HP- Why I Quit the Absolute Sound or: Path to Personal Revelation

[Bill Hart]

Audio reviewers are not journalists. They are columnists. They provide product awareness and entertainment. Period.

Andre- I'm not sniping at you personally- i appreciate your candor- but that's disappointing. (Fremer said much the same thing in an Audiogon thread a few months ago when some guy went off the rails about his negative review of a piece of gear and labelled what he does as 'informed entertainment,' as I recall).
The distinction you are making between journalism and columnist is, I assume, the difference between reporting 'facts' and providing opinions. I think reviewing should be both.

 

[Andre Marc]

It is why for the few last years 95% of my audio magazines were bought at railway stations or airports.
Did they influence my buying decisions? Not any more.

Interestingly, despite being strictly entertainment in my opinion, audio reviewers seem to have the ability to get
droves of hobbyist's panties in a bunch.

 

[Andre Marc]

Andre- I'm not sniping at you personally- i appreciate your candor- but that's disappointing. (Fremer said much the same thing in an Audiogon thread a few months ago when some guy went off the rails about his negative review of a piece of gear and labelled what he does as 'informed entertainment,' as I recall).
The distinction you are making between journalism and columnist is, I assume, the difference between reporting 'facts' and providing opinions. I think reviewing should be both.

Hey Bill.

Yes, that is kind of what I meant actually. Audio reviewing does not have any of the traditional hallmarks of journalism..including investigative reporting, independent fact checking, and no audio writer I know has a degree in journalism (Except HP).

We provide opinions. However, you make a VERY valid point. There should be a mix of fact and opinion. There have been more than a few reviewers who have gotten into a bit of hot water in cyberspace for not fact checking manufacturer claims.

Actually Fremer ran into this when he reviewed the Tara Labs cable. He repeated the manufacturers claim that there was a virtual "vacuum" inside the cable. When a reader, who was a scientist replied that this was untrue and provided the numbers to prove it, Streophile admitted the claim was dicey.

 

[Andre Marc]

Andre- I'm not sniping at you personally- i appreciate your candor- but that's disappointing. (Fremer said much the same thing in an Audiogon thread a few months ago when some guy went off the rails about his negative review of a piece of gear and labelled what he does as 'informed entertainment,' as I recall).
The distinction you are making between journalism and columnist is, I assume, the difference between reporting 'facts' and providing opinions. I think reviewing should be both.

An additionally, I believe audio reviewers have a responsibility to readers to do due diligence, act ethically on all fronts, and to also maintain a degree of distance from manufacturers. The last is a difficult topic.

 

[mep]

Hey Bill.

Yes, that is kind of what I meant actually. Audio reviewing does not have any of the traditional hallmarks of journalism..including investigative reporting, independent fact checking, and most of all, no audio writer I know has a degree in journalism.

HP does.

 

[Andre Marc]

HP does.

Correct. He was a reporter for a newspaper. He actually did do expose' pieces and investigative reports.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

HP certainly desires long-term loan of gear from manufacturers, even since he left Absolute Sound.

recently he stated he wanted to use the Tech Das tt for an extended period, not just the 6 weeks he had it. what's the difference as to why a manufacturer has leverage over a reviewer, the issue is whether they do or not.

advertising, long term loans, industry accomodations or simply relationships.....all are influential to what is written, and how it's expressed. always has, always will. it's not scientific method after all.

and HP is tilting at windmills.

the lesson is that reviews are entertainment, with some information thrown in.

 

[MylesBAstor]

HP does.

J. Gordon Holt, Ken Kessler, Jacob Heilbrun and Garrett Hongo come to mind immediately. Heilbrun is in fact an award winning writer and journalist. IIRC Art Dudley is an English teacher.

And then there are those writers with scientific backgrounds that are used to writing research papers.

