Class D Amplification Announcement

I did make the comparison but couldn’t write about it for the review, because it would have been irresponsible to do so. This kind of thing happens all the time in the course of reviewing audio gear.

@aquint You’re kidding with this, right? The dog ate your homework excuse? This is insulting to the intelligence of the people on this site. Don’t make me go back and copy the prior discourse — it will not go well for you. And no, this kind of thing absolutely does NOT happen all the time when reviewing audio gear. I reviewed equipment for 16 years and this never happened to me, not even once.

Hey Andy, my name is Tim Shea and you can look up my reviews on Soundstage. I’m not hiding from anything, and I stand by my reviews — ALL of which have comparison sections BTW — and I don’t have to twist myself in knots trying to defend my less-than-rigorous reviews. All that said, I’m glad you’ve finally seen the light and are open to doing comparisons in future reviews, and if you can manage to get the other TAS writers onboard you might even win back some of us here who gave up on your “reviews.”

I did look over four or five of Tim’s reviews and can say this: He’s a good audio writer. If he’s not now working regularly for a publication, online or print, it’s too bad for all of us.

Though I’ve already acknowledged that a need for more comparisons in my own reviews is a valid criticism, my sense from reading Tim’s stuff is that the practice is overrated. In those reviews of Tim’s I read, he typically notes one other product, usually the one in the class he already owns or has recently reviewed. This scans well—every Soundstage! Review has "comparisons"—but I’m not so sure how helpful it actually is to a prospective purchaser, as there are likely a dozen candidates that he or she is considering, and Tim’s comparison product may not be among them. From my point of view, it’s more helpful to use the language of subjective audio reviewing and comparisons to live music to define the character of the gear being considered. We are just hoping to help a reader develop a short list of products to audition in the flesh, if that’s at all possible.

This is my opinion, and I’m not saying it’s my way or the highway. Now that we’re on a first-name basis, Tim, maybe we can agree to disagree without personal invective or the broad-brush dismissals of writers (like Jonathan) who have been at this a while, or publications that may just occasionally have something helpful to offer to audiophiles of all stripes.

@aquint   +1 Andy Quint.  

@aquint This scans well—every Soundstage! Review has "comparisons"—but I’m not so sure how helpful it actually is to a prospective purchaser, as there are likely a dozen candidates that he or she is considering, and Tim’s comparison product may not be among them. From my point of view, it’s more helpful to use the language of subjective audio reviewing and comparisons to live music to define the character of the gear being considered. We are just hoping to help a reader develop a short list of products to audition in the flesh, if that’s at all possible.

Yes Andy, on this point we will continue to disagree, but that’s ok. There’s always room for more than one opinion in the room, and if your method works for you and the readers still feel they get something out of it that’s really all that matters. As they say there’s always more than one way to skin a cat, different strokes for different folks, etc. I have to say it’s always nice to link up with a fellow reviewer because nobody knows what it’s really like to write product reviews except those who actually do it, and there are those on this site and elsewhere who completely dismiss what we do because we don’t trash products we review. I have my own thoughts on this, but I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.

Cheers,

Tim

@arafiq

if you reach out to alberto i think you will find him responsive and very knowledgeable... obviously he will champion his (excellent) product and he will clearly explain how the audion monos differ from the one chassis stereo model in technical and practical terms

you are experienced at this hobby now, so i am sure that if/when you get an agd amp, you will listen to it on its own first, before coupling with tubed gear in the chain... you may well be surprised you may not want/need add’l ’tubey goodness’, (which certainly comes at a price monetarily, and usually, also sonically, to some degree, while bringing its gains)

i think i have mentioned this in an earlier post... i have been a hard-n-fast die-hard tube gear guy since the 90’s, i have much tube gear and boxes and boxes of so many tubes, but as my streaming journey has progressed since 2020, as the front end has gotten purer and purer, i now am ecstatic about the quality of sound i am getting without a single vacuum tube in the chain - i've come to realize how much of my perceived need for tubes in the chain was palliative in nature, solving for digititis and/or solid state artifacts introduced in the source and amp stages... in this crazy, unpredictable journey i have been on, i would never, never have thought i would be here...