Essay bashing Primedia, Stereophile - and Audiogon

"""These legions of Mini-Me?s dutifully parrot the language and jargon originally expounded by such tribal elders as Harry Pearson and J. Gordon Holt to communicate nuances of resolution, then emulate and promulgate the received wisdom of other elitist wannabes in a gigantic circle jerk on Audio Asylum, Audiogon, and sundry chat rooms. ***

This guy is a complete idiot.

***This tendency to argue for one style of reproduction while marginalizing another reinforces the kind of silly fragmentation that puts so much distance between this thing of ours and the very people we are trying to reach ***

Debating an issue is the best way to learn about it and the opposition. It is a learning process. Once again, this dude is an idiot.

****The emergence of Audiogon is emblematic of where all of this marginalization has brought us. Hobbyists no longer participate in a living, breathing marketplace, but whore out trendy, here-today-gone-tomorrow products that have no lasting value, undermining the market for new, lasting-quality gear by reallocating money that usually went to retailers in the form of profit margins and trade-ins to haggle dubiously amongst each other (then adding insult to injury by wasting manufacturers? time with endless queries as to the latest internet bargain-validate my decisions, reassure me that I?ll be happy). ****

That one had me laughing so hard i almost cried. This guy is just trying to stir things up. I have no clue who he is, but im not too impressed by his lack of insight, his pompous remarks, and smug "holier than thou" attitude.

I guy really does not get it does he? It also seems like he sat there night after night with his fat butt planted on his couch reading through a thesaurus attempting to make himslf seem more educated. He sure uses alot of big words that normally are not used. Ive found that with wording like that 9 times out of 10 is some average guy reading a thesaurus attempting to look intellectual. Ive met some very brilliant people in my time, and they didnt talk like that.

WHo is this guy anyways? He seems like he has a dead interest in high end audio.

The Chipster used to work at Stereophile until the recent purges that included Mr. Scull, but included the hiring of Art Dudley and John Marks. I feel obligated to say that I owe Stereophile my high-end education. Further, I think their chosen path is a wise one and I've always greatly anticipated the arrival of every issue. I can not say the same about any of the other magazines audio or otherwise I've subscribed to over the years (except maybe Scientific American). I just hope Primeadia can see past profit and give capital and space to what is arguably the most important purveyor of progress and information about audio in the world. Chip Stern is doing nothing except throwing fuel on the fire of his former employer (while employed by a competing magazine nevertheless) and I can hardly see how this helps improve anything.

Chip Stern is (or was) sort of a middle-of-the-road reviewer for Stereophile magazine. I'm supprise he's that outspoken and he's sure sounded bitter...

He does sound bitter.

That whole "circle jerk /audiophile wannabe's" really blows my mind.

I gotta say, ive learened alot since i started playing in the forums. I cannot imagine how much time, effort, and money would have been spent in poor decisions on my part without the help and knowledge of the members on audiogon.

Wannabe's? He basically is saying that everone on AA and AG are "wannabe's?"
I must disagree with that. I have found the members to be well educated, well spoken, and very passionate about this hobby.

New today gone tomorrow products? Name a brand that is NOT on audiogon. Even before audiogon was around, the used market place existed just as sure as it does now. The only difference is now it is more organized and worldwide instead of thousands of local audio clubs.

what an idiot

I don't know wether to throw up or laugh. Boo Hoo. The system is broken so lets blame the consumers who just want the most bang for their buck. You have it backwards Chip. It is all about US. The manufacturers and the retailers need to look in the mirror,and be accountable for their mistakes. Were not the stupid,naive,sheep they want and treat us like. We have a passion for this hobby too,but were not going to over pay,and were not stuck with a couple/few retailers in our town(pick a city)who treat us like crap,and won't budge off retail prices. Through websites like AudioGon I can get great reviews,accurate advice,and competitive prices new/used,and its free. I don't have to shell out 8 bucks an issue for Stereophile only to hear some pretentious,arrogant snob tell me I need to buy a 6K CD player(SIMA MOON) although it has trouble reading discs(but he highly recommends the 2K upgrade)Brian Damkroger please take a bow) When I hear goofs like Chip Stern crying about A-Gon,it just reminds me what a valuable asset this website is.