[ltr317]

I just heard Stephen Mejias is leaving Stereophile to work for Audioquest, though he will still do some music reviews for the magazine.  I met Steven at the Denver airport waiting for a flight home after last year's RMAF and we had a nice chat about the nature of audio reviewing.  I think he will be missed at Stereophile by some of the younger readers and perhaps by some of the older readers as well.  I'm sure Audioquest made him an offer he couldn't turn down. 

Paul Mah 

I misspelled Stephen's name initially and just corrected for which I apologize.

[FullRangeMan]

Interesting news, thanks for sharing.
What he will do at Audioquest?

[wushuliu]

I'm glad. Don't want to seem harsh but I could not stand his 'reviews'. They read like what an older person thinks younger people would be into, which in a sense is perfect for Stereophile based on their target demographic. He tried to create a sense of a 'lifestyle' around the equipment but it always felt overdone and contrived, especially with the 'Natalies' and 'Ms. Littles' with very little substance regarding the item at hand. The articles read with a patronizing undercurrent including the title itself 'The Entry level'. Like talking down to a child: this is a speaker. it was nice. my friends liked it. my friends are nice. we were at a party. people listen to speakers at parties. this is a good speaker to listen to with friends at parties.

For all Stereophile's faults they have some very good writers with distinctive voices. Mejias tried too hard to match that and he is just not that good a writer, at least as far audio reviews are concerned.

If they were really interested in appealing to budding audiophiles then they should have focused on educating the reader as well. Feeling like you know something about a hobby that most people don't is part of the appeal to any enthusiast. Not telling them hey get this cause it sounds good and this girl you know heard it and was like 'cool!' (what a waste to have these women be token mentions instead of making them a more active part of the audiophile experience - women are a major force economically now. You'd think Stereophile would be a little more forward thinking - wait who am I kidding).

[ltr317]

Interesting news, thanks for sharing.
What he will do at Audioquest?

I think he will be VP of Communications. 

[ltr317]

I'm glad. Don't want to seem harsh but I could not stand his 'reviews'. They read like what an older person thinks younger people would be into, which in a sense is perfect for Stereophile based on their target demographic. He tried to create a sense of a 'lifestyle' around the equipment but it always felt overdone and contrived, especially with the 'Natalies' and 'Ms. Littles' with very little substance regarding the item at hand. The articles read with a patronizing undercurrent including the title itself 'The Entry level'. Like talking down to a child: this is a speaker. it was nice. my friends liked it. my friends are nice. we were at a party. people listen to speakers at parties. this is a good speaker to listen to with friends at parties.

For all Stereophile's faults they have some very good writers with distinctive voices. Mejias tried too hard to match that and he is just not that good a writer, at least as far audio reviews are concerned.

If they were really interested in appealing to budding audiophiles then they should have focused on educating the reader as well. Feeling like you know something about a hobby that most people don't is part of the appeal to any enthusiast. Not telling them hey get this cause it sounds good and this girl you know heard it and was like 'cool!' (what a waste to have these women be token mentions instead of making them a more active part of the audiophile experience - women are a major force economically now. You'd think Stereophile would be a little more forward thinking - wait who am I kidding).

Thanks.  You're entitled to your opinions.  Many readers, however, are sad to see him leave.   

[smargo]

I'm glad. Don't want to seem harsh but I could not stand his 'reviews'. They read like what an older person thinks younger people would be into, which in a sense is perfect for Stereophile based on their target demographic. He tried to create a sense of a 'lifestyle' around the equipment but it always felt overdone and contrived, especially with the 'Natalies' and 'Ms. Littles' with very little substance regarding the item at hand. The articles read with a patronizing undercurrent including the title itself 'The Entry level'. Like talking down to a child: this is a speaker. it was nice. my friends liked it. my friends are nice. we were at a party. people listen to speakers at parties. this is a good speaker to listen to with friends at parties.

could not disagree with you more! - I wish writers had half the passion he has for this hobby - I think his passion was infectious

isn't that all that matters? I hope he is replaced with someone similar!

[vinyl_lady]

I'm glad. Don't want to seem harsh but I could not stand his 'reviews'. They read like what an older person thinks younger people would be into, which in a sense is perfect for Stereophile based on their target demographic. He tried to create a sense of a 'lifestyle' around the equipment but it always felt overdone and contrived, especially with the 'Natalies' and 'Ms. Littles' with very little substance regarding the item at hand. The articles read with a patronizing undercurrent including the title itself 'The Entry level'. Like talking down to a child: this is a speaker. it was nice. my friends liked it. my friends are nice. we were at a party. people listen to speakers at parties. this is a good speaker to listen to with friends at parties.