 

[mep]

HP certainly desires long-term loan of gear from manufacturers, even since he left Absolute Sound.

recently he stated he wanted to use the Tech Das tt for an extended period, not just the 6 weeks he had it. what's the difference as to why a manufacturer has leverage over a reviewer, the issue is whether they do or not.

advertising, long term loans, or simply relationships.....all are influential to what is written, and how it's expressed. always has, always will. it's not scientific method after all.

and HP is tilting at windmills.

the lesson is that reviews are entertainment, with some information thrown in.

I disagree. HP has always desired long term loans of gear. How many years did he have a pair of IRS speakers as his main reference? And I think there is something to be said about long term stability of a reference system at the highest level of our hobby. How can you possibly judge other gear against a reference if your reference is constantly changing? Does anyone really want to argue that the reviews that TAS did in their glory days are now surpassed by today's crop of reviewers? I certainly don't.

 

[rbbert]

Garrett's degrees aren't in journalism, they are in East Asian studies and literature. It's true that he has had more original writing published as books than most journalists.

 

[Angela]

I just got this in my Facebook feed from HPsoundings and came here to see if it had been posted. OF COURSE it had been. I am almost 12 HOURS LATE on this story. GEEZ

Sadly, gone are the days of J. Gordon Holt (and the original Stereophile) from most magazines and how they decide to review products. There is a lot of snake oil out there and many audiophiles do not know who to believe anymore. Personally, I think that is doing great damage to the industry.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

I disagree. HP has always desired long term loans of gear. How many years did he have a pair of IRS speakers as his main reference? And I think there is something to be said about long term stability of a reference system at the highest level of our hobby. How can you possibly judge other gear against a reference if your reference is constantly changing? Does anyone really want to argue that the reviews that TAS did in their glory days are now surpassed by today's crop of reviewers? I certainly don't.

you missed my point. which was that HP is wrong to be pointing fingers at others. he borrows gear long term and is then obligated to deliver value for value. no different than advertising......only that instead of ad dollars it's the value of the long term loaned gear which has influence.

if he wants 'cover' from influence and the right to cast negative comments then he needs to own his own long term reference gear. it is important for a reviewer to have references, but if someone loaned it then it comes with 'pre-conditions' and that affects the reviews. i'm not suggesting 'pre-conditions' are formal, or even spoken about. but they exist non-the-less.

i'm not saying i personally have a problem with advertising, or long term loans, or any of it.......simply because i don't place undo value on what is being written. it's entertainment with information......not any ultimate truth.

but HP is simply writing sour grapes.....and it's sad....is all.

maybe you think because he's HP he has a right to long-term loan of gear and we should ignore the effect of it. i guess we disagree about that then.

btw; do i agree with HP about certain speaker companies and Absolute Sound?.....of course i do. but really....who cares. i don't. but reviewers should stay out of the dialog on that subject.....IMHO.

 

[Bill Hart]

I've been reading The Absolute Sound since the very beginning, and read Stereophile from the very early days, when J. Gordon published from Elwyn, Pa. Neither publication at the time accepted advertising precisely because they claimed that they did not want to be influenced by those dollars. (I'm not sure that accepting advertising compromises editorial integrity, but both magazines eventually gave way- I think HP was still at the helm of TAS when that happened, I don't remember when Stereophile started accepting ads, but it doesn't matter if there is a separation between the editorial and the advertising/marketing at the magazine. I gather most people think that this separation is impossible).
What I do remember from those early years is that there was far less "high end equipment" and the reviews could be critical of certain aspects of performance without altogether panning a piece of gear. As I recall, there were few bench measurements in either magazine. I still have my boxes of old TAS issues, my collection of old Stereophiles is spotty but it might be worth going back to re-read some of them. I'm willing to bet that the reviews probably weren't much more 'in depth' than a lot of reviews today- I think there was less skepticism, perhaps because the industry was less mature, the practices of quid pro quo weren't as slick and maybe we had more faith in the integrity of the reviewers. (or perhaps I'm simply naive). The high end industry is typically small companies; granted, there has been consolidation, ala Harman, but compared to other consumer product manufacturers, a company like Wilson or Magico is not a huge company.
By comparison, somehow automotive magazines manage (at least some of them) to do pretty thorough reviews and tests of performance cars. They may not do completely negative reviews, but they often do comparisons which will be pretty plainspoken, not only about measurable specs, but handling, driving experience, tactile aspects, reviewer preferences, etc. Unless it is simply the size of the ad budget of Porsche compared to Wilson, or the size of the readership, I'm not sure why car magazines can successfully pull this off and audio magazines cannot.

