[ltr317]

I'll miss him too! 

Good guy and good for him!  The missus must need shoes and Stereophile was probably a labor of love.

Too bad we never had our sh*t together long enough to have him review it. 

Thanks for posting, Paul.

Seth

  Hi Seth.

[ltr317]

You know Paul, when I first started out in this absurd hobby I could remember getting reprints of reviews on affordable gear like Arcam and NAD from my dealer, many of which were from Stereophile and authored by people like Cory Greenberg who actually made this whole thing seem appealing in some odd way ( little did I know...). I'm by no means the biggest gearhead on AC ( although I must be among the biggest blockheads  ) but when I was at the entry level, having someone write about gear I could relate to at that point and write about it in a way that was not so tediously pious and clinical went a long way in maintaining my interest. So yes, I think there should be some venue where the entry-level folks can be catered to in a way which will not send them running away screaming or shuffling away yawning. Making this stuff relatable and maybe even fun might go a long way towards encouraging others to make the same mistake I've made and get sucked into pursuing this hobby, ruining their lives.

I'm a bad person. 

D.D.

Thanks for reminding me of Corey Greenberg.  Long before I became a reviewer, I enjoyed his Stereophile reviews immensely, not only for helping me discover new stuff but more so for the entertainment value.  I thought he was erudite but without being pedantic, a highly amusing fellow.  I learned a lot besides audio from him.   

[ltr317]

Yes, stereophile needs to continue along the lines of Audio cheapskate...(Sam Tellig...Tom Gillet)
Entry Level...Corey Greenberg...or ROBERT J REINA.  The latter often makes astute observations
and is able to succinctly compare & contrast....imho.  I look forward to Kal's music in the round
because he seems both grounded & quite erudite.  He appears to have an independent outlook.

Sensible sound had a nice mix at times...as does Audiophile Voice does to this day.

It would be nice if the future Entry Level writer was ready willing & able to take on
the notion of the Emperor's clothes.

I've met Kal Rubinson at a function and agree with your assessment.  In case you didn't know, he's an NYU neuroscience professor.  Cheers.

[Mortsnets]

I'd also vote that Stereophile should definitely get a new columnist to specialize in the audio bargain basement.  I support a return of the column name "audio cheapskate".  We cheapskates must outnumber the high rollers.  Like the National Change Bank - the secret is Volume!  Who should it be though?

Whoever you are, future audio cheapskate reviewer: great bargains can be used/vintage or new.

I appreciate the reviews that tipped me off to cheap great gear like:
Audioquest Dragonfly (Michael Lavorgna)
Sony Playstation PS1 (Jeff Day, Art Dudley)
JMR Twin Signatures (Paul Candy, Bob Neil)
ATH AD-700 headphones (Sam Tellig)
Celestion 3 (Sam)
RA Labs Mini Reference (Sam)

A lot of affordable stuff, I heard about via web sites not reviews:
Musical Paradise MP301 (Joe Rosen)
ST-35
Sherwood vintage tuners
Epos ES-11
KEF 103.2
Don Allen cd changer and cakepan amp
Sure Electronics TPA3110D2 based amp
Advent /3
Empire turntables
Bottlehead quickie preamp

[DS-21]

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.

His writing gave me the distinct impression that he's exactly the right kind of person to go around hawking mere wires to gullible people.

[Brad]

His writing gave me the distinct impression that he's exactly the right kind of person to go around hawking mere wires to gullible people.

 

[wushuliu]

+1

[RDavidson]

His writing gave me the distinct impression that he's exactly the right kind of person to go around hawking mere wires to gullible people.

Just because someone's personal truth doesn't gel with yours, doesn't make the other person's experience somehow inferior or less than true.

[RDavidson]

+1

+1 TROLL!

[wushuliu]

Just because someone's personal truth doesn't gel with yours, doesn't make the other person's experience somehow inferior or less than true.

DS-21 likes to troll threads here and other forums. Banned at least once IIRC. Sad, really.

[RDavidson]

DS-21 likes to troll threads here and other forums. Banned at least once IIRC. Sad, really.

I figured as much. Reasonable people don't typically drop a turd on a thread with such abandon.

[ltr317]

His writing gave me the distinct impression that he's exactly the right kind of person to go around hawking mere wires to gullible people.

Then why do you bother reading his or any other subjective reviews?  For you, it should be an exercise in futility, or are you a masochist?   

[SET Man]

Hey!

     I have been reading "The Entry Level" since it debut. Actually I have been reading Stereophile since the early '90s, I remembered the picked up the first one of which was in digest format.

    It was my introduction to Hi-End audio and I used to dream of writing/reviewing for Stereophile myself. Talking about that, Stephen is about the same age as me, so he have my dream job or should I say he had. Anyway, it was interesting to see a younger generation talking about affordable stuffs on Stereophile.

   Even though I'm about the same age as him, but strangely enough I don't share much of the same musics as him. Also, I know it is hard to hold a candle to those older more seasoned more knowledgeable in audio reviewers on Stereophile but sometime find his writing a bit allover the place. No, I don't mind him talking about cats or girls of which I also like but it can be a bit too much wandering off. Although I sometime enjoy seeing him talk about thing that only younger people would understand.

   But I think the biggest issue is age of Stereophile's readers of which I assumed are more of people in their '50s now I think. So, with that it is hard for most of them to connect with his writing and not to mention his music... do you know anyone in their 50's who listen to Drake? So, I would say that Stereophile fail to attract and connect to younger generation.

   Still Stephen will be missed, I feel that overtime he will get better with more fluid writing and more knowledge in audio. But I think Stereophile should continue "The Entry Level" but maybe with someone more experience in audio background.

Take care,
Buddy

[vinyl_lady]

I figured as much. Reasonable people don't typically drop a turd on a thread with such abandon.

Go to his profile and take a look at his posts. He does this all the time and always in an arrogant and condescending manner.

[FullRangeMan]

Go to his profile and take a look at his posts. He does this all the time and always in an arrogant and condescending manner.

THis seems some pro writers of a magazine.

[vinyl_lady]

THis seems some pro writers of a magazine.

My post was referencing DS-21 and had nothing to do with any writer for any magazine.

[ltr317]

Hi all,

Well, it's official.  The Entry Level column will be shelved indefinitely.  Straight from the horse's mouth, JA stated: "We will continue to cover affordable components in our reviews and regular columns, but "The Entry Level" was so strongly identified with Stephen Mejias that I thought it best to cease publishing the column as it currently stood. I hope to be able to launch a replacement column devoted to entry-level components when I have discovered a writer who offers the unique combination of experience, listening ability, a love of music, the ability to communicate what he and she thinks, and a love for uncovering affordable great-sounding gear."

John Atkinson

Editor, Stereophile


I do hope it's sooner, rather than later he finds a suitable replacement. 

Cheers,
Paul