[jarcher]

SPOILER ALERT : If you haven't read the December issue of Stereophile yet & don't want a heads-up, stop reading now.


I subscribed again to Stereophile after a very long time because I wanted to read a review of a turntable I spent a lot of money on (for me) & it's always nice to see a positive review in the professional press.  I'm sure many have been guilty of the same. And the subscription has gotten so cheap, it can be an impulse buy.

So I was reading the new December issue tonight assuming that if a piece of gear has made it to the equipment report section, it's an automatic recommendation.  To my amazement there were two negative reviews back to back : and of major hi-end makers to boot. Perhaps in my absence this has become more common for Stereophile.  In any case, it seems to me to be a big deal and a big credibility boost for Stereophile.

The gear in question is the (1) the new statement amp from Mark Levinson, the No.53 @ $50K a pair, reviewed by Fremer and described as "threadbare / hard / mechanical / hazy overlay" and "rarely listened for more than one hour at a time".  He didn't say directly "I don't recommend it", but the before mentioned comments make that pretty clear.  The lack of a manufacturer response as is customary is notable by it's absence.

With review (2), the Anthem M1 mono-block @ almost $7K a pair, Rubinson is even more direct : he doesn't recommend them because they are not tonally neutral, a problem caused by the excess and poorly defined bass which negatively affected everything.  And that's after replacing the review sample (which had it's own sonic problems) with a production sample. The manufacturer response discuss the topic of burn in and doesn't address the criticism.

Hat's off to Stereophile. If they could just stop giving press to ridiculously overpriced items, their reputation amongst the critics I think would largely be repaired.  Fremer for some strange reason still feels the need to devote column inches to a $10K power strip, though he damns it with faint praise throughout - basically saying, if you want to spend $10K to make your system sound more lush, go ahead, but I wouldn't.  It's Ok Michael : you can safely ignore these scam artists.  We won't hold it against you : in fact we'll thank you.

[Rclark]

Huh. I think I will go ahead and subscribe now.

[medium jim]

Stereophile and all the other magazines devoted to our hobby are not stupid, they will slip out a negative review now and then, but they know how their bread is buttered at the end of the day.   With that said, I do have a subscription to TAS....

Jim

[FullRangeMan]

North American magazines are now free to beat on Krell and Mark Levinson as these brands are no more Made in USA, but Made in China.

Others reviews are no more apologising Krell too:
http://www.10audio.com/krell_s275.htm

Question: These brands low rated in Stereophile are advertising in this magazine??

[wushuliu]

It doesn't take much effort to read between the lines in audio reviews - or any review for that matter. Stereophile gives so-so to negative reviews fairly regularly, they just tend to be subtle about it and they have every right to be. The downside of offering a subjective opinion is hey you might be wrong, so of course it's a lot safer to focus on the positive attributes of a product than negative - particularly if the manufacturer spends dollars on advertising.

[dB Cooper]

President Kennedy once sent someone from The State Department and someone from the Army to evaluate conditions on the ground in Vietnam. The State person came back with a highly negative report while the Army report was extremely upbeat. There is a tape of Kennedy in the Oval Office asking both, "Are you sure the two of you, er, ah, went to the same country??!?"

I often feel the same way reading audio equipment reviews. Problem is, the same words mean different things to different people, even if they both have good "ears", and the same goes for the listener. Stereophile and TAS are entertaining reading for the crapper in my book and that's about it. Even if I hit the Powerball, I would never buy most of the stuff they review. $50K for a power amp... puh-LEEZ.

[Lord Soth]

..... $50K for a power amp... puh-LEEZ.

$50k is mere pocket change.

My power strip costs more than that.

What else does a $250k per annum American spend his money on?

Reminds me of my upcoming golfing appointment with the Stereophile editor whereby we'll break for a mid afternoon session of high tea and scones.

[wushuliu]

$50k is mere pocket change.

My power strip costs more than that.

What else does a $250k per annum American spend his money on?

Reminds me of my upcoming golfing appointment with the Stereophile editor whereby we'll break for a mid afternoon session of high tea and scones.

Just had high tea for the first time on Cali coast a few weeks back. Gotta admit that was an awesome way to start the day.

[navin]

North American magazines are now free to beat on Krell and Mark Levinson as these brands are no more Made in USA, but Made in China.

Looks like both have fallen victim to the bean counters of their Privte Equity owners (ML's parent is Harman Intl. and Krell is funded by KP Capital Partners, LLC - no relation to Kleiner Perkins).

Audio companies like Marantz, Fischer, AR, Klipsch, .....Krell and ML are often driven by the vision of a personality.

[DustyC]

I heard those Levinson amps driving some top dog Revel speakers at a club demo. As long as the volume didn't get up too high I thought they sounded ok. Low level detail was very easy to discern. But somebody played a massive choral piece with orchestra and asked to "crank it up". I wound up moving to the back of the room. Harsh city

I'm glad to see reviewers pounding on these Class 'D' amp efforts. The price to power ratio is just too good to pass up. Lots of big expensive pieces are reduced in size and they are capable of dumping large amounts of power into tough loads. Get the sound quality up and lots of mfgr's will be jumping into this.