 

[Andre Marc]

I've been reading The Absolute Sound since the very beginning, and read Stereophile from the very early days, when J. Gordon published from Elwyn, Pa. Neither publication at the time accepted advertising precisely because they claimed that they did not want to be influenced by those dollars. (I'm not sure that accepting advertising compromises editorial integrity, but both magazines eventually gave way- I think HP was still at the helm of TAS when that happened, I don't remember when Stereophile started accepting ads, but it doesn't matter if there is a separation between the editorial and the advertising/marketing at the magazine. I gather most people think that this separation is impossible).
What I do remember from those early years is that there was far less "high end equipment" and the reviews could be critical of certain aspects of performance without altogether panning a piece of gear. As I recall, there were few bench measurements in either magazine. I still have my boxes of old TAS issues, my collection of old Stereophiles is spotty but it might be worth going back to re-read some of them. I'm willing to bet that the reviews probably weren't much more 'in depth' than a lot of reviews today- I think there was less skepticism, perhaps because the industry was less mature, the practices of quid pro quo weren't as slick and maybe we had more faith in the integrity of the reviewers. (or perhaps I'm simply naive). The high end industry is typically small companies; granted, there has been consolidation, ala Harman, but compared to other consumer product manufacturers, a company like Wilson or Magico is not a huge company.
By comparison, somehow automotive magazines manage (at least some of them) to do pretty thorough reviews and tests of performance cars. They may not do completely negative reviews, but they often do comparisons which will be pretty plainspoken, not only about measurable specs, but handling, driving experience, tactile aspects, reviewer preferences, etc. Unless it is simply the size of the ad budget of Porsche compared to Wilson, or the size of the readership, I'm not sure why car magazines can successfully pull this off and audio magazines cannot.

Excellent point about the car magazines.

They seem to be able to do a LOT of things audio mags won't do..which is direct comparisons, thorough reviews etc.

I think it comes down to the fact that most car manufacturers are giant corporations, many of them faceless, and even if you are talking about Ferrari or Lambo, their
production runs are sold out way in advance, so getting dinged in Road&Track is like a flea on an elephant.

The fact is, as you noted, the high end is littered with companies who employ less people than Ford employs in their corporate cafeteria.
Way to easy to offend and cause hurt feelings with direct comparisons. And way too much politics.

 

[DaveyF]

I just got this in my Facebook feed from HPsoundings and came here to see if it had been posted. OF COURSE it had been. I am almost 12 HOURS LATE on this story. GEEZ View attachment 9420

Sadly, gone are the days of J. Gordon Holt (and the original Stereophile) from most magazines and how they decide to review products. There is a lot of snake oil out there and many audiophiles do not know who to believe anymore. Personally, I think that is doing great damage to the industry.

Angela, +1.
As I stated in another thread, I simply do NOT see why any reviewer needs to have a "long term" loan of a piece of gear. Review the piece in question and give it back to the manufacturer. If you need a reference system and cannot afford to keep one in your home, then go ye to the symphony more often. That way there is no possible way to be considered as "in the pocket" of your current favorite manufacturer, at least IMHO.

HP's comments and diatribe about his experiences are interesting....however, what seems to make little sense to me, is where he admits to having little or no business acumen; yet in the same paragraph feels slighted when those that supposedly do, begin to take the reins of the business and run it differently. Did he really expect something different?? I have always liked HP, but these comments seem to show how naive he is in real world business matters....again IMHO

 

[Elliot G.]

Angela, +1.
As I stated in another thread, I simply do NOT see why any reviewer needs to have a "long term" loan of a piece of gear. Review the piece in question and give it back to the manufacturer. If you need a reference system and cannot afford to keep one in your home, then go ye to the symphony more often. That way there is no possible way to be considered as "in the pocket" of your current favorite manufacturer, at least IMHO.

HP's comments and diatribe about his experiences are interesting....however, what seems to make little sense to me, is where he admits to having little or no business acumen; yet in the same paragraph feels slighted when those that supposedly do, begin to take the reins of the business and run it differently. Did he really expect something different?? I have always liked HP, but these comments seem to show how naive he is in real world business matters....again IMHO

We live in its not my fault and I blame someone else society. Mr. Pearson had plenty of opportunity and advise on how to run/fix his business and he chose (yes he made a choice, even doing nothing is a choice) and this was the result. Let's face it for the most part Audio companies are under capitalized and TAS was never run as a real business. The early magazine was always late, never published on time or what was scheduled. TAS never printed as often as the issues that were promised.How many part one reviews were there with no part two. When they finally took advertising this became an even greater issues since advertisers want their ads run in a timely manner. Whether anyone likes it or not the magazine is now run like a business. It is hard to blame someone who invests time and money for wanting to make a profit. Is it the same? Of course not. Is it better or worse that always depends on which side of the table you sit. I don't know for sure but I would certainly guess that Mr. Martin never promised to let anyone but his chosen representatives or himself to decide what would happen to the magazine. As Myles said without this the magazine would have gone under. Harry is a wonderful writer and a great listener who taught many of us a lot but as a business man he failed miserably.
There is plenty of blame to go around for many of the issues that exist today but IMHO there are no innocent parties PERIOD!

 

[Andre Marc]

We live in its not my fault and I blame someone else society. Mr. Pearson had plenty of opportunity and advise on how to run/fix his business and he chose (yes he made a choice, even doing nothing is a choice) and this was the result. Let's face it for the most part Audio companies are under capitalized and TAS was never run as a real business. The early magazine was always late, never published on time or what was scheduled. TAS never printed as often as the issues that were promised.How many part one reviews were there with no part two. When they finally took advertising this became an even greater issues since advertisers want their ads run in a timely manner. Whether anyone likes it or not the magazine is now run like a business. It is hard to blame someone who invests time and money for wanting to make a profit. Is it the same? Of course not. Is it better or worse that always depends on which side of the table you sit. I don't know for sure but I would certainly guess that Mr. Martin never promised to let anyone but his chosen representatives or himself to decide what would happen to the magazine. As Myles said without this the magazine would have gone under. Harry is a wonderful writer and a great listener who taught many of us a lot but as a business man he failed miserably.
There is plenty of blame to go around for many of the issues that exist today but IMHO there are no innocent parties PERIOD!

ElliotG:

I have always enjoyed your "battles" with Mr. Valin!

 

[Bruce B]

How does the business model of Consumer Reports work without advertising? There must be some big publisher backing them somehow.

 

[Andre Marc]

How does the business model of Consumer Reports work without advertising? There must be some big publisher backing them somehow.

Possibly, but the subscriptions are pricey, and they use cheap paper.

 

[andromedaaudio]

I think people should have more confidence in themselves as to what they buy regarding audiogear .
If you need some hifi guru/dealer to get confindence regarding your purchase then your on the wrong path already .
Independant advice great , but always keep in mind , magazines/dealers are not always independant , how could they be .
Is a boat or yacht magazine for 100 % independent ?? no they rely on advertising also .
Some are a good read and no more , thats why i like technical information , tests if done right dont lie .
Regarding mr pearson and or The Absolute sound , if think the name is misleading already " TAS" (the(ir ) absolute sound ??), but still it has some nice stories at times.

Kind of reminds me of why so many people run after political leaders , only to curse them 1 year later