TAS new look-the end is near?

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.

As long as I can subscribe for a buck an issue, I'll read them all, whatever direction they take. Pure entertainment, very little buying guidance for me.

It's not HP's attitude or ego that get to me, it's his ridiculous writing style that gets me boiling. He clearly knows a lot, clearly has a gigantic ego, etc. etc., but that just all comes with the package a lot of times - he's definitely pushed the "art" forward in interesting ways. But he fancies himself some fabulous writer which ends up yielding a verbosity that can become unbearable. Never say something in 10 words if you can find a way to use 50 seems to be his motto.

The only time his attitude really gets to me is when he tries to convey how much "work" it is to get all this bazillion $$$ equipment to sound right. He doesn't exactly sound joyous about any of it.

Still, the audio world is a better place with TAS in it - past, present or future form. As I said, I'll gladly read it (and other mags) if they're only a buck an issue. -Kirk

When you have been in this thing as long as HP its like anything else that was once a love and passion - it becomes a job. It's still a passion but just how excited and what can you say about something like an amplifier that you haven't already said a thousand times about the latest amplifier.

TAS is still the best mag overall IMO, and has been so through its many, many ups and downs, notwithstanding some still competition from Fi, aeons ago. I have every issue of TAS (as well as Fi, Sounds Like... - anybody remember Jeff Goggins foray into publishing? Where is HE now? - Audio Adventure, TAV, etc.), and most of S'phile -- and TAS remains a reference, frequently pulled out and consulted, each re-read providing new insights previously missed, while S''phile and all the rest stay on the shelf for the most part, quick snacks compared to TAS' feasts. I agree that one of the truly annoying things about TAS is/was the never-ending parade of dropped hints: "Oh, what we COULD tell you if we really wanted!" Hints about backstage controversies, promises of revelations about un-named wonderous products that never appeared and future updates that never made it into print...there was a lack of continuity, even over series of issues, and the reasons for these lacunae were rarely stated. BUT HP's writing has always been a draw for me; he obviously delights in words as much as he does music, and I'm happy that he's been able to share so much of his passions while still remaining a very private person. Can we really imagine what it's like to BE HP? Waking in the morning and patting the latest amp du jour on the way to brush his teeth? Having a video system that makes the cineplex obsolete? Multiple systems, all of them arguably SOTA, with a set-uptron to take care of the tedious details like cleaning connectors and aligning cartridges? Envious? Ubetcha!!! :-)

I wonder what behind-the-scenes machinations (if any -- I'd not like to posit a coup where none exists) led to Harley's elevation? Did HP get kicked upstairs, as it were, willingly? What would (will) a post-HP TAS look like? Harley should have a chance -- but at the outset, I have to say that I have never gotten the sense that RH has a guiding vision a la HP or JGH, that he's a dryish technocrat and not an inspired, passionate leader. Well, no one really thought GWB was a leader either, so who knows? But the chances of our ever knowing the true story are dim.... It's like a family argument about which we are kept in the dark, like children -- although WE are part of the family too!