Ads and reviews
July 7, 2008
I read your publication regularly and enjoy it very much.
But I've always wondered about your editorial independence from advertisers and how much I
can trust some of your equipment reviews.
For example, the Audioengine A2 powered loudspeakers review
in the current issue. On your cover page is a big spread ad by that company for this
speaker. Then there is a glowing review of these speakers in your equipment section. What
would have happened if your reviewer hated those speakers?
I don't want to assume anything, but could you please
explain how you keep your advertising separate from editorial, if indeed you do?
Ken Sternberg
It’s a fair question, and one I’m happy to
address. The cover page that you see is not an ad at all, but a graphic that we created
displaying the products and music reviews in the July 1 update on GoodSound!
Audioengine is not an advertiser. To see a list of who is, scroll down to the bottom of
the page and you can see an index. But having said that, we have reviewed products from
advertisers and given them very good reviews. You’ll find examples of companies that
advertise and companies that don’t both receiving positive reviews in our pages. As a
further example, look at the current "Opinion" article, “The Best So Far,”
which lists the four most promising products of the year so far. Two are from advertisers
and two aren’t. As they say, the proof is in the pudding.
Clipping
July 3, 2008
Hey there, stereo wizard! Wow, I have a friend who knows
all about stereos and computers, but he is a moron compared to you and the vast expanse of
knowledge you possess. I tend to ramble, but I will really try to keep this succinct. You explained what clipping was,
but I really don't get it. All I know is that I love my loud rock’n’roll, and in
the last six months or so I have noticed that even at a fairly low volumes the
high-frequency notes will barely be audible, but then in a few seconds the music resumes
to the louder volume. Is this clipping? The midrange and bass still sound great,
considering I have a pair of Infinity SM152 speakers that I love. Each one has a 15"
woofer, two 4” midrange drivers and only one 1" tweeter. They are heavy and
40" tall and I have owned them for over 20 years. Should I have the tweeters replaced
or the voice coils or replace the piece-of-crap Yamaha Natural Sound A/V receiver I bought
for $190 because it had been returned? I used to have a Sony STR-D2090 receiver that all
of a sudden one day just would not turn on. My buddy said it was shot and the power amp in
it was fried. The speakers would clip with that, but not nearly as often as with this
Yamaha.
I guess I want your advice about the clipping, of course,
but I would love your opinion on those Infinity speakers and the Sony receiver, which
might be worth getting repaired. How much would that cost? At least that had a source to
listen to those round, black vinyl things, which I have 5000 of. I heard that most
receivers these days have no input for playing vinyl, so you have to buy a phono preamp,
which I did.
Sorry for rambling. Any ideas would be awesome from such a
stereo stud! I will write again, as I have a few other problems. Thanks so much and just
to let you know, I am halfway through reading your archives. I don't know diddly about
stereos, but I find it intriguing.
Kurt Johansen
There are two things going on here. One, your amplifier
is clipping because it is underpowered and will not play loud rock music over very large
loudspeakers. Basically, you need more power and can only get that through buying a
dedicated power amplifier. Second, it sounds to me as if your tweeters in your speakers
are blown. You’ll need to get these replaced. It is likely that these became damaged
precisely because your amplifier was clipping and you are sending mucho distortion through
your Infinity speakers (not a good thing). So there you have it from your resident
"stereo stud." Get a new amp and new tweeters and rock on.
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