Audiogon and the Hi-Fi Mags

From a purely personal observation i can say that Audiogon has dramatically increased my interest and knowledge in audio . I have bought and sold much on this site but also with the retail outlets as well . My enthusiasm has spread to my friends and subsuquently have initiated many to pick up the " bug " and get rolling as well. I find that as my audio thirst for information has grown { in no small part due to surfing archives into the wee hours of the nite learning extensively from more intelligent and thought provoking members such as the above Sean , Stehno , Fatparrot ect ect ect } , I have too become someone that others in my small community turn to for help in understanding and creating excitement in audio. There is no question that competition is good for everyone as the lackluster retail market has to shore up its collective game and stay competetive . When was the last time you drove many hours to an audio store full of excitement and wonder just to fine some slick salesman judging you by the color of your skin or clothes you wear giving you all the more reason to sink back into your comfortable , safe computer world of Audiogon. We as a community need to make sure the retail outlets survive however because without them , this all collapses for the most part as i do not feel the manufacturers could survive with direct internet audio sales alone. Dont get me wrong , there are great stores with great salespeople willing to help and educate us like Ivan at the fabulous Audio Advice in Raleigh NC. There are also many who do not share their enthusiasm . I have met many dealers and company owners on this site and feel their participation is invaluable in connecting directly with us because although print ads are fun , its impersonal . Kudos to Larry , Dan , Barry and the host of others that make the effort . Its all too easy to lose contact with the people who generate interest in all of us and move on to something else and forget about audio as there is more and more in this world competing for our limited free time in a day. Its up to every one of us to carry the torch and share with each other as well as newcommers the joy of audio. We as a fowerful community can and should do everything to keep this organic field alive and healthy. I personally shudder at the thought of high ends audio becoming a dinosaur. I have an mp3 . I also have Nearfield Pipedream 21s. They coexist just fine thank you.

Well, my thoughts are much like many of the others here. I've been heavily into high end for close to 30 years. In that time I've subscribed and let lapse my subscriptions to TAS, Stereophile, Fi (remember them?), Audio, What HiFi?, and others more than once. I also have had oppotunities to meet many of the manufacturers and audio writers at CES and Stereophile shows. I may be a new member to Agon, but in the very short time I've been here it has rekindled my love of music reproduction like none of those other things. I think a huge part of it is the interactive nature of this site and others like AA. I'd gotten very disillusioned with the audio press over the years, and really did not (and do not) consider them a reliable source of info (with a few exceptions). There is some truth to that here as well, but in general I find sites like this to be more fulfilling, becuase things are discussed here that are rarely (if ever) discussed in the rags, and if you want to tear apart a topic you can do it in a place like this. In that regard I don't think the mags (in general) are geared to making people like us happy. They tend to pontificate about one thing or another, but seem slightly disconnected from the sort of people I find here and on AA.

I think it is pretty amazing that Stereophile collaborated with Audiogon to link Agon's ads to their site. I can't say I understand why Stereophile did it - you would think they would get tremendous backlash from their advertisers, manufacturers and dealers alike.

John Atkinson surprises me in a positive sense at times, and this is one example. I think he is too often accused of dirty handwashing with the manufacturers, when he has more integrity than he is given credit for. This is not to say I always agree with his opinions, but I think he speaks out of genuine belief. Perhaps others will say I am naive.....

In any event, Audiogon has taught me more than the magazines have, and provided me with great opportunities to own, try and sell equipment that I would never have done otherwise. Kudos to Arnie et al. for this site.

I have two suspicions to the reason the magazines haven't done a story on AudiogoN's influence. 1) AudiogoN didn't happen "overnight", it has steadily grown to the position they have now, so it wasn't something that landed on the seen and transformed things in a month or two. (Kind of like the frog in boiling water.) 2) AudiogoN, and the like, does steal some of their thunder.

I wasn't subscribed to TAS or S-phile before A-goN, now I am.

I asked a magazine reviewer about why those in his field post more in AA than A-goN, I looked for his exact reply but I couldn't find it; in short, the way I interpreted his reply was that A-goN has many that do a great job answering posts already.

I go to AA occasionally, but I dislike the layout big time! Furthermore, many posts turn into (endless) arguments.

Some further thoughts... While I could bitch about the quality & honesty of some reviewers in the magazines, and whether untoward handwashing is going on, the mags do provide useful information about what is happening in the world of audio, i.e. DSD, SACD, etc., etc. Yes, much of this is discussed on A'gon, but it is best to have a primer to the developments, as it makes it much easier to then comprehend and follow what people are saying on sites like this and AA. The news and reporting on Stereophile contains a lot of useful information and definitely keeps one abreast of what is going on. Let's give Stereophile credit for this.