Rank Stereophile, & why no Von Schweikert reviews

One could argue that the "take no quarter, give no quarter" business philosophy is THE best to adhere by, and I certainly understand the viewpoint.

However, we live in the real world. And, as we all know, it's far from perfect.

Further, there is a "right" way to conduct yourself, and I admit THAT is a most subjective thing. One of the first rules of business is to not alienate your customer (unless, of course, it actually improves business - like talk radio). It would be a "nice" thing to do for someone like JA to stop by, and at least meet someone who is taking out that ad space in your magazine. That's how I would run my business, I'd make it a point to visit my advertisers AND all of the other room. I realize reality gets in the way, and there are time limitations, but something could always be worked out.

I hope no one begrudges Larry trying to make a profit in this business. We need more folks like him in the audio world. Just look at his more than generous upgrade offer in that 3rd cover of Stereophile.

In my own selfish way, I want Larry AND Stereophile to do well, as the hobby in general benefits most of us by being a healthy industry. In my own admittedly utopian view, Larry advertises in Stereophile, sells product, continues to advertise, Stereophile can grow, other companies are able to advertise as more and more people are buying audio, they sell, they continue to advertise, and on and on. And, somewhere in that mix, the magazine pays a visit to the CES rooms.

Again, I'm leaving myself open here, and certainly welcome differing and divergent opinions, with the hope that someone also appreciates mine, warts and all.

And, here's hoping Kal gets to review a VPI or that new Marantz TT in 2006, though I probably need to write to Stereophile for that...

I stopped reading Stereophile years ago...always the same equipment and stratospheric priced rigs being touted...you'd do better to advertize in Audio Asylum or Audiogon IMHO
Larry

They review the same manufacturers over and over. VS speakers have been reviewed by many other rags, and they have had stellar reviews. Don't you think that would get Stereophile's attention? There is clearly a hidden motive why they would ignore them all these years. It makes me wonder how many other brands they ignore that are better than their "good old boys" manufacturers’ equipment.

Maybe they feel that VS would give their favorite manufacturers some serious competition at a much lower price?!?

Credibility goes out the window, and so does Stereophile.

They are good at herding sheep, talking politics, and turning their nose up but that’s about it.

Disclaimer: That’s my opinion based on the facts that I’ve seen. I could be wrong and often am.

I agree. The only way to knock a smug, sanctimonious magazine off its high horse is to cut off its revenue stream. Just watch how quickly they get humble once their advertisers wise up and stop feeding the beast.
Just look at who reads this stuff. Of the population that reads Stereophile, the best demographic, us, is reachable without paying their preposterous price by simply reaching out to the Audiogoners.

Of the population that reads Stereophile, the best demographic, us, is reachable without paying their preposterous price by simply reaching out to the Audiogoners.

As successfull as Audiogon is (it's also a partner with Stereophile now, by the way), I think "we" are only a very small part of the demographic that Larry may wish to reach. There's a whole other world out there who use and appreciate this kind of gear and do not visit Audiogon and do not read Stereophile. Best strategy is to pepper all the venues, as the previous owner was doing very effectively, and keep that buzz going (though I do think the original owner went a bit far in his efforts as all the deleted threads may have attested to). Regardless, I think his campaign was very effective. Larry, I truly mean no offense by this, but the current full-page ad you've been running with the Photoshop-obscured view of one of your amps....well, from both a consumers point of view, and from someone been in the advertising business for over twenty years, that really needs some reconsideration. I have no idea what you are trying to do there, but it almost looks like someone accidently ran the comp for the ad. Those full pages have to cost you a goodly amount of coin...I'd invest in some better photography and graphic design to make that investment work for you more effectively. Just one man's unsolicited opinion mind you. The previous owner was running some very slick ads, well designed, with excellent photography, that made the product appear to be worth much more than he was charging for it. The current ads I'm seeing do not draw me in to read more about the product, and do not speak at all visually of the product itself. If your ad doesn't make the reader stop and read about the product, it's a wasted investment. Anyone else finding that with the current run of Larry's ads? Maybe it's just me as I am a very visual person and put a strong emphasis on the visual, especially in this 5-second attention span culture we live in.

Marco