Hi-Fi Mags

The hi-fi mags of the 70s were written from the point of view of consumer advocacy. That’s long gone. I’m really sad about that.

I still remember an early TAS where Harry Pearson was saying he had to go through a handful of ADC XLM cartridges, to find one where the cantilever didn’t collapse. He also pointed out that they had a ridiculous mounting system that wasn’t compatible with anything else- “damn them.”

In this article the reader learned that- at its best, the ADC was among the best sounding carts of the day. But be forewarned. They have consistency problems and mounting them physically is a challenge. You need to buy from a dealer who can deal with the logistics of mounting and replace it- if it is faulty and collapses. Don’t be cheap and buy mail order. Remember “mail order?”

HP was looking out for us, doing a real service. He was reviewing a product a working man could afford and told us about its strengths and weaknesses. TAS won us over early and often.

There was some real journalism there, not just selling for his advertisers. Oh… do you remember? In the early days – TAS didn’t have advertisements. They could be transparent about their experiences and not fear losing a lifeline advertiser.

I’m not pleased with the mags these days. In fact, I’m really sour on them.

Let’s pick a category- loudspeakers. Why are crazy expensive Magicos, Wilsons, Stenheims and the like featured virtually every issue?

These companies loan and virtually gift products to the mags. In addition to the advertisements they pay for, the product donations … garner massive influence. Everything you read needs to be considered under this light.

Take a look at the Jan 2026 issue of Stereophile. The fellow reviewing Wilson Sabrina Vs reveals quite a bit. On p54 he says he reviewed and purchased Wilson Sasha DAWs. Those speakers run $40k per pair. What do you think he paid for them? He follows that by saying he reviewed and purchased the Wilson Sasha V5 speakers, $52k per pair. When he traded in the DAW for the V5, what do you think he paid? Then he moved and traded in the Sasha V5 for the 50^th Anniversary Watt/Puppy, $40k in a plain Jane finish. Just breathe in for a minute, what you would have to pay to go through these purchases and trades. Three transactions of $40-52k per pair speakers in just a few years. Real world purchase and trade values would put all of these moves in a different perspective. YOU can’t borrow these from the public library.

Check out the “Associated Equipment” of any reviewer. This Wilson writer has about $500k of gear in his stable. JVS has well over a million buck$ of gear in his bullpen.

I’ve been a hi-fi dealer for over 50 years. I purchase every product in the house. I never get to trade back old stock when new models come out. My opinions are based on actual product performance, reliability and value. I have the same dog in the hunt as you do.

China Again

Please support N American and Euro products with your wallet. Avoid the Chinese gear in particular.

My gripe with China goes well beyond the politics. Their products are built at darn near slave labor conditions. Laborers in the PRP work double the hours we do, for a pay rate of roughly $3 per hour and often live in dorms. They get to go home on Sundays. So yep, China built products are cheaper than ours.

Instead, please consider Atoll of France. They make integrated amps, CD Players, separates, streamers and more. These products are most importantly built BETTER than the Chinese gear. They’re made in Atoll’s own house in France. The sound is better. The warranty is better. The reliability is better. The price is some higher- but not nearly as much as you’d expect. And you’re supporting a family owned company who cares about TLC.

Chinese gear comes from job houses. They build products for a plethora of brand names and businesses. The same house can make 70 hi-fi brands, cable boxes, streaming boxes, circuit boards for appliances and enough wire to circle the globe.

Back to Stereophile, Jan 2026. On p 63 they start the review about an Advance Paris CD player that is made in China. The reviewer says, “I’m pleased to be reviewing an affordable new CD player from an established French brand.” WTF?! Here he is, clearly complicit with the ruse. Yet later in the review he fesses up that the transport is a Chinese Sanyo. (Atoll uses a Japanese made Teac.) The Advance Paris uses Chinese made caps. (Atoll uses Japanese made Nichicons.) AP uses Chinese made transformers. (Atoll designs its transformers and has them built in Spain.) Then on p67 in paragraph 3, the writer reveals AP’s design shop is just south of Paris, their units are manufactured in China.

The Advance Paris, Chinese built CD player, runs $1400.

The Atoll CD50 runs $1650. It is built in France of superior components and more skilled workmanship. CD50 sounds GREAT and is reliable. Please spend $250 more for a super Atoll with a 3 year warranty, vs a Chinese built player with 2 year warranty.

In the past couple of years we’ve sold well over 100 Atoll CD players. We haven’t had a single unit bad out of the box, or fail. We can’t say the same of ANY other brand of player we’ve ever sold, regardless of cost or where it was built.

Speakers

Once again, I ask you to look beyond China. I’m not saying China can’t build some good speakers. Some defy the odds and perform well, most notably, the Wharfedale Lintons. Yet there are far more average performers from China than exceptional ones.

Once you recognize the “look” of Chinese built speakers you can see whole lines of house built speakers with all manner of brand names on them. B&W, KEF, JBL, Klipsch, Martin Logan, Monitor Audio, Polk and thousand others are built after money is wired across the planet. The boxes arrive here with whatever logo you’ve paid for.

Please look to legitimate N American and Euro speaker builders. Atohm of France is a brand I’m particularly smitten with. The Sirocco line is affordable with a small footprint. Wife acceptance factor is outstanding! They are more detailed than panel speakers and cast a large image- that isn’t remotely confined to the positioning of the cabinets. There are too many models to go deep here, but I’ll tell you Sirocco 1.24 ($2400 per pair) and Sirocco 2.24 ($3800 per pair) are nothing short of fabulous performers. If you run them with Atoll electronics in particular, you’ll be shocked at how deep and robust the bass is. If you run them with garden variety Chinese amps, you’ll wonder why I’m making a fuss about them. You simply can’t unlock the bass prowess of these chameleons with a Chinese amp built from a bag of chips. Atoll amps with through hole parts and high testosterone transformers, caps and output transistors- bring an exciting improvement in performance!