I recently emailed John Atkinson of Stereophile

I mentioned to someone in another thread, that Sterephile is selling ad space. They have to come up with latest and greatest each month. Reviews are generally a waste of time from most of these people. They are no better than you at judging equipment. Personally, I find most of their reviews offensively stupid. They don't get cause and effect issues such as component matching, basic set up techniques. They know someone who knows someone, and that is how they got their job. I used to go to stores all over the country to help dealers set up systems correctly, and have helped manufacturers set up CES displays correctly. I spoke to John Atkinson about reviewing for them and he basically blew me off. How would someone with my experience and "golden ears" by reputation, and the ability to express the written word not be an excellent candidate. Take advice from the friends here on the Audiogon site, they have little agenda other than some egoic issues, loving what they bought. At least they aren't pandering to advertisers with the biggest budgets.
As to your question, you would have a hard time coming up with a better preamp than the cj at that price. While some are good, the Parasound won't be nearly as musical or dynamic. If you want to email me privately, I will give you free, unbiased advice based on thousands of listening sessions with most all the manufactured products worth owning.
Larry

Rooky, there are lots of people who read the reviews in TAS and Stereophile to scout for the next product that will trinkle down to their price level so they can buy it used next time the company offer the latest "flagship."

It's just plain stupid to criticize them for reviewing expensive audio gear. No company put their latest technology into the middle of the line products. When they build to a price point there are tons of compromises made. Are you content to live with all of those compromises or do you want something better. It's the top-of-the-line stuff that pushes the envelope so people like you will continue to have mid-fi gear to buy rather than buying the good stuff.

I began reading Stereophile about 17 years ago when I could bearly afford a used receiver. I learned enough reading it to know what I wanted when I could afford to move up to seperates. I quit subscribing a few years ago because they kept reviewing mid-fi crap that wasn't any better than what I already had. Who wants to read that???

Stereophile should have a solid section of class d gear, but I don't want to read about it, I want to see the cutting edge stuff. Show me things I can't afford and I'll be happy!!!!

I was 12 years old when I first heard a "hi-fi" system. It was in the home of my uncle Jack. Jack had a profound love of opera and he was rather a good researcher, dedicated, systematic and disciplined...just like we more recent audiophiles are.

I feel in love with the sound and power that music had over me while listening to his system...all I remember, as far as his equipment is concerned, is Wharfdale speakers in a sand filled cabinet and a tube reciever. What bliss and magic I experienced I can never fully express.

All I could think of was the world that listening to music opened up for me...a new dimension really.

I began to haunt audio stores...at that time...we are speaking about 1955...the speakers were "naked" in cut out holes on the wall. I would take home brochures, and pour over the images of tubed gear, comparing this one with another...I tried to listen critically, but to my 12 year old ears everything sounded incredible.

When I turned 13 years old, my father surprised me with an audio system of my own...I would have preferred if he had let me "pick it out" myself, but instead he turned to my uncle Jack for advice and I wound up with a system almost identical to his...

Less than 10 years ago, I once again became interested in purchasing an audio system and I became curious about what was available "out there." You know, what we often call "state of the art." I naturally turned to the magizines that were available, including Stereophile.

I still read Stereophile and TAS, preferring TAS because the reviewers seem to allow a more human sense of their presence to flow along the linear portraits of the audio gear under their scrutiny. But every once and a while, Stereophile allows an article into print that is interesting and informative.

But it is here, in this forum ,and to some degree in AA (I wish AA was not so poorly designed, we have it good here at Audiogon, with a very easy to read organization of material...Bravo! to the designers) that I have found friends that have helped shape my critical direction for audio gear...for the most part, I am now into rather inexpensive solutions, made by individuals that hand build there gear one at a time.

Who would have dreamed, that we would someday have the internet, as an active daily forum and conduit, that we could speak to one another "through"!!!!

The magazines have taught us a great deal, however. At their best they show us a disciplined, rigorous, careful, sensitive and human approach to accessing the "value" of a piece of audio gear and help to wet our appetite for it...we do like to be stimulated in that direction, after all. At their worst, they are boring, repetitive, predictable, and act out of self-interest.

What is interesting here, I believe, is that many of us, because of this forum, have raised our own level of critical thinking to at least the level of the best magazines...and that, I think, is partly a direct consequence of writing in this very forum over time, and sharing ideas and realizing where we get "stuck" and where we get "rigid" and getting past it...in other words...all of us are "practicing" reviewers.

No wonder we are so critical of the so-called "professional" reviewers.

Still, I am continually amazed at the passion and interest we seem to generate as a "community."

Keep up the good work...give the magazines hell, if that is what you think they deserve...in this way we act as a "corrective," a balance, if you will, to the magazines commercial interests.

Richard

Real audio companies do not waste money running ads in magazines; they use it for research and development.

Corona, you make a great philosophical point, sadly, advertisements do make a difference in customer buying habits. The smaller companies have to work much harder to get the attention of the buyers (and reviewers) as the larger companies, which have enormous ad budgets. If we think that the reviewers, for all of their protestations, are not pandering to the larger ad dollars, we are being naive. If only it were as simple, or easy as spending the lion share of the earned profits on r&d we would all have better products in our homes. Good point!!!