I am somewhat torn about seeing Jonathan leave Stereophile. I can relate to both sides of the argument being presented here.
Having dealt with him directly via email on a few occasions, i found him to be an easy to talk to individual and someone that truly tried to stay in touch with what was happening in the industry. I think that he truly loves this field and this came through in most of his writing. He might not have been the finest reviewer, but he always tried to at least entertain. That is more than i can say for some of the "dried up" and "talent-less" individuals that have come before him and will follow him.
Then again, who wouldn't be overjoyed to play with ( and potentially keep ) the mega dollar gear that he was given to review ? Herein lies part of my major complaint about Stereophile ( and other "glossies" for that matter ). I think that we've all covered this before, so i won't go there on this specific thread. Either way, i see that others have noticed this, so i'm glad that i'm not alone in those thoughts.
As to the "guts" that it took for him to slag the RGPC piece, keep in mind that Stereophile had been getting MAJOR flack on AA for lack of "responsible journalism" and presenting both sides ( good and bad ) of various products. Since J-10 and JA are known to frequent AA and were reading / responding to those comments, was this merely a ploy to silence the uprising ? Did the RGPC product become a handy scapegoat or was J-10 really that dis-satisfied that he felt the need to warn everyone else about it ??? We may never know.
As to his "fine tunes" column, i always got a kick out of it. It's great to see the industries best selling magazine paying attention to what the little guy has to say and has experienced within the confines of his system. Some of us have to remember that not everone is "on-line", so some material is bound to be re-hashed wherever you go in society. This is true of any hobby or field of individual interest.
As i've tried to make clear, the whole J-10 / Stereophile issue is a two sided coin. Do we dispose of bad at the expense of good ? Does the baby go out with the bath water ? Where does one draw the line or know what is REALLY taking place behind the scenes ?
Either way, i hope that JA can pull things back into perspective. Just as TAS is undergoing plastic surgery, i think that Stereophile may be in the process of changing its' looks also. Whether or not it comes out of this potential "make-over" achieving the benefits of surgery like Raquel Welch or the disastrous results of Michael Jackson remains to be seen. For the sake of the entire industry, i hope that it we can once again call Stereophile "OUR" magazine. Sean
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PS... Even if you don't subscribe to Stereophile for various reasons, i encourage you to check into other magazines. Not only can this help keep you up to date and expose you to different equipment, it shows support for the industry. I recently bit the bullet for a five year subscription to Bound For Sound. While it's not really a "magazine", it is good enough that i want to read it from front to back in one sitting.
Having dealt with him directly via email on a few occasions, i found him to be an easy to talk to individual and someone that truly tried to stay in touch with what was happening in the industry. I think that he truly loves this field and this came through in most of his writing. He might not have been the finest reviewer, but he always tried to at least entertain. That is more than i can say for some of the "dried up" and "talent-less" individuals that have come before him and will follow him.
Then again, who wouldn't be overjoyed to play with ( and potentially keep ) the mega dollar gear that he was given to review ? Herein lies part of my major complaint about Stereophile ( and other "glossies" for that matter ). I think that we've all covered this before, so i won't go there on this specific thread. Either way, i see that others have noticed this, so i'm glad that i'm not alone in those thoughts.
As to the "guts" that it took for him to slag the RGPC piece, keep in mind that Stereophile had been getting MAJOR flack on AA for lack of "responsible journalism" and presenting both sides ( good and bad ) of various products. Since J-10 and JA are known to frequent AA and were reading / responding to those comments, was this merely a ploy to silence the uprising ? Did the RGPC product become a handy scapegoat or was J-10 really that dis-satisfied that he felt the need to warn everyone else about it ??? We may never know.
As to his "fine tunes" column, i always got a kick out of it. It's great to see the industries best selling magazine paying attention to what the little guy has to say and has experienced within the confines of his system. Some of us have to remember that not everone is "on-line", so some material is bound to be re-hashed wherever you go in society. This is true of any hobby or field of individual interest.
As i've tried to make clear, the whole J-10 / Stereophile issue is a two sided coin. Do we dispose of bad at the expense of good ? Does the baby go out with the bath water ? Where does one draw the line or know what is REALLY taking place behind the scenes ?
Either way, i hope that JA can pull things back into perspective. Just as TAS is undergoing plastic surgery, i think that Stereophile may be in the process of changing its' looks also. Whether or not it comes out of this potential "make-over" achieving the benefits of surgery like Raquel Welch or the disastrous results of Michael Jackson remains to be seen. For the sake of the entire industry, i hope that it we can once again call Stereophile "OUR" magazine. Sean
>
PS... Even if you don't subscribe to Stereophile for various reasons, i encourage you to check into other magazines. Not only can this help keep you up to date and expose you to different equipment, it shows support for the industry. I recently bit the bullet for a five year subscription to Bound For Sound. While it's not really a "magazine", it is good enough that i want to read it from front to back in one sitting.