TAS new look-the end is near?

Having read this month's issue, I hope TAS can stay afloat. They have far more equipment reviews and, of more interest to me, record reviews than Stereophile (my biggest disappointment with S-phile, they used to have a lot of record reviews, now they look like the late Audio in that area), and pretty good quality people writing for them. Circulation numbers and advertisers, though, will have to increase for them to stay alive, no matter how good the content. The Incredible Shrinking Stereophile is purely a factor of advertising pages, as Atkinson has made clear in prior issues.

I recognize all the anti-HP sentiment expressed above, as I used to really feel that way too. Then I started reading some of the earlier issues and getting a flavor for the fact that this really was his journal as he learned about the equipment, and it made his writing a lot more palatable to me. His articles still could get me boiling at times, as could his style, as I think he came off appearing as knowing more than he really did. But you know, even when I might think he or one of the TAS writers was a pompous you-know-what, I would still be stimulated by what was said to read it thoroughly, and give some additional thought to how I was listening, what I was listening for and what to listen to. Never really got that feeling about many of the recent Stereophile writings. I will genuinely miss that, if it comes to pass.

At least the last issue of AudioXpress was good.

Sincerely, I remain

Good points, rcprince, I'll try to be more tolerant. I really do not like the man's supercilious attitude, as though he, and he alone, had ears. That being said, TAS is the only current mag that I find myself reading through from kivver to kivver. Stereophile is good for about an hour whereas TAS lasts me a whole Sunday afternoon.

One of the most entertaining things about TAS was the attitude, the snobbery and the inane feud with Stereophile. The way they took themselves so seriously was part of the attraction for me. Im not saying that it was correct, just that it was more fun. Anyone who make choices and opinions based only on a rags recommendations needs aroma therapy. I understand that to stay alive they might have to appeal to a broader audience, Im just saying its a little sad.

Blkadr, I used to love that too, the snobbery and the exquisite rudeness, besides, lest we forget, HP not only taught the most of us what to listen for, he also gave us a language to express it in and Bishopwill, his superciliousness at least was brought across with embullient verbosity and caustic wit. Its a shame, the man's been Dell-ified and tamed.