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PUBLISHER’S LETTER
BLISS AND JOY
Meet us at 483 & 485
Somehow we always manage to have
a few crabby readers who don’t
understand why we cover expensive
audio gear and not enough “gear
that they can afford.” This question
has caused more than one sleepless
night since we started this magazine
and is why we have had a specific
column for entry-level gear (which we label 995, both
to signify products under a thousand dollars and
because some cultures see the word “budget” as
having a negative connotation) since day one.
We’ve done the same with our “Old School”
column for the same reason – actually three reasons.
First, newcomers to the world of audio equipment
might not know that Audio Research or McIntosh
have been around for 40-plus years, and it’s nice to
see a company’s history when you’re spending your
hard-earned money. Second, as Audio Research’s
Dave Gordon once said to me, “A well cared for preowned
piece of ARC gear is sometimes the best
entry to our brand.” And finally, for those of us who
have been audio enthusiasts for a long time, it’s a lot
of fun to reminisce about past things we’ve owned.
Just like it is with a vintage car, camera, watch or
motorcycle, it’s a lot of fun to remember your audio
journey.
There is one trend that I do find alarming though,
and that’s a reverse snobbery that I see pervading a
number of audio forums, reflected by CNET’s Steve
Guttenberg, who feebly attempted to take me to task
for not reviewing enough cheap and cheerful gear.
Just because something is cheap, it isn’t necessarily
a stellar value—and just because something is
unaffordable, it isn’t automatically a bad value or a
bad product.
We have made it a point to review inexpensive
and easily attainable gear because everyone has
to start somewhere. If your first experience is bad,
you may turn your back on audio for good, which
is why I’ve always found it important to find and
review reasonably priced gear that offers fantastic
performance for the price asked. One need look
no further than the Vandersteen 1Ci speakers we
reviewed last issue, the Rega Brio-R, the Lounge
phonostage, etc., etc.
However, the gear at the top is equally
important. Even if you can’t afford a dCS Vivaldi,
there are a number of people who can. I’ve visited
the dCS factory a few times in the last few years
now, and the shipping bay is always stacked to
the ceiling with boxes on their way to various
destinations all over the world, so someone is
buying this stuff.
The person whose journey has taken him or
her to gear like this (you’d be surprised how many
people I’ve met with modest incomes that have
amazing hifi systems, because they are obsessed)
truly wants to know how these products perform in
an ultimate sense, and how they compare to likepriced
products. We take reviewing products at
every price point equally seriously, because if that’s
what you can afford to spend your hard-earned
cash on, you have a right to know the story. And last
but not least, someone has to buy this stuff new,
so it will eventually make its way to the secondary
market. On one level, those of us buying gently
pre-owned owe a debt of gratitude to the mega
enthusiasts taking the depreciation hit. Hmmm.
10 TONE AUDIO NO.66
October 2014 11