For all Stereophile's faults they have some very good writers with distinctive voices. Mejias tried too hard to match that and he is just not that good a writer, at least as far audio reviews are concerned.

If they were really interested in appealing to budding audiophiles then they should have focused on educating the reader as well. Feeling like you know something about a hobby that most people don't is part of the appeal to any enthusiast. Not telling them hey get this cause it sounds good and this girl you know heard it and was like 'cool!' (what a waste to have these women be token mentions instead of making them a more active part of the audiophile experience - women are a major force economically now. You'd think Stereophile would be a little more forward thinking - wait who am I kidding).

I also disagree. Steven was a breath of fresh air and he was writing to his age demographic using a writing style that appealed to them, not to seasoned audiophiles. I know a couple of under-30 folks who discovered you could have good sound without spending a fortune from reading his columns. While I didn't always read his column, I will miss his input. I hope JA finds someone who can continue the outreach to that younger demographic and wean them off of mp3s.

[Brad]

I didn't share his musical tastes (not even a little bit), but I did usually enjoy his writing.  He was able to communicate the differences he heard in equipment and cables.

[RDavidson]

I'm glad. Don't want to seem harsh but I could not stand his 'reviews'. They read like what an older person thinks younger people would be into, which in a sense is perfect for Stereophile based on their target demographic. He tried to create a sense of a 'lifestyle' around the equipment but it always felt overdone and contrived, especially with the 'Natalies' and 'Ms. Littles' with very little substance regarding the item at hand. The articles read with a patronizing undercurrent including the title itself 'The Entry level'. Like talking down to a child: this is a speaker. it was nice. my friends liked it. my friends are nice. we were at a party. people listen to speakers at parties. this is a good speaker to listen to with friends at parties.

For all Stereophile's faults they have some very good writers with distinctive voices. Mejias tried too hard to match that and he is just not that good a writer, at least as far audio reviews are concerned.

If they were really interested in appealing to budding audiophiles then they should have focused on educating the reader as well. Feeling like you know something about a hobby that most people don't is part of the appeal to any enthusiast. Not telling them hey get this cause it sounds good and this girl you know heard it and was like 'cool!' (what a waste to have these women be token mentions instead of making them a more active part of the audiophile experience - women are a major force economically now. You'd think Stereophile would be a little more forward thinking - wait who am I kidding).

I also disagree 100%. I think both he, his writing style, and his writings about his lifestyle are/were a breath of fresh air to a magazine that had plenty of "audiophile stuffiness" to it already. I actually can see how Steven's writing could be very informative (as qualitative data) to the audio industry in general. I'm probably not so much older than Steven that I can't relate to things he writes about, which may have something to do with my opinion. But let's face it, the industry WILL NOT thrive if it doesn't (continue to) take steps to include younger, budding, audiophiles / potential audiophiles who's lifestyles are likely FAR different from the other writers of Stereophile magazine ie older audiophiles. How are they to relate, without having someone on the inside saying "Hey! Here's a very good and relatively inexpensive place to start a nice, modern era, hifi system if you're a younger adult and live a modest lifestyle as I do."? Yeah, his writing lacked a little depth, but if the point of the Steven's writing is to try and connect Stereophile with the budding audiophile, what do you think is the best way to do it? Have a wealthy old man explain the technological differences between gear followed by measurement charts and graphs, or tell a story and include lifestyle substance?

[wushuliu]

How are they to relate, without having someone on the inside saying "Hey! Here's a very good and relatively inexpensive place to start a nice, modern era, hifi system if you're a younger adult and live a modest lifestyle as I do."?

I agree. I just think he wasn't very convincing.

I would say Darko at digitalaudioreview.net has similar aims but does a better job of it.

[Devil Doc]

I won't miss him. He is a thin skinned, arrogant English major who had no clue as to whom buttered his bread. I personally didn't care for his attacks on old audiophiles, you know, the ones who actually subscribe and have the money to buy 10K and up stereo systems. His musical tastes never bothered me. Hell I love ST, but don't care much for the music he listens to.

Doc

[RDavidson]

I agree. I just think he wasn't very convincing.

I would say Darko at digitalaudioreview.net has similar aims but does a better job of it.

Yeah, Darko is a better writer and his articles tend to stick to the subject matter. The thing about Darko is that he writes to a narrower audience ie people who are already audiophiles or are beyond "The Entry Level." I think Stephen was trying to broaden his audience by not JUST reviewing gear and including snippets of his lifestyle and how the gear can serve his lifestyle. Whether he did a good job meeting his goal is probably not something you or I know. I wonder if NAD and PSB had any greater sales of gear to younger adults.......or if Stereophile gained more younger readers during Stephen's time at Stereophile?

