Audiphile Press: Am I jaded, experienced, or has it declined?

As some other have said, I really enjoyed Stereophile back in the day. I drifted away from audio as a hobby for a few years but after retirement, I seriously got back in. Initially I subscribed to The Absolute Sound. It seemed they reviewed mostly very expensive gear and I rarely read the reviews but instead looked at what  the gear was selling for. I let me subscription to Absolute Sound go and went with Stereophile. I only glance through each edition and rarely read any reviews. They also tend to review high dollar gear. Not sure I will renew my subscription with them. 

I should have added that since I am throughly pleased with my current system, I am not looking for new gear. The last thing I changed was my turntable about a year ago. At 74, I can probably enjoy what I have for the rest of my like. Without going into specifics, it is mostly McIntosh with a VPI turntable. I am not into streaming.

@ozzy - that is because those publications only will review equipment that is sold in brick and motor businesses.  They cannot risk to have a small manufacturer who may not stay in business not matter the sound.  We don't sell that way so we are limited by publications, even though our stuff our performs almost all of those manufacturers.  But we are not complaining.  I remember a well known reviewer telling me, hey can you make 30-50 of these? I said, sure in a year!  He said to me, well you have to be able to after I reviewed your product.

The overseas market has a lot to offer.  Many speaker manufacturer has tried to penetrate the US market.  Hard to find a distributor to take on a product line plus there is the repair issue.  Look how many dealerships there are today from when you first started reading those magazines.  Less by the minute.  Everyone we approached to have their wears in our listening room always asks if we want to become a dealer.  So what is the cost?  About $50,000 minimum to get to become a sealer for a product line like cables.

Happy Listening to you all.

Whole heartedly agree that Art Dudley is sorely missed! Beyond his obvious knowledge of equipment & audio reproduction, he was a great writer who probably could have made almost any subject fun & interesting with his unique, simple observational style of humor. 
 

I do enjoy Jim Austin, the relatively new editor of Stereophile who has a lot of experience in the industry & is also a good writer. I also appreciate Steven Stone at The Absolute Sound for his clear, informative reviews of unique, almost bargain priced equipment. John Atkinson’s “ Jack Webb - Just the Facts Mam” approach is always welcome as are his pretty thorough measurements as opposed to the reviews of lofty stuff in the Absolute Sound that often feel more like a novel about life w/ hifi on the French Riviera than a review. 
 

I still read most of it & enjoy it because I love listening to good music through a good system. 

It's certainly true that the mags are less relevant to audiophile life than they once were.  The reviewers sometimes have useful insights into how to use a product, or its limitations, that I might not have figured out myself.

   I like the ads! Pretty pictures!

   I don't know anyone who would even dream of buying a $200,000 pair of speakers or amps - or even a $20K pair - except, ahem, me.