Stereophile complains it's readers are too informed.

The measurements will continue under the new editor.

We will take the reviewers like Herb at their word.

And then each of us draws his own conclusions.

I liken it to adult entertainment - don't ask for training wheels, because then you rob yourself of much of the pleasure.

As to those who cite the ASR website and its measurements-above-and-beyond-all-other-criteria credo as a corrective to Stereophile's modus operandi, the sound quality profiles of the gear ASR measures are 1 to 2 sentence afterthoughts... and you think that is a better approach to informing potential buyers of how a particular product might actually SOUND in their systems?

Respectfully, I think not.

rpeluso,
Why should you be remorseful? It's not your fault.

I think I've mentioned this in a post somewhere in the semi-distant past, but I find Stereophile vastly more informative, entertaining and readable than it was several years previously.  Sure, I use the magazine to glean info about the hobby and to get tips on where to next spend my inexhaustible pile of audio-oriented cash (in case you don't get it I'm just kidding here), but I mostly read the mag because I just enjoy it.  I don't  get huffy when an opinion doesn't go my way. ("Ugh!  Those tuttis are too fruity!")  I enjoy a touch of hyperbole.  It adds energy and verve.  The hobby is a playground for folks like me, i.e., folks who just like music.  I'd rather be spending my money here than playing the tables in Vegas.

To revisit audiokinesis' post for a moment...

"1. Up to this point, the model has been tested in one listening room.
(....and likely with the same equipment parameters, cables, source, etc.)

"2. The model doesn’t include variables that account for nonlinear distortion (and to a lesser extent, perceived spatial attributes).
("....we just listened with the same ears and stuff, took notes, and attempted to make specific judgements on what we perceived."...)

"3. The model is limited to the specific types of loudspeakers in our sample of 70."
(...which would all be considered 'vintage' by now....one would hope such has improved, even if repeated with 70 'specific current versions'....)

...and it's generally accepted that no speaker pair in a different room, driven by 'X' equipment and accoutrement', listened to by different ears coupled to a different wetware bias will Ever sound the same.

All Stereophile publishes is a humble opinion that one pays for....or not.

"Seas is the gold standard..."  For you...perhaps shared by others....or not.

Perfection is a myth.  One can pursue it, but like the gold @ rainbows' end, a dream.  Some feel they've attained it, some just revel in the pursuit.

One hopes you enjoy the music that drives your vehicle, be it 'Toyota' or 'Ferrari'.  Otherwise, this begins another forum that spans pages of chatter proving nothing except persistence to no real end.

I'm done, and out.

Have 'fun'....cheers, J

We are kidding ourselves if we think this forum is mainly fact.  Facts are things that proven or else are universally acknowledge to be true by everyone apart from the mad.  Facts are hard to come by.  This forum is about 90% opinion and 10% fact.  Stereophile contains much the same mix, but their measurements are as factual as it gets.  Long may that last!

Four cheers for John Atkinson.  I have followed him since he started on Hi-Fi News & Record Review here in the UK in the early 1970s.  He improved HFNRR and stood out as an innovator with his feet firmly on the ground.  Stereophile is hugely better for his 30something years leadership.  Jim is finding him a hard act to follow.  Jim's editorial stance is quite a bit different from John's even though he says the mag won't change.

Those who question the benefit of measurements should note John's speaker measurements often confirm artifacts that the reviewer had heard (before he saw the measurements).  But sometimes an appararently glaring fault in a speaker is not noticed at all by the listening reviewer.  And that is not always because the reviewer might adore single-ended triode amps and horn speakers.