Half-a-brain loonies and internet geeks

[Togil]

Sorry are we here talking about Malcolm Steward ( not Stewart ) the moderator of the Hi Fi Critic Forum ?

[Colin]

Yes, sorry my error, still if he can forget we are customers, I can forget how to spell his name.

[Spectral Morn]

I didn't know that he was a moderator on hi-fi critics forum. So I take it that it is immune from the kind of half-a-brain lunatics he says we are. So are all other forums thus populated ?

Do I detect a conflict perhaps.

If his comments are targeted at just those who are luddites in regard to computer audio( I doubt that ) then perhaps he should have qualified his comments to read thus.

Regards D S D L ----- Neil

[Marco]

Neil,

Great post! You've raised many issues that I'd like to comment on in detail. I'll look forward to doing so tomorrow

At the moment I'm too busy listening to music (I've just installed some new 6SL7-type valves in my preamp which are quite frankly amazing) so I'll go through your points later.

In the meantime I'll leave you with this thought...

With the recent 'rant' of Roy Gregory in Hi-fi+, along similar lines to that you described of Mr Steward above, and Noel Keywood chucking his toys out the pram somewhat on HFW because 'folk on forums' have a love affair with the Denon DL-103 cartridge (what his problem is I really don't know), are some of those running hi-fi magazines going into 'meltdown', with leading journalists and reviewers seemingly running scared of forums and the threat they offer to the existence of reporting hi-fi on a 'physical' magazine format and the lifestyles/perks this is helping maintain?

Marco.

[Mike]

are some of those running hi-fi magazines going into 'meltdown', with leading journalists and reviewers seemingly running scared of forums and the threat they offer to the existence of reporting hi-fi on a 'physical' magazine format and the lifestyles/perks this is helping maintain?

Hmmm.... I guess it could depend on what you mean by 'some'.

[Marco]

"Some" = those currently running hi-fi magazines or influential members of such who've 'gone off on one recently'

Marco.

[Steve Toy]

By "gone off on one" you mean gone as far as actually attack the notion of hi-fi forums.

[Mike]

"Some" = those currently running hi-fi magazines or influential members of such who've 'gone off on one recently'

Marco.

And what percentage of HiFi journalists do you perceive that to be?

Do we have any numbers? Or are we going to be 'tarring them all with the same brush'?

[Mr. C]

Interesting as Mr Stewart gave the HDX the most glowing review in existence, a couple of months back in HFC I believe. PC audio<>Half-a-brain loonies and internet geeks <>HDX ;-)
Perhaps a conflict of interest is sculling around in there some where?
For the record, our reference high-end system uses PC driven audio as it's source, so that is our vested point of interest here!
Marco, why not, draft a letter and invite Malcom to quantify his comments, as they were posted in the Public domain.
For example I personally favor that MP's/ local councilors/ charity workers are made to declare any vested interests such as Free-Masony/relatives working for industry/magazine connections/which company their are directors of etc.
I would like to see ALL Jurno's have their 'statement of interest' printed in the mags their work is published in.
I know that golden pigs will not fly LOL, however it would be nice to finally understand which position they are actually coming from.
Controversial maybe, yet the card would be open so to speak that way at least the reader of the piece would be 'more informed' as to possible 'back room' issue that *may* have a bearing on the piece being reviewed.
Over the last 4 years I have met nearly 20 high profile Jurno's, some at great length others for no more than 20 minutes.
The vast majority have been polite, articulate, interested, and courteous.
Some have a very singular whit, other incredibly dry.
A couple were down right rude and obnoxious, a couple of floppy head ex public school boys (James May types), a few refugees from Woodstock too. A great mix.
Would you trust them do give you a fair unbiased review on broad spread of equipment, what ever that equipment was, within a real home style enviroment?
Let's have your views on this please...........

[Marco]

And what percentage of HiFi journalists do you perceive that to be?

Do we have any numbers? Or are we going to be 'tarring them all with the same brush'?

