Six Moons charges for reviews?

Anything that compromises subjective intellectual property is tainted and immediately suspect when it is offered free to the public. What I see are a bunch of broom closet companies trying to get attention in a crowded marketplace with too few buyers and they are willing to pay to get their product reviewed. When they prosecuted Alan Freed they called it payola, nowadays the consumer sheep don't care what gets wagged in their faces, as long as it is free.In my opinion, this guy has screwed the pooch and can't be trusted, regardless of his vision and intent. Just keep sending those shiny objects to him. The word is credibility.

So, if I understand you correctly, all of the reviews he's done all these years for free don't contribute to the entirety of his work now that he had to level the playing field for participation?

All the best,
Nonoise

The ethical issues are really dependent on how the publisher runs the operation, since the conventional model, as others have pointed out, doesn't really assure editorial integrity anyway. (Despite all the dirt thrown against the wall over the years about long-term loans of gear, cushy relationships among reviewers and manufacturers, etc. I think most mainstream reviewers try to get it right. Whether there is an inherent bias to always say something 'nice' is another question, but I seem to recall some less than stellar reviews in magazines like Stereophile).
Why couldn't a site have a front end that is 'free' to users for capsule reviews and certain coverage, but a 'pay wall' for more in-depth reviews? Charge users a nominal fee for access per review? Like an iTunes charge- .99 cents? Not much, and those pennies add up. Advertising could still run on the 'free' part of the site to reach the greatest number of users. Frankly, while I skim most gear-centric websites and have an e-subscription to Stereophile, I rarely read whole issues or all of the reviews- just focus on the stuff I am interested in. And, eventually, the pay for access reviews could be migrated to the 'free' side of the wall.

There are pros and cons with everything. Sixmoons reviewers generally do a decent job of covering both. No reason to be negative about most products, rather, be agnostic, describe the product to just help people familiarize and decide if right for them or not and be done with it. Just being objective about these things is the key.

My main complaint about sixmoons is the tangents that the reviewers go off on with regularity. The reviews are seldom very concise. But on the other hand we all love this stuff right so why not just go with the flow, enjoy reading and wena what one might out of whatever is written.

I could complain about sixmoons all day probably, but bottom line is I;'d rather sixmoons and other write anything than nothing at all. This audio stuff does not get all that much attention these days compared to other newer and trendier areas of technology.

As part of my job, I "run" a "free" informational website that is supported, but not influenced by advertising. So I sympathize with Srajan. I think that his approach is reasonable. It is clearly stated, and the rationale clearly explained. Before implementing his policy, he gave time and space for debate. Etc. 6Moons is not a charity. It must be supported somehow. There are only a few ways: subscriptions, advertisements, donations. Srajan has always struck me as a fair and independent reviewer. I have not noticed a change.