++++StereoPhile Class A components+++++

You wrote: "I've heard from people in the business that it can cost a lot of money to get a Class "A" rating..... The price was too high for the maufacturer to get a review there, so Sterophile doesn't get that component for review."

Speaking as someone who has, in fact, recommended Class A for some components and not for others, this is an old canard for which no proof has ever been offered.

In so much as people's hearing differs--Their likes and dislikes--Their experience as listners differs--The rest of their equipment and the room--the amount of care in set-up,all differ. I doubt it would that difficult to substitute a class B product, within a given system, and get better sound than it had with the class A product it replaced.

Golden Ears, Kr4 presumably knows you have no proof of your claims because there is none that could be had, and I strongly suspect the same thing. So please tell us: Who exactly "in the industry" has purported to tell you what the going price is to 'buy' a Stereophile "Class A" ranking (something which, in your next sentence, you confuse with 'buying' any review at all)? And if there were such a quid pro quo, and it was so prohibitively exhorbitant as you imply, then how could you explain the proliferation of "Class A"-rated components over the past several years, even during lean times for segments of the industry? Or the occasional "B" or "C" rankings sometimes given to products made by financially healthy companies, who would have every incentive to simply pay up for the higher ranking if that were all it took? There are enough real pitfalls to criticize about the mag reviewing game without having to make up incredible and unsupported stories of massive corruption and blatant fraud. As I've written around here before, if that were all that was wrong with 'professional' reviewing the way it's commonly practiced, then fixing the situation would be a lot simpler than reality tells it to be.

good advertisers=good revues..its true in any industry where advertising is critical for one party and good copy is critical for the other........there is no santa claus....buy with your ears,not someone elses...especially whe its your money being spent,not theirs.

1) In addition to what jrd says, that would be good EXPENSIVE ads for good reviews. (in addition to other things)
2) Oh ya, and I'm not going to mention names, for the same reason that it is whispered in the industry; no one wants to commit suicide or get black-balled and lose their chance at a less expensive, possible Class 'B' or 'C' rating later. That's not a contradiction either. Eventually, even though it may scare the hell out them (and their bank account) a smaller company may well deal with the devil, just to get the attention.
3) The economy didn't hurt the big companies with the deep pockets and the expensive ads who always get great reviews and ratings. (not as much as it hurts the little guys who can't afford the...ahem...marketing)
4) I repeat the first ting I said, lest we get further side-tracked.......just because a really expensive product has a Class 'A' rating, it does not mean it is the best. There are a lot of products out there that sound a lot better for far less money. Buy with your ears, not your eyes!