The MoFi Mess and TAS rolling over for them

Also glad I didn’t buy very much MoFi. Glad I trusted my instincts. I also won't buy from Music Direct anymore either. 

The TAS and STEREOPHILE are just ENTERTAINMENT too me! BLISSHIFI said it all, $$ talks! I thought the 1-Steps I bought (Fragile, Blood, Portrait) sounded sterile, JUST LIKE CDs on VINYL! I shrugged it off as the product was deliberately equalized for lesser than full range highly accurate and transparent systems than my Sound Lab Maj 845s or SASHAs driven by a ARC REF 5SE/PHONO 2SE/REF 150/SOTA NOVA/SME IV.VI/dyna vt-1s). I have pristine OGs of  Fragile (bought as a teen in 71) and a small label DG Portrait. These OGs may not have the vinyl of the one step, but on  my system they sound correct and just more real than the MoFi VINYL CDs!

Anyone who has been around this hobby long enough to remember Stereophile and TAS from the early years (1980s) understands and is sickened by what has happened to these publications. Unfortunately, it's part of a broader trend infecting journalism and society as a whole--it's all about the money. I used to enjoy reading TAS when it was pint sized and packed full of informative reviews that were (somewhat) balanced and took pains to inform readers rather than shower products with useless accolades. There were thought provoking essays on music and hifi and strict prohibitions on the use of quotes in advertising. There were ethical standards designed to promote integrity within the field. Look what we have now--pretty pictures, sensational headlines, and useless content. Is it any wonder they "rolled over" for a company whose products are routinely advertised in their pages? As someone mentioned, they give away the magazine to boost their subscription numbers so they can charge more for the ads. The manufacturers pay those inflated ad prices with the understanding that their products will receive positive exposure. It works for everyone--except us. Why do I continue to subscribe? The record reviews and the rare instance when a review will mention a recording I may be interested in buying. Where it took me weeks to get through an issue in the late 1980s now I'm done in an hour. 

I’ve been reading both of these mags for years and not taking them so seriously as to harsh my entertainment mellow. Who cares really? If you need another Magico rave there ya go! The only thing recently that brought me unbridled happiness and glee was when 2 of my own pieces of gear made the Class A designation in Stereophile...a Freya and a Pass XA-25...so I’m TOTALLY in agreement there. Fremer, who if nothing else provides a detailed 156 step guide to azimuth setup requiring microscopes and other bits of lab gear ad nauseum, once gave a rave review to the utterly worthless $200 Synergistic Research "PHT" (phony hyper trash?) turntable accessory aluminum jujubes, and proceeded to never mention using them again. I prefer actual jujubes as at least they’re edible. If your own ears can’t help you choose gear and you wait breathlessly for each A’sound or S’phile issue for guidance...well...that’s OK. Otherwise you can only hope for entertaining reading and some music reviews. Speaking of which, some AS reviewer noted Joni Mitchel’s guitar sounded very different from James Taylor’s on the classic Blue album. Outraged, I sent a message telling them she was primarily playing an Appalachian Dulcimer. Outraged!

For many years now, I've considered The Absolute Sound simply to be a "high end" boutique magazine like the fancy design &  fancy boating - mega yacht publications. They're fun to look at & see what's out there but offer little to no objectivity on what they review even though TAS has made an effort to regularly cover more reasonably priced stuff in recent years. 

How can you truly learn anything useful from a review that doesn't mention what ancillary equipment is being used & never makes any direct comparisons to similarly equipment in design/ build and/ or price?

The only occasional exception is Steven Stone who can be better at that & now seems to primarily focus on "bargain priced" equipment which I think is appreciated by many of us. It's to bad too because I think many of the TAS writers do know a great deal about hi fi & have lots of experience that would be helpful to many of us.