The last TAS I discussed on our pages was full of overpriced madness. Let’s see if they’ve come down to earth this summer.

*The letters section has sad sack audiophiles worried that TAS is written by AI instead of humans.

Really boys? Don’t you have more important things to obsess about? While I often chide the magazines for writing too much about wildly expensive gear, I don’t harbor conspiracy theories that they’re not really doing the work.

I just think there is mutual back scratching going on. High end manufacturers lend these writers piles of unaffordable gear- for which they get FREE ADVERTISING under the guise of reviews. The mags spend an absurd amount of time writing about insanely priced gear- because it is so liberally loaned to them.

*One writer brings up a topic that we’ve all experienced. He went to a live concert that was so loud he could barely stand it. Along with shatteringly loud sound, the pro sound system had little clarity and no perspective of space. It was just loud.

Of course this is USUALLY the case for an amplified show. It is definitely NOT the case for acoustic music. Moral of the story, attend acoustic shows instead of PA driven shows.

I saw Steely Dan at Summerfest a decade ago, had good seats, and even they were pushed to the edge of distortion. I attend numerous acoustic piano recitals and orchestral concerts. The sound is always outstanding.

*RH writes a very interesting article about The Sphere in Las Vegas. They have a pseudo Eagles’ show which he says had GREAT sound. That’s actually very exciting, given the topic just above this. With RH’s vast experience, if he was impressed, it’s worth paying attention to.

*They visited the Axpona show. Oh no… I fear madness!

*It starts as I fear. RH says the most eagerly awaited product intro is the $119k Solution power amp. But of course, it sounds best running mono, so two are actually the way to fly for $238k. No thanks.

*Alas, he sees the light! RH is impressed by the fabulous new Atoll IN400 integrated amp with matching CD player and streamer. IN400 runs $7k and competes with any integrated on the market. It has discrete through hole componentry, not surface mount parts or op amps. Optional DAC and Phono boards allow you to build your own pizza.

I was happily shocked that he would even walk in a room where someone could actually afford something. He disappoints with his brevity though. Further, he didn’t mention there were more great Atoll electronics in the room next door sounding fabulous with Atohm speakers.

Emilios Mandalios of Chicago is the importer of Atoll and Atohm. He’s a great guy and spends a small fortune every year displaying at Axpona. It irritates me that magazine writers get a woody over $119k power amps made in Switzerland and aren’t much interested in the fabulous Atohm Sirocos for $3800 per pair.

*Back to madness as he likes some Scandanavian $70k preamp with matching 180k power amps. And of course, there’s the $35k DAC.

*He also likes $35k monoblocks with 6w. It reminds me of the old audiophile cartoon, “Don’t you have something more expensive with fewer watts?”

*Boulder amps get a full paragraph. The $47k monoblocks are the bargain basement of the line.

By now you get the drift. They mention the odd affordable product but are only truly enthused about the unobtanium. Let’s move on to reviews.

*MF reviews a table with arm for over $20k. Pages and pages. For TAS this really is peanuts. He says you should check it out if this is in your financial comfort zone. Breaking news…

*A new tape deck is intro’d for $88k. Oh boy. 8 plus pages of silly you don’t need to read.

*YG debuts a new Sonja for a mere $100k per pair. Only 3p. If it was $200k, it might have gotten 6p.

*Berekely has a new DAC for $34k. Its USB Noise Isolator is only a $6k addition. 6P of playing in the sandbox. I will bet a blindfolded audiophile couldn’t pick this out vs the $1500 Mytek Liberty 2!

*New $20k ribbon speakers are available from a company who just discovered they cannot survived being shipped in their cardboard boxes. I gotta say, if you’re interested in ribbon based speakers, don’t forget who has done it better and longer than anyone else- and can actually ship them safely- MAGNEPAN.

*Speaker cables for $7k, for two 6’ runs with flimsy spade lugs. Ummm, NO. Please consider Kimber’s fabulous Carbon 8s, which run $1320 with great spades or bananas. The CARBON factor improves dynamics and clarity vs everyone else- who doesn’t use carbon.

*P102, virtually an 11p ad for some new $40k Wilsons, that are almost exactly like their bigger brothers for $52k. So ya see, these are a “no brainer.”

This issue brings us an intriguing article on live sound. It recognizes some show products a working man can afford- although with tiny detail. We can infer their heart isn’t in it.

Per usual, they’re viewing the audio world from the viewpoint of guys who have been given crazy expensive gear to play with. They have little interest in anything we do.