Why aren't these on the "recommended list?"

I must admit that the few reviews in Stereophile have bothered me for a while. However, I want to play devil's advocate.

A Defense of Stereophile

A line must be drawn by anyone doing the reviewing of almost anything. Magazines (that review products) make these decisions all of the time. No audio magazine reviews ALL audio products made. Some review more than Stereophile, some review less than Stereophile. Where should Stereophile draw the line on products it should review? It seems that there are people that post here that think Steereophile is baised about the products they choose to review. This may be true; however, all magazines show some bias. Always remember that audio magazines are there to sell audio. They are paid by advertisements put by audio manufacturers and retailers. Stereophile may only write mainly positive reviews now but of fewer total products (than they used to). This I beleive is to avoid giving out too much negative press. Stereophile has a lot of power in the hi end audio world. Their reviews can make or break a product and even some companies. It is not good for them or their industry for them to write too many negative reviews. thus, they only review stuff that they are initially very impressed with. Stereophile may not admit this, but it has to be true to a point.

Now Stereophile's Recommended Components is a list of products that they RECOMMEND. They only rank them LOOSELY into Class A+, A, B, C, D, & E. These rankings can be considered merely GUIDELINES. All Class A componennts are not equal in a system as are any of their recommended components. Frankly, it boggles me at how they come up with the classes. For example, they raved about the Polk bookshelf speaker 2 months ago. They said it was close to the Alon Petite (Class B). Where did they rate the Polk? Class D or E (I forget off the top of my head). Also, how did the Maggie 1.6 get in Class B full range? I would never consider the Maggie 1.6 a full range speaker. I could go on... but this is a defence and not an assault.

Because this is only a RECOMMENDED list, it is to be taken with a grain of salt. READ: Audition the component you want in your own system before making a decision. This is an important concept that Stereophile STRESSES. I have heard a system that was composed of ALL STEREOPHILE CLASS A COMPONENTS and it sounded BAD. Unfortunately, this was my own system at one time. Swapping out a single component (amplification) in my system made my system sound AMAZING again.

Stereophile is a decent magazine that recommends products the reviewers think are good. They might not review that many products, but at least they do a decent job of reviewing what they consider good. They also stress that careful component selection is critical in most high end audio systems.

Do not read any audio mag as gosphel. Take each review with a grain of salt. And do not be mad if a magazine does not review your gear. You should not need other's approval to know that you have good sound.

Trust your own ears.

See more live (unamplified if poeeible) music and educate your own ears.

Peace.

Keith

The reality is..despite its many faults and shortcomings, the Stereophile list is helpful to audiophiles like me who have nil access to a decent high end shop where we may listen for ourselves, and get to hear good stuff that doesn make the list. I will admit that I use Stereophile and the Absolute Sound as starting points when I consider a new componet purchase. I must also admitt that, in general, I have not been disappointed (although my amps ain't on either list..but still sound gret in my system, and replaced a pair of Bryston 7BST's which ARE on the list!). For folks like me who cannot listen in a properly controlled environment (let a alone at home!), the infamous lists (and sites like Audiogon and Audioasylum) are a good starting point to guide our purchases. This does not mean I'm not pissed off when my ex Class A, pricey monitors drop off the list 'cause none of the reviewers bought them and therefore they "haven't been auditioned in a long time"..but what are you gonna do???!

Great job Kelly!!! Many REAL companies aren't "political" enough for a mention in a magazine, yet are worlds better than most Class A components. For example; Jadis, Avalon, Tube Research, Majico, FIM Cables, etc.

Most audiophiles that are really into the hobby don't use the Stereophile recommended list, do they? Everyone that I have known throughout the years has heard about exceptional products through valued audio grapevines; guys like you, Kelly and Albert Porter.

I believe that audiophiles severely limit themselves if they live by any recommended component list, regardless of the name on the magazine.

Stereophile is the "big dog" and as such it's a magnet for criticsm. Some of the negative comments are well deserved, but frankly I'm somewhat taken back by the emotionalism of some of the above posts. I come to praise the RC list for both its usefulness and entertainment value. I know of no better resource for a list of good sounding components. Stereophile is intended to be informative and entertaining and most issues easily accomplish both. The RC list is a clever marketing tool, just don't take it too seriously.