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Audiogon and the Hi-Fi Mags

As a longtime reader of both TAS and Stereophile, I do not recall ever having seen any discussion in either of those magazines about Audiogon and its impact on the two-channel audio business.

To me, Audiogon is by far the biggest story in high-end audio in the last ten years. If it is in fact the case that the two main hi-fi rags have never discussed the advent of Audiogon and its impact on the industry even casually, let alone do an article or feature piece on it, that is curious, especially because both magazines have columns devoted to developments in the hi-fi industry and regularly run feature pieces about industry developments. Not to cast aspersions, but I know that many manufacturers and retailers do not like Audiogon and believe it to have a pernicious affect on the industry (it has created a huge market for used components and on-line sales of new products that suppress sales of new products sold through traditional dealer networks / the counter argument is that Audiogon has greatly expanded the high-end hi-fi market generally, creating much greater knowledge of and demand for new products and after-sales service from all sources), so could it be that they have exerted pressure on the magazines to keep quiet about Audiogon? It is also the case that the hi-fi rags get taken to task a lot in Audiogon threads (sometime fairly and sometimes unfairly, in my opinion), so this may be a reason why we don't hear about Audiogon in the magazines. Lastly, are the mags incompetent and have just missed the story? For whatever its worth, I know that Audiogon has advertised in one (perhaps both) of those magazines.

I let my subscriptions to TAS and Stereophile lapse last year, so perhaps they have treated the subject and I have missed it? If the subject has not been treated, does anyone know whether any B-school has done a case study of Audiogon's affect on the industry? If yes, I'd love to see it.

Perhaps Kal and others associated with the magazines have some insight that they would care to share?

Please temper your comments so this thread does not get pulled.
raquel

Showing 2 responses by kevziek

kevziek
323 posts
 
I think it is pretty amazing that Stereophile collaborated with Audiogon to link Agon's ads to their site. I can't say I understand why Stereophile did it - you would think they would get tremendous backlash from their advertisers, manufacturers and dealers alike.

John Atkinson surprises me in a positive sense at times, and this is one example. I think he is too often accused of dirty handwashing with the manufacturers, when he has more integrity than he is given credit for. This is not to say I always agree with his opinions, but I think he speaks out of genuine belief. Perhaps others will say I am naive.....

In any event, Audiogon has taught me more than the magazines have, and provided me with great opportunities to own, try and sell equipment that I would never have done otherwise. Kudos to Arnie et al. for this site.
kevziek
323 posts
 
Some further thoughts... While I could bitch about the quality & honesty of some reviewers in the magazines, and whether untoward handwashing is going on, the mags do provide useful information about what is happening in the world of audio, i.e. DSD, SACD, etc., etc. Yes, much of this is discussed on A'gon, but it is best to have a primer to the developments, as it makes it much easier to then comprehend and follow what people are saying on sites like this and AA. The news and reporting on Stereophile contains a lot of useful information and definitely keeps one abreast of what is going on. Let's give Stereophile credit for this.
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