Rich, enjoying the music is always the goal. Some people can do that with a table radio. It's a matter of degree I guess. I think what the poster meant by "perversion of democracy" (with respect to audio journalism) was that in an effort not to offend anyone's personal likes/dislikes, or not to make a reader feel excluded (for example, because of a limited budget) today's audio writers/reviewers have adopted a kind of (and I'm exaggerating, OK?) "all products are good, and there's no correct way to assemble a system, except whatever sounds good to you."
That approach is 180 degrees from how this hobby began almost 50 years ago. True, back then publications could survive on subscriptions alone, and I do appreciate those who still make the effort. 10 Audio and The Audio Perfectionist are two great ones. Positive Feedback Online, though not commercial-free makes a real effort to keep advertisers and reviewers well separated (read their mission statement.) It's hard to avoid the current business model of supplying the most eyeballs to the publication's advertisers. Look at the sad state of television news!
ToneAUDIO, for example, has the
absolute best photographs and layout of any audio magazine. Jeff is an excellent commercial photographer. Yet, as with most magazines, I rarely find its content edifying. (I like the music reviews though.)
I long for the days when reviewers were both
knowledgable and feisty enough to speak their minds. (Also making it easy to understand their personal biases
) I almost never agreed with J. Gordon Holt's conclusions, but he really knows audio and was fun to read (if curmudgeons make you laugh
) and I learned so much about how to listen, and what were good/bad practices in equipment design and system assembly. When today you occasionally find that kind of information in audio publications, it's often incorrect. In his turntable setup DVD, Michael Fremer is
still discussing VTA -- a meaningless concept if ever there was one!
As for the "death of High Fidelity" remark, I think he was referring to the
hobby of High Fidelity, in which the lasting satisfaction of really learning about the art and craft, has been replaced by the fleeting rewards of consumerism.
I think everyone would enjoy listening to Steve Hoffman's recent (and enjoyable) lecture on mastering, now available online at:
http://www.eqfuentes.com/englishsite/contentseng/technologycontentszoneeng/hoffman.html
The story about Ray Charles buying a Walkman at the 'Good Guys' is hysterical!