[RDavidson]

I won't miss him. He is a thin skinned, arrogant English major who had no clue as to whom buttered his bread. I personally didn't care for his attacks on old audiophiles, you know, the ones who actually subscribe and have the money to buy 10K and up stereo systems. His musical tastes never bothered me. Hell I love ST, but don't care much for the music he listens to.

Doc

Wait a minute.....You call Steven thin skinned, yet you're sensitive about his "attacks" on old audio dudes? 

[timtom]

Too bad. It was refreshing to read his reviews. I think Stereophile needed a younger, more adventurous perspective and he provided that. I didn't find him to be thin skinned at all, but openminded, enthusiastic and articulate.

[Devil Doc]

I reserve the right to be inconsistent.

Doc

[Carl V]

I wish him well. 
His column was needed and I feel he mostly succeeded at
what he was assigned to do.  His taste in Music didn't always
mirror mine....but so what. His audio history & perspective
didn't mirror mine either but again so what.  Audio magazines
need to take a page from Road & Track or Dan Neil @ WSJ.
They can write equally well about a Porsche or a Ford Or Mazda.
And they can do so without tip toeing around the various +/-
aspects of the car. A little humor. Some zingers. Some voyeuristic envy.


Curious who they tap to replace him.  Stereophile has had some darned
good entertaining writers in the past. Now , where is the latest issue?

[RDavidson]

I reserve the right to be inconsistent.

Doc

  It's cool. Interesting you brought up ST. Though he's obviously an older audiophile, he seems to have a young spirit, which comes through pretty clearly in his writing. I almost always read his articles much because he adds that "human" element to his writing. I also like that he doesn't seem concerned that his old Denon 1650AR CD player was never $10,000 AND he still uses it. I think that's great. Goes to show that you don't have to have the newest or most expensive audio thing to have a wholly enjoyable system AND that well made, dependable, gear can be used and enjoyed longer than most owners allow.

[jarcher]

Also agree that I'm not a big fan of Mejias, though as time went by and he matured and gained more experience his articles started to have a bit more substance about the actual sound quality of things he was reviewing. 

It still pains me to see "skullkandy" and "beats" headphones on the recommended components list based on his reviews.  Yeah - "beats" headphones is a very important story in the overall story of audio gear trends, but "solo" model headphones don't deserve a mention on any recommended list.

Lately I'm having almost more of a problem with Sam Telling than Mejias & think the guy should maybe be put out to pasture, which is sad because 10+ years ago he & Corey Greenberg were always some of my favorites.  But now Telling seems to really be out of touch with developments in this industry and his "good enough" arguments about bluetooth audio make his judgements about sound quality suspect, particularly in a "high end" audio magazine.  E.g. his most recent raves over Musical Fidelity gear in his last article seem to show he's either not keeping up or worse yet seem almost like shilling.  The $299 Musical Fidelity V90-DAC in the "A+" list with the like of MSB / DCS / Ayre / Auralic?  I seriously doubt it. 

[RDavidson]

Also agree that I'm not a big fan of Mejias, though as time went by and he matured and gained more experience his articles started to have a bit more substance about the actual sound quality of things he was reviewing. 

It still pains me to see "skullkandy" and "beats" headphones on the recommended components list based on his reviews.  Yeah - "beats" headphones is a very important story in the overall story of audio gear trends, but "solo" model headphones don't deserve a mention on any recommended list.

Lately I'm having almost more of a problem with Sam Telling than Mejias & think the guy should maybe be put out to pasture, which is sad because 10+ years ago he & Corey Greenberg were always some of my favorites.  But now Telling seems to really be out of touch with developments in this industry and his "good enough" arguments about bluetooth audio make his judgements about sound quality suspect, particularly in a "high end" audio magazine.  E.g. his most recent raves over Musical Fidelity gear in his last article seem to show he's either not keeping up or worse yet seem almost like shilling.  The $299 Musical Fidelity V90-DAC in the "A+" list with the like of MSB / DCS / Ayre / Auralic?  I seriously doubt it.

Yeah, I don't know. ST does seem a little out of touch, but really, is it he who is out of touch or we who perhaps pay maybe more attention to our gear than the actual enjoyment of listening? I do understand your point though. I also cringe seeing Skullcandy and Beats being recommended, but one can do worse. Oh yes, there's worse out there.

The V-90 in class A+ must be an early April fool's joke.

[orthobiz]

The best part of this whole thread is that people agree and disagree. That means the reviewer is doing his job well.

Paul