Class 'D' amp reviews remind me of the hits that CD took when it 1st came out. If everybody thought CD was "perfect" when it was introduced there would be the same dismal sound from them today.

The one think I did think was lame was awarding Product of the Year to another boring Audio Research tube amp (YAWN) The Audioquest Dragonfly USB device should have walked away with the honor. The Dragonfly will make a lot bigger splash than that amp will.

[JLM]

Must be Levinson and Anthem stopped buying advertisements from them.   

[jtwrace]

described as "threadbare / hard / mechanical / hazy overlay" and "rarely listened for more than one hour at a time". 

I think they got their articles mixed up and this was for the Wilson's. 

 

[jhm731]

I think they got their articles mixed up and this was for the Wilson's. 

 

Mickey Fremmer's rave review of the XLFs will be in the 1/13 issue, if you can't wait, here's one you can read now:

http://www.theaudiobeat.com/equipment/wilson_audio_alexandria_xlf.htm

[jarcher]

Guess I should have held out a bit longer : stereophile electronic version now available for half off @ Zinio - i.e. 24 issues at $11.99. 

http://www.zinio.com/browse/publications/?productId=6537936&offer=500431085&WT.mc_id=ENG_COM_DISC_ENGLISH_112212_2YR50_Stereophile

Lot's of other magazines (100) also going for 1/2 off, but only through 3 December.  Was gonna get the lad rag FHM Philippines, but decided to be a dork instead & get Sound & Vision.   

[TONEPUB]

I read Mikeys review of the Levinson and didn't think it was really that "negative." He just didn't like the way it sounded and did a pretty accurate job of describing
the sound of the amplifier under different conditions.  I have a couple of friends that have that amp, that love that kind of sound.

And, I'm sure in the context of a different system, say Sonus Faber instead of Wilson, or maybe a pair of Harbeth Monitor 40.1s or even magnepans it would have
been different.

Don't see what the fuss is all about.

[jarcher]

I read Mikeys review of the Levinson and didn't think it was really that "negative." He just didn't like the way it sounded and did a pretty accurate job of describing
the sound of the amplifier under different conditions.  I have a couple of friends that have that amp, that love that kind of sound.

And, I'm sure in the context of a different system, say Sonus Faber instead of Wilson, or maybe a pair of Harbeth Monitor 40.1s or even magnepans it would have
been different.

Don't see what the fuss is all about.

"threadbare / hard / mechanical / hazy overlay" and "rarely listened for more than one hour at a time". How much more to you need to say to be explicit that it's a negative review?  Is there a possible reader that could come across that description & say : "yeah - thats the sound I like, think this component is for me".  Somehow I don't see anyone at Stereophile coming out and saying, "it sucks, especially for the cost, don't buy it".  That might launch a lawsuit....... 

[earwaxxer]

They probably had a falling out on their advertising contract.

But, no, I'm not surprised that an ultra high end 'boutique' piece of kit can get a not so good review. I have never believed that ALL of the ultra high bux stuff was actually worth it! Some of it may deserve to be there. What percentage though? There is going to be some crap in there! Just like there are some crappy doctors out there. Not everyone's doctor is 'the best'. Just because it has the bling bling looks doesnt mean it sounds good.

[richidoo]

I haven't read the mag yet, maybe my subscription finally ran out?  But I agree with Fremer about that Levinson. I've heard that amp 3 times on different speakers. It ALWAYS sounds awful in the same way. It's gritty and makes me angry and want to get away.  The worst class D amp I have ever heard. But I think it would be a HT junkies wet dream, violent fearsome transients, no matter how loud it is infinite power to scare the crap out of you. But if you prefer music, or soothing your soul, this is not the amp. Their 532 is much much better for half the price. Hard to believe the same people could create and stand behind both products.  I am looking forward to seeing the review to see how Atkinson drools over the Levinson flagship amp in the measurements section.

[TONEPUB]

"threadbare / hard / mechanical / hazy overlay" and "rarely listened for more than one hour at a time". How much more to you need to say to be explicit that it's a negative review?  Is there a possible reader that could come across that description & say : "yeah - thats the sound I like, think this component is for me".  Somehow I don't see anyone at Stereophile coming out and saying, "it sucks, especially for the cost, don't buy it".  That might launch a lawsuit.......

I agree with Richidoo, however, I can't tell you how many people I know with Class D amps that sound pretty similar to that, that think that sound is awesome. Doesn't work for me, heck, I like things more warm and inviting than Mikey, that's why I don't have a pair of Wilson's. (though the new XLF he's got is a lot less "Wilson-y" than the past generation)

And, knowing how the current crop of Harman/Levinson engineers tend to value measurements so heavily....

[Mr Peabody]

I have a friend who is a Levinson dealer and the reps say Levinson is built in their New England factory, not China.