HIFi Five youtube channel

[Ricky64]

I wish Elliott well. At the start of the podcast, I loved his accounts of how the audio business "used to be". I miss the classic audio store. I believe that if I lived in his area, I would be in his shop all the time to seek his advice and his excellent product lineup.
I also agree with Mike B. though. When business conditions change, you observe, change your execution, and move on.
Let's all move on.

 

[Kramer64]

The publications can do as they choose but there is a simple step that would not cost them a dime and the manufacturers would continue to subsidize their business by compensating their employees/contractors. Just have a quarter page in the back of the magazine that lists which companies compensate which reviewers with free or deeply discounted gear. The same reviews would get written, the same people would read them and the readers would have the information so they could make their own assessment. I suspect the great majority of readers would appreciate the transparency and praise the publications for taking that step. It would enhance their credibility and cost them nothing. What's the argument against that?

With respect, I think its not at all accurate to suggest that those who started this discussion failed. They put the spotlight on practices that a lot of people find questionable. Its a shame that it becomes so personal, but its not up to Elliott to create an appropriate conflicts of interest policy for another business. If there is a failure here, its not his.

 

[BendingWave]

I believe you are missing something here. The audio industry is not analogous to law or medicine. Did you have to take audio boards, or get a license from the state to practice audio sales? Consumers of material products are responsible for their due diligence, and no one is going to die from making a suboptimal purchase. This isn't to take anything away from your business, as I do admire and respect your acumen. The bottom line is all of the above activities are part of manufacturing, marketing and sales in many industries. There really isn't something sacred about the audio industry where this is immoral. Suboptimal, yes. Is it fraud? I think that's a stretch.
You are dying on the hill of this immorality, and it hasn't been pretty to watch.

First I didn’t bring up lawyers or doctors and they are not standard practice in any business

I believe you are missing something here. The audio industry is not analogous to law or medicine. Did you have to take audio boards, or get a license from the state to practice audio sales? Consumers of material products are responsible for their due diligence, and no one is going to die from making a suboptimal purchase. This isn't to take anything away from your business, as I do admire and respect your acumen. The bottom line is all of the above activities are part of manufacturing, marketing and sales in many industries. There really isn't something sacred about the audio industry where this is immoral. Suboptimal, yes. Is it fraud? I think that's a stretch.
You are dying on the hill of this presumed immorality, and it hasn't been pretty to watch.

i didnt brng that subject up to begin with MEP did.
It is not in fact ok in every industry there are laws against it, you can find them if you look. I am not in favor of decreased morality, influence peddling, possible financial incentives or worse and anything else. You can do as you please that is up to you. Me dying on a hill is way out there but if I am going to do it I will do it for the truth and honest playing field. You of course can do whatever it is that makes you feel good. The facts