Essay bashing Primedia, Stereophile - and Audiogon

Onhwy61's comments are correct but there is more to the whole picture. There is a simple fact in business that markets do saturate. Audiogon has created an efficient way to sell used equipment. The dying out of new equipment sales, which is the forte of brick and mortar, is much more related to the lack of interest in, and enthusiasm for, high end audio among younger generations. That there are so many available pieces of used equipment still in good functional shape just reflects the health of the industry in the past ten years. It also shows an overproduction of goods then relative to users now. Brick and mortar is simply the first place that the die back in audio shows up. Audiogon is not the cause.

I remember when Stereophile used to have about 8 pages of used gear ads at the back of the magazine. How is that different from used gear on the `gon? But as far as dealers go, there aren`t very many getting rich. They still have to make a profit so that they can stay open and eat. my 2 cents

Most brick&mortar stores don't have a clue about customer service anymore. They either want the quick sale, at full retail, or they want to do custom install work. The four high-end stores that i frequent all agree that retail is dead and that the money is in custom install. You would be suprised at what some of these guys get to pull audio cables through walls (mostly new construction). Most people today don't want to see the equipment, they just want to hear it and be simple to operate. I've gone into multi-million dollar homes where hundreds of thousands (over a million in one home) have been spent on whole-house audio/video and for the most part. the equipment comes from manufacturers such as Denon, Sony, Pioneer, Panasonic, etc. Of course, the have a crestron or some kind of "smart remote" in every room. The sound is mid-fi at best, but they love it.

And as far as young people are concerned, MP3 is where it's at.

I'm rambling now.....

Enjoy the music,

Still, on the whole, Stern is right about the industry - his abilities as reviewer not withstanding. Having access to good sites on the internet gives us an avenue other than the printed page to find the info we are looking for. Sterophile et al are in a position somewhat similar to the recording industry. They are blinded by the fact that they do what they have always done and don't capitalize on new technologies that would make them a little more accessable. Having detailed and expanded information on an advertizing supported web site would help all concerned, including the industry who are trying to get their product in front of the public ear. Instead Stereophile mostly just archives much of their magazine with now a great deal else. Sites like Agon and 6moons and a couple of others flourish because they give the people what they want. Detailed information about products under consideration for instance. Often with a less biased perspective. They also give info on tweaks and such. Remember this is a hobby and most of us like to tinker. Whether we get all we want in a one stop shopping format or not remains to be seen. But so long as there are sites like Audiogon where you can bounce ideas and opinions back and forth I believe we can winnow out the chaff.

To clarify my earlier comments. I don't blame Audiogon for the decline of B&M hifi shops. In an open economic market either you adapt to change or you die. As Flex points out above, there are some other factors involved in the demise of high end audio shops. Audiogon is great if you want to buy or sell equipment, but in exchange for good prices there are very clear costs. Most transactions go smoothly, but not always. Buying from a private party over the internet is inherently more risky than walking into a retail establishment. Furthermore, used equipment doesn't usually come with a warranty. Audiogon offers some tremendous benefits, but it's not without costs.