My main objection to the Recommended List is that it does not really represent components believed by all the staff of the magazine (or even a majority) to be worthy of inclusion, but what a reviewer thinks should be tossed into a given category from what he reviewed. As a result, it is not a true comparative rating of these components. I believed that the staff got together at least and debated the merits of including or excluding any given component. The notion of dropping a component still in production because it has not been auditioned in a while is strange to me, even more so considering how the ratings are arrived at. The one thing to say in favour of Stereophile's ratings is that the price of the component is not the main yardstick by which components are rated like is the case in TAS. Then again, audiophiles will then proceed to make their own sub-categories, usually based on the price of the component. How many audiophiles would hold the position that, for example, Bryston 7B STs at $5,260 a pair are the equal of Boulder 2050s at $59,000 a pair or that Infinity Prelude MTS at $10,000 a pair are the equal of Dynaudio Evidence Temptations at $85,000 or that a pair of Paradigm Reference 100 v2s at $2,400 a pair are the equal of the Kharma Midi-Grand Ceramique 1.0 at $32,500 a pair. Each of these pairs of components are on the same step of the ladder. I could multiply the examples, but you get my drift. TAS, on the other hand, follows much more closely, the great audiophile myth that money correlates directly and almost always with sound quality; leaving aside the whole question of enjoyment. I'm simply too cheap to get much enjoyment out of buying a component costing 10 to 14 times the price of another component. Aside from snob appeal or the pride of ownership to put a more positive spin on this, the small differences in such components, hailed by the true believers as HUGE, simply are not worth it. How many concerts can you attend for the $75,000 difference between the Dynaudios and Infinitys? If money is no concern to you, you are truly blessed. Most other audiophiles have other preoccupations apart from canned music. The Stereophile list then becomes a wonderful instrument to sort out what your money can buy and what is deserving of a serious audition. Reviews of expensive equipment is great entertainment, but the bulk of what folks can buy, even if they are committed audiophiles, is to be found in more reasonably priced products. I always feel for the person (often enough the dealer who brought the product in his store to wow the customers) who is advertising a pair of $85 K speakers or $50 K mono blocks (now replaced in that manufacturers line by something that performs as well as the discontinued product for a MSRP half of the previous model) for an extended period at less than half the original asking price. When does reality enter the picture? The Stereophile list would be sorely missed if it disappeared. This can't stop all manner of criticism though. Bottom line, an audiophile is first and foremost a person who knows better, at least in his own mind, than other people. There are two types of fools: those who listen to the advice of everyone and those who listen to the advice of no one. Using the list, I normally tend to err on the side of the great principle of the conservation of one's capital. he fact that products at a decent price are to be found in Class A of hte list is all right with me.
