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Audiophile TT article in Forbes

I am going to try one more time with this tread because I believe the Audiogon Moderator is flagging this because of the naming of a name. In the latest Forbes special issue there is a nice article about the resurrection of vinyl and Audiophile grade TT. The article shows some nice pictures of high end grade TT with there tone arms and statements from VPI owner claiming every time he wakes up he pinches himself to think in a digital age sales are up steadily. But the big eye opener was that very well known vinyl and turntable guru from a major audio magazine is purchasing a one hundred grand table and tone arm combo Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn turntable & Cobra tonearm
for much less than retail what is much less the article never states but I would guess to venture half off listed which if my math is good would be fifty grand total. Now I don't really have a problem with this but in the article the writer states he the well known guru reviewer is also going to write off the purchase as a business deduction? I am not a CPA or a tax attorney but I would guess that this would raise a red flag at the local/federal tax office as being a LUXURY item. Can you honestly think that standing in tax court a judge wouldn't ask you do they really make a 100 grand turntable and why do you need this piece of gear just to listen and review a record or even having to compare it to the competition.
schipo
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
>>great guy and he pushes vinyl<<

Pushes vinyl is correct. Few champion vinyl as well; no argument.

Great guy? Read his letters to Arthur Salvatore and say that with a straight face. No one doubts Mikey's commitment to vinyl and the associated acumen.

However, the letters speak volumes about the man himself who in fact is quite different from the Stereophile contributor.
raquel
841 posts
 
If you google "Forbes" and "Fremer" and "VPI" and "vinyl", the link to the article comes up first (moderators often don't like links, which may be why no post has mentioned the link, so I'll try it this way).

I prefer to focus on the article, which is fairly accurate as mainstream press articles about audiophilia go. It does get some things wrong, however. For example, "heavy PLATTERS of virgin vinyl" (emphasis added)?? The article wrongly suggests that purchasing a high-end turntable also gets you an arm and a cartridge (the best of which are made from "titanium", which is wrong if one believes that there is rarely a "best", just "different"). It fails to mention that an analog rig necessarily includes a phono stage. Given the author's goal of pointing out the great cost of high-end analog, the article would have been better had the considerable potential cost of these additional items been mentioned.

I do not believe for a minute that Singer sold only one turntable five years ago (that is wrong).

The NY Times published a very so-so article about tube amps four or five years ago (Singer was mentioned therein as well).

Let's stop writing about the tax/legal issues of others (... a sure-fire way to get this thread shut down).
chadnliz
3,736 posts
 
Fremer was always kind and helpful trading emails and was kind in person so I have no reason to dis him.
balekan
20 posts
 
wow........listen, I could care less about Michael's purchase decisions or what he may or may not have paid. Those are his choices to make as we all have in life. As long as a reviewer can keep his or her perspective in the bigger reviewing picture then we can hope for, and look forward to the straight scoop in reviews. I know this is an idealistic point of view, but life is too short to be looking at the glass as half empty. Of course every reviewer has their own bias, it is human nature. I myself am just very happy that we have those in the public eye with alot of potential exposure as Michael Fremer and Steve Hoffman, just to name a couple, to continue championing the cause for vinyl playback!
willster
66 posts
 
Hodu said "The Forbes articles says that Sound by Singer sold 50 turntables last year, but just one five years ago."

Isn't "Sound by Singer" that guy that's so stuck on himself that he puts his picture on every ad he creates? Or is that somebody else?
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