TAS. The Absolute Sound?

@jhnnrrs 

TAS and Stereophile, as well as many of the online only review sites have reduced themselves to audiophile porn.  Highlighting that which is only attainable by a wealthy few, leaving those of us for whom it is unattainable drooling

I can't speak for TAS, which I don't follow closely, but as for Stereophile, you might be overstating this just a bit.

In the last few years, Stereophile has reviewed the Apple AirPods Pro II, SVS' Prime Pro II speakers, the Naim Muso 2 wireless, the LSA VT-70 integrated amp, Topping's Pre90 preamp, several Schiit components (I recall the Aegir and the Freya +), the Cambridge Audio CXA81, and much more.

Are these "attainable only by a wealthy few"? Nah. Most products I just mentioned are a thousand dollars or less. The AirPods are $249!

The reviews of hyper-expensive audio products probably receive the most online buzz, but I don't think that's something Stereophile controls.

TAS was HP … 

There is nothing wrong with a 6K power cord. I hope he has recovered from this "calling out". 

@jbmac75  "The Absolute Sound, Stereophile, and HiFi+ are outstanding sources of information and comparisons."  Yes...how does this $50,000 amp compare to that $60,000 amp.  Very helpful to many of us.  How many times have they reviewed a sub $5000 piece and said "it's good for the money"?  As if to say "Well, if THAT's all you can spend...".  I read TAS, Stereophile, The Sensible Sound, and many others back when they were irregularly published 9" booklets.  Once they started taking ads it was the start of a long slide down into shilldom.

@ghdprentice . Agreed 👍🏻