues to be so under-appreciated when folks listen to these speakers at shows. I suspect it is the single most important reason that many are not hearing the speaker at their best in any environment. Even in a private home, it is why one listener may find the speaker less than stellar, while others find them to sound excellent to the point they disappear. As you know, movement 1 inch up or down from the ideal position can have significant sonic repercussions. Remember, these speakers are always set up to a precise listener ear height as per Wilson's exacting set-up instructions. If your ear height is not the same as the "reference" listener, the results will almost certainly suffer. It is unfortunately an inherent liability of the design just as the horizontal Venetian blind effect is a liability of other designs such as many planar speakers. Since I listen critically in only one seat/position, ask me if I care?

Enough OT. Now, back to our regular programming....

That arm you have is excellent in its ability to repeatedly dial to the same parameter.

And yes you did change the cushions in the seat to get me to the correct height. It took me a while to accept that was correct and understand what you are aiming for. Its a really nice presentation. I never sit.in the theater with my system. I'm always trying to climb on the stage.

 

[PeterA]

Mr. Fuller on fire. Black drivers the king of the Tannoy vintage line.

Great video. Even over my computer and headphones, one gets the dynamics, energy, and life. The acoustic bass sounds superb, very articulate and natural, even over this video. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Kingrex]

I like Fremers articles too. I find his writings on Analog planet or Youtube. I have not had Stereophile for a long time. I never even got a copy of the article about his power upgrade.

 

[Sampajanna]

I like Herb as well. His articles feel like a chat with a neighbor.

 

[zerostargeneral]

Curtis Fuller's Quintet - Blues-ette (Vinyl, France, 0) For Sale | Discogs

Shop the 0 France Vinyl release of Blues-ette by Curtis Fuller's Quintet at Discogs.

www.discogs.com

@Jazzdude, the above is the value play in my opinion. The first US is big bucks.

Kindest regards,G.

 

[zerostargeneral]

@marty,

Sorry for my lack of etiquette I do not intend to perturb the mellifluous flow. On this occasion I forgot myself and gushed over Bonzo's post.

Kindest regards,G.

 

[perart1]

Read the whole thread for context.

My point still stands

 

[jazzdude99]

Zero star general - do you happen to know which LP is playing?

It’s right in the video title - missed that!

 

[Lee]

I've just cancelled my TAS online subscription but keeping Stereophile. Both are doing little for digital except with music reviews. Both are over the top with Vinyl equipment reviews. Interesting that manufacturers are going direct more and more. Where I live there are no Hi End retailers in fact no dedicated HiFi retailers anymore. I've bought all my gear online from online reviews in the last 10 years. What is interesting from Roy is there has not been any breakthrough sound products but particularly the Chinese are releasing products with Hi End sound for much lower cost which measure well out of the box. Topping to name one brand which has made it entirely from online reviews largely from headphone listeners.

Sorry to see you go. Can you explain why you are cancelling TAS?

 

[fbhifi]

Sorry to see you go. Can you explain why you are cancelling TAS?

I think he just did.

 

[Lee]

I think he just did.

I was hoping for more specifics around it. The more feedback I have the more I can understand how we can improve.

 

[rbbert]

Sorry to see you go. Can you explain why you are cancelling TAS?

Subscribing to either Stereophile or TAS is a somewhat borderline proposition these days. The price of subscribing is relatively small, but there are an increasing number of “free” online review zines, and as noted by @rmcadam the percentage of LP related components reviewed compared to digital is not in my (individual) interest. More, for TAS especially, the credibility of the editor and some of the primary reviewers (e.g., JV, Alan Taffel) is very poor; I think this has been discussed extensively in a number of internet forums.

 

[PeterA]

Lee, for me it was just about the quality of the content. There seemed to be more and more space devoted to photographs and less to the actual review and how it sounds using specific music examples. I don’t want to read about lower noise or blacker backgrounds and more transparency unless the writer describes how those manifest themselves in what he actually hears from a record or digital file. I also like comparative reviews between competing components, or simply how one component is an improvement over what it replaces in the brand. And after a while everything just seemed the same, article after article, issue after issue.

I find the quality of the content here on WBF to be much more interesting and informative. Thread discussions can go deeper with much more information and variety of opinion. I understand it’s very hard to compete as a magazine with knowledgeable hobbyists who have all sorts of different approaches from around the world sharing their opinions and methods. The sheer volume and scope of the subjects here is quite phenomenal and we do get product announcements from the manufacturers and then quite quickly listening impressions from owners or people who have heard The component in a familiar system. There are interests that need to be filtered out, but an awful lot can be learned here about old and new and set up and non-mainstream recordings. A forum like this one, the addition of YouTube system videos, and even the wild and popular Jay’s Audio Lab, are a reaction and response to the magazines.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

for myself; i'm perfectly happy with both Stereophile and Absolute Sound. they are a nice part of my hobby experience. i think we are all better for them existing. whether we personally connect and appreciate them. they are a data point and resource. not perfect. more perfectly imperfect.

they are a community asset to my way of thinking. i do see the other side, and i'm sure there are lots of ways to view their fairness. comes with the territory i think.

i would hate something like the Consumer Reports model.

the forums do what they do, on line mags do what they do, and these print mags do what they do.

YMMV.

 

[rbbert]

...they are a community asset to my way of thinking...

Which is why, despite my misgivings and reservations, I still subscribe

 

[Lee]

Lee, for me it was just about the quality of the content. There seemed to be more and more space devoted to photographs and less to the actual review and how it sounds using specific music examples. I don’t want to read about lower noise or blacker backgrounds and more transparency unless the writer describes how those manifest themselves in what he actually hears from a record or digital file. I also like comparative reviews between competing components, or simply how one component is an improvement over what it replaces in the brand. And after a while everything just seemed the same, article after article, issue after issue.

I find the quality of the content here on WBF to be much more interesting and informative. Thread discussions can go deeper with much more information and variety of opinion. I understand it’s very hard to compete as a magazine with knowledgeable hobbyists who have all sorts of different approaches from around the world sharing their opinions and methods. The sheer volume and scope of the subjects here is quite phenomenal and we do get product announcements from the manufacturers and then quite quickly listening impressions from owners or people who have heard The component in a familiar system. There are interests that need to be filtered out, but an awful lot can be learned here about old and new and set up and non-mainstream recordings. A forum like this one, the addition of YouTube system videos, and even the wild and popular Jay’s Audio Lab, are a reaction and response to the magazines.

I appreciate the feedback Peter. One way we are addressing this is by creating our new YouTube channel which will include experienced reviewers. We built our Winding Road channel to one million subscribers and we are working to build the TAS YouTube subscriber base quickly when It formally launches (the current 1K is legacy). However, we are doing our best to build in high production values and moreover, exclusive and interesting content. We have some really cool content planned.

Comparative reviews are difficult to be honest. Many manufacturers specifically prevent comparisons with competing products and the politics get difficult.

Forums are hard to manage and there is a very fragmented community on forums which not many gaining real traction outside of arguably head-fi but that is a much larger audience.

Also, TAS and hifi+ are not print magazines any more. We are selling a tremendous amount of digital advertising these days and producing content across multiple channels: web, social media, YouTube, email, “welcome mat“ campaigns, specialty products, and print.

 

[microstrip]

Subscribing to either Stereophile or TAS is a somewhat borderline proposition these days. The price of subscribing is relatively small, but there are an increasing number of “free” online review zines, and as noted by @rmcadam the percentage of LP related components reviewed compared to digital is not in my (individual) interest. More, for TAS especially, the credibility of the editor and some of the primary reviewers (e.g., JV, Alan Taffel) is very poor; I think this has been discussed extensively in a number of internet forums.

"discussed extensively in a number of internet forums" Sorry this is almost amusing. A few people hating magazines persistently write denigrating them and it becomes an universal fact.

IMHO this is supposed to be a friendly forum on the high end. Surely all reviewers have their good and poor moments, and I respect your opinion, but disagree completely on the merit of the three people you explicitly refer - I consider they are respectable professionals that do a lot for the high-end and sound reproduction.