Anthony (Tony) Cordesman has passed away

Loved his audio reviewing work.  Not nearly as big a fan of his other work as a national and global security analyst.  I wrote to him once because I took issue with something he had written regarding geopolitics, mentioning that I was a big fan of his audio reviews.  He never replied.  Still, he will be missed.  RIP, Anthony.

I read, and trusted, Anthony's reviews for the past 40 years. He had a very good ear and a true talent for putting into words what he heard. His insights will be missed, and the audiophile world is a little murkier with his passing.

AHC pulled the wool over my eyes with his praise of Adcom electronics in the 80’s. At around 19 years old and having just entered HEA with a JVC Y-5F/Ortofon MC 10/ Ohm Walsh 2 speakers/Kimber cables with a Toshiba SA-750. I felt my receiver was my weak link? Purchased an Adcom stack 545 amp 555 pre and tuner. Needless to say other then the increase in power the Amp/Pre were only marginally superior to the Toshiba receiver. Less then a year later I turned in my Adcom power/pre for an Amber Series 70/FF-17 preamp and later Magnepan SMGa’s that provided several levels of improvement. My point is be careful with so-called experts. AHC made a fortune for Adcom and could have been generously compensated? FWIW Steven W. Watkinson was my favorite reviewer in my formative HEA days.

I thought the article was a joke until the last paragraphs.  I remember reading his op-ed's in the newspapers and his name from AS.  Trying to evaluate and figure out audio products and world politics surely share the difficulty of simultaneously accurate subjectivity and objectivity.

I was affiliated with TAS for its first several years.  Tony was absolutely the best reviewer the mag ever had, IMHO. He had a better ear than HP, and did not allow price to bias preference and quality as did HP, unfortunately.   After leaving TAS he also wrote briefly for Audio magazine.