Box 392: Letters to the Editor (Vol. 1, No. 1, Jan/Feb 1977)

The sole criterion for the reproduction of letters in this column is the degree of interest to our subscribers.

Letters may or may not be excerpted, at the discretion of the Editor. Ellipsis (. . .) indicates omission. Address all editorial correspondence to The Editor, The Audio Critic, Box 392, Bronxville, New York 10708.

All of the letters printed in this first issue are, of course, in response to our initial announcements and advertising, rather than our editorial contents.

The Audio Critic:

Anyone who would send you $28 to subscribe to yet another audio-freak magazine must be crazy! Now that we have established my state of mind, you will find my check for $28 enclosed.

Good luck on your ambitious undertaking. I hope the quality of your reviews and your publication schedule live up to my expectations and your advertisements.

Sincerely, Richard S. Wasserstrom

McLean, VA

The Audio Critic: Here is my $28 subscription for your first six issues.

I certainly hope your publication lives up to your standards as propounded by your advertisement in Audio magazine. Even a magazine as good as your ad has described (in such glowing terms!) will have to be very fine indeed to warrant an expenditure of such magnitude.

By the way, this was written with a 19 cent Bic pen. I just can't find my damn quill! Yours truly, Joel M. Ellingsworth San Antonio, TX

The Audio Critic:

I would like to subscribe to your magazine.

Enclosed is a check for (whew!) $28. While this seems excessive, it will be worth it if your magazine is every thing you say it will be.

Hopefully, in the first few issues, you will have a ''golden-ear" evaluation of some of the "state-of-the art" loudspeakers, including the Dahlquist DQ-10 with subwoofer (no sooner said than done-Ed.) and the Infinity QLS.

Sincerely, Mike Kuller, Long Beach, CA

The Audio Critic:

I have been intrigued by your ads in Audio for the past few months, but I (and friends of mine) have been hesitant to subscribe for we have heard grand promises before but not at such a high price.

Well, after reflection I have decided to take a chance and subscribe; enclosed is my check for $28. If you do what you say, then your potential is great and worth the price. If you cannot fulfill your promises, then I have the feeling that you may have some irate readers on your hands.

In any case, best of luck in your adventure and I look forward to receiving the first issue.

Respectfully, Collins Beagle

Charlottesville, VA

The above four letters are fairly typical of one particular group of subscribers and call for some comment.

First of all, we're not a magazine. You'll never see a pile of The Audio Critic on sale either at a news stand or even in an audio store. You can't grab a copy to read on the bus. Call us an advisory service, a technical review, a private journal, a newsletter, or whatever you wish, but not a magazine. Besides, the magazines tell you what everybody already knows, whereas we try to tell you what only a few people know.

Then there's the $28 price for six issues. It amazes us that so many hard-nosed and technically hip people only see the price on the package and never bother to figure out the price per unit. The Audio Critic costs you $4.67 per delivered issue, first-class mail only.

Calculated on the same basis, the 1977 subscription cost of the "other" publication most frequently mentioned by our letter writers comes to $3.50 per issue, or 25% less than The Audio Critic. So that's what the whew!-ing and moaning is all about. Twenty-five lousy percent- and without even comparing the contents!

Which brings us to the main point. On the one hand, we feel no moral obligation to sell a leisure oriented service that we consider superior for less than we can get for it. After all, we aren't fixing the price of milk for babies. And, on the other hand, no one forced our prepublication subscribers to subscribe. They could have waited until the first issue was out, borrowed it from somebody else and then decided whether or not The Audio Critic was worth the price we asked for it. But you, Richard and Joel and Mike and Collins, you just couldn't wait. It was unbearable to you that something like The Audio Critic should exist without your being in on the action from Day One. That's because you're "audio freaks," bless you. We love you for your addiction and cater to it, but it just isn't right that you should attempt to make us feel guilty for it. You were hooked long before we came on the scene.

Furthermore, it simply isn't true that you're "taking a chance." Because, at any point, if you aren't satisfied with our contents or our schedule, all you have to do is drop us a line and the unused portion of your subscription will be refunded. Without a murmur. We figure that an "'irate reader' is a lot worse than one less reader.

Let no one form the impression, though, that our mail is predominantly skeptical. On the contrary, most of the letters we've received so far are like the one that follows.

-Ed.

The Audio Critic:

Please enter my subscription for one year. I applaud your intentions to publish a high-end magazine for the audio enthusiast on a regular basis.

Yours truly, William D. Patterson, MD Nashville, TN The Audio Critic:

I have enclosed a check for a subscription to your audio publication. It is about time someone came out with a publication to tell it like it is.

I hope your publication does not emphasize products made in Japan because there are a lot of American companies just as good or even better.

Sincerely yours, Thomas P. DeFlumeri

New Haven, CT

We would put it a little differently. No matter how good a Japanese audio product is, there's usually a small, specialized American company (not "a lot of American companies') that makes something even better.

For example, the Yamaha B-2 is a superb power amplifier in the light-heavyweight category, but we like the Quatre DG-250 even more. (See our March/April issue.)

-Ed.

The Audio Critic:

Please send subscription ...

... If, during your testing and evaluating, you discover that certain combinations of components sound especially good, natural, warm, horrible or whatever, please make an effort to publish these results.

So many of the existing publications state that certain components sound good only when used in the right combination, but they never say what exactly these combinations are! Well, good luck and I hope I like your first issue.

Sincerely, Richard P. Quill Dayton, OH

We're with you there, one hundred percent. See our comments on that very subject under the Mark Levinson JC-2 and Dahlquist DQ-10 reviews.

-Ed.

We already have to many “high end” audiophile mags, and they all take sides. all your doing is making it worse.

All you want to do is put your hand into some money and power and all you have to do is sit on your ass and Listen to music.

GIVE UP! (Unsigned); Postmarked, Royal Oak, MI

You forgot one thing, Royal Oak. When we're finished sitting, we still have to write something. And that means grammar, spelling, punctuation and capitalization. So it isn't such an easy life after all.

-Ed.

The Audio Critic:

Please send 1 year's subscription, 6 issues.

I am 70 years old and have gone through all the rest. I wish you success, but I don't think you will make it, at any subscription price.

Other publishers of such material are from 6 months to a year behind on the product delivery. What good is this? The large, regular audio magazines are up-to-date but tell nothing. I have never read a bad report.

I find that most equipment is fair; much too high priced; a lot of it comes in new and doesn't work; guarantees are limited; nothing stands up. Before a dealer gets delivery on a new item, the manufacturer is advertising a newer model-much better! They can bankrupt the average small dealer, making new models every week.

Don't ever try to get a part. Why did I ever pick this as a hobby?

Bob Miller

Owner S. A. R. Company (audio dealer)

Babson Park, FL

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[adapted from TAC, Vol.1, No.1 ]

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Also see:

Here Comes The Audio Critic: A Statement of Our Point of View, By Peter Aczel, Editor and Publisher

Various audio and high-fidelity magazines