Michael Fremer leaves Analog Planet

@dogberry: Yep, Harvey Rosenberg was the most interesting, entertaining guy in the entire history of hi-fi. I met him at SoCal retailer Havens & Hardesty, where he did an in-store to introduce his New York Audio Labs Super It phono stage.

Harvey was a well-known Decca pickup fanatic and expert, whom I subsequently wrote for advice concerning the subtleties of optimizing that design’s very finicky nature. He actually called information to obtain my phone number, and called me in SoCal from New York! We also shared a love of the QUAD ESL and OTL amps (Harvey is best known for buying the rights to the Futterman OTL and re-engineering it), but in his last years became a proponent of horn loudspeakers and single-ended triode amps.

Agreed @larsman. And even if I don't have the dough for a $10,000 cartridge (though I do have a $5,000 one ;-), $50,000 tone arm, $150,000 turntable, or $200,000 pair of loudspeakers, I do enjoy reading about them. I didn't intend my use of the term "academic" to be taken pejoratively! And beside, Fremer also finds and reviews best value phono products, like the Liberty B2B-1.

I find TAS to be focused almost entirely on "ultra"-priced hi-fi, but once on a while am surprised. I like Robert E. Greene's writing (he did a great review of the bargain-priced Eminent Technology LFT-8b loudspeaker), and Dick Olsher is one of my all-time favorite hi-fi reviewers (he is very much in the JGH camp).  

Fremer's reviews are for the most part academic; who can afford the products he focuses on?! But he also keeps those interested in LP's abreast of developments in the art and science of phono-related products, some of them even affordable. From Fremer I have learned of many products no one else has brought to my attention, including LP maintenance products and tone arm & turntable accessories. And then there is all his writings on the subject of cartridge design, impedance loading, and cartridge alignment, azimuth, SRA, etc. matters. There is none of us who can't be faulted in one way or another, but geez, give credit where credit is due.

Fremer has a massive record collection, and has been instrumental in getting some long out-of-print and very expensive LP's repressed. Chad Kassem of Analogue Productions has a close relationship with Mike, as do some turntable/tonearm/cartridge designers and manufacturers (beginning with Harry Weisfeld of VPI).

Fremer's departure from Stereophile may be a fatal one for the old girl, I fear (of course, I thought the same when J. Gordon Hold and Dick Olsher left ;-). I hope his new endeavors prove sustainable. Wouldn't it be great if he put The Tracking Angle back into print production?! 

@teo_audio: Without Art Dudley, Stereophile is barely worth reading (I have a complete collection of his Listener magazine). I stick around for John Atkinson's amplifier and loudspeaker measurements.

When Fremer was originally with TAS, he never missed an opportunity to badmouth Stereophile. Wonder if he'll repeat himself.