Lol. It's not difficult; I'm being very specific and not generalising in the slightest. Who’s been going on about forums recently? Answer: Roy Gregory and Malcolm Steward, therefore those are whom I'm referring to!

Like I said, I'd perhaps also chuck Mr Keywood into the mix after his comments below to a readers' letter about a DL-103 in this month's magazine (the chap had merely written in to say how happy he was with his new turntable and was eloquently extolling the virtues of it and the 103), to which Noel replied:

You'd be right to sell that tat ["tat" no less, eh?] Nigel and keep an eye on modern product. I well know and have used at length V15s and 3009s and they are "pleasent" shall we say. The Denon DL103 has sonic attractions perhaps, but is a grossy over rated product that is coloured and inaccurate; it's an internet special that's been talked up in the (deluded) collective conciousness [note spelling error again!]. You'd be better advised to get a good modern moving coil from Ortofon [Mr K has got Ortofon on the brain - does he have shares in the company?], Audio Technica or Dynavector [yes, perhaps just because he happens to favour the more analytical presentation of those cartridges - but does 'Nigel'?] I believe, unless you prefer romance to all else.

Now don't get me wrong, Noel's entitled to his opinion the same as anyone else, but does he have to be so insulting and unconstructive with it? "Deluded" and "tat" indeed! Poor Nigel, eh? He only wrote in to tell of his happiness with his new turntable and cartridge and was subjected to dog's abuse! I wonder if he'll be renewing his subscription?

And what's Noel's sudden obsession with "modern" this "modern", that? Does he think that all modern kit is automatically better than old stuff? I doubt it, as the same man is a valve amp and Garrard aficionado par excellence! So it's ok then to extol the virtues of "modern product" versus old in reference to cartridges, but somehow the same doesn't apply to turntables and amps from their respective eras? His views are totally inconsistent and don't seem to align with the ethos of HFW, which has always championed both new and old gear, the latter providing that it's performance is still competitive today. The 103, when properly partnered and set-up definitely comes into that category, otherwise I (and 1000s of others) wouldn't be using it!

The problem with the 103 is that magazines always make the mistake of reviewing it with a modern turntable and tonearm and judge it accordingly on that basis - it simply will not work as it should that way. It needs to be assessed in the context in which it was originally designed. Fortunately, to make the review relevant today that doesn't necessarily mean wheeling out an old SP10 or Garrard with a suitably high-mass arm to match. All one needs is a Technics SL-1200 or 1210 (preferably modified by KAB or Sound Hi-fi), fitted with a Jelco SA-750D S-shaped detachable headshell arm, and a nice high-mass headshell, like the LH-18 from Audio Technica: all 'modern' currently available equipment, and through a nice phono stage (preferably valve) which uses the necessary matching transformers, and away you go... I guarantee that if Noel (or David) heard the 103 in that context (both) their conclusions would be somewhat different!

But will they do that in order to give the 103 a fair hearing before judging, instead of arriving at ill-informed conclusions such it being "an internet special that's been talked up in the (deluded) collective conciousness" based on relative ignorance from using the wrong partnering equipment?

The funniest thing of all though, is that with Mr Keywood the words "Denon DL-103" appear to be permanently impregnated in his mind, and like a red flag to a bull goes charging off in a 'fit of rage' even when the DL-103 wasn't even being referred to.

How so?

Well, Nigel, at the end of his letter wrote:

Next stage? Enjoy the Sony as well as the LP12 and JBE Slate Series 3. And next year? Renovate/sell/exchange some or all of the rest of the collection - SL150, DENON DP2000, Mayware V, Hadcock, 228, SME 3009 Fixed, Shure V15 III, Rothwell transformer, Staglines N and K.

He never even mentioned the bloody DL-103 and yet Noel duly 'went off on one' as detailed above!!

So, I'd like to know what exactly his problem is with this particular cartridge, aside from issues regarding its sonic presentation. His innate dislike of the 103 appears to be run rather more deeply than simply not liking how it sounds...

Perhaps next time David joins us he could bring Noel with him to explain himself?

Marco.