Stereophile looses Jonathan Scull

I second Zaikesman's words as follows: "He deserves credit for communicating his obvious love
of music and audio, for trying to entertain, for employing
diverse styles of music in his auditioning, and for never
taking himself seriously - despite his predilections for big
bucks and purple prose."

There is no one else besides Stereophile; no print magazine, no online magazine, not even audiogon, that expresses so well the pure love, lust and excitment for the best equipment money and ingenuity can create (well, except maybe Valin over at TAS).

Too bad, what the heck is Jonathan going to do? God forbid he have to actually purchase equipment like the rest of us! Maybe he'll have to go back to double malt scotch or what! move from the fricken loft!

I find him the most pompous of the group, maybe a simple review without the reference to his deep knowledge (sarcastic) of the arts, architecture, literature and the rest would make him a bit more palatable. I find his "utopia" not his Utopias to be a bit more than sterile and edgy, I think the first thing he should be required to do before he writes again is have a full hearing examination to see if he actually has any nerve ends that respond above 15,000 Hz.

O.K. I've been harsh, but the man dug his hole with me, and I for one hope he comes down from his loft a bit in the future. J-10, give me a break!

His Tweaks used to be a real highlight, but the past year or so all he's done is rewritten letters and web postings. I've learned far more from Audiogon and Audio Asylum for free than dear J-10 will ever know.

As for Stereophile, well they just cut there poster child so I guess the future is easier to see now. I have been hoping for my subscription to run out ever since they cut the context in half and doubles the advertising. To bad for me I bought the three year deal. The Absolute Sound has proven again to be the only true audiophile publication. I can only prey they think long and hard before they consider adding Mr. Skull to their writing staff.

As for the real world, keep up the great site Audiogon!

J.D.

I never liked Jonathan Scull. Others in this thread have provided criticisms of him, most of which I agree with. He is a pompous, spoiled individual, whose pretentious reviews were both sickening and of very poor quality. I didn't feel he was truly serving the readers; rather, he was ass-kissing the manufacturers who provided him with a constant flow of their expensive toys.

I found his prose to be boring, tedious, overwrought, and generally vacuous. He was very careful to avoid making hard comparisons between competing products. It always boiled down to a "matter of flavors" with him. He eschewed negative commentary of any piece, and was careful to minimize the sonic flaws. Further, I think his powers of discernment were limited, as is the case with many so-called professional reviewers.

Stereophile has gone so far downhill, and has so many mediocre reviewers, that it really doesn't matter either way in the end.

I'm definitly not lamenting over the loss.This guy keeps or one would say permantly borrow all the equipment he reviews.If he was like Consumer Reports i would feel that he would be more objective,but when one of the big audio companies throws a bone(ultra expensive} for nothing I would gloat and rave about how good it sound even though it sounds like crap.Just my 2 bits.

All great comments. I have really enjoyed this thread, but "Wow" you guys take this all too seriously. I am into this because it is fun.
I say more power to J10 for being able to live a pampered life, with a great wife, and lots of good food and wine, and get a ton of great stereo equipment in the process. I would think it is a lifestyle that a lot of us could aspire to.
I will have to agree that a lot of recent Stereophile reviews do sometimes lack some substance, but overall, I still enjoy seeing the magazine in the mailbox.
I read Stereophile for entertainment. You want great reviews on equipment, from real world people, just start a thread right here on good ol' Audiogon. All the great equipment that I now own, I got right here. Best place in the world to shop.
Everything has its place. Just my two cents worth.
Thanks Audiogon!
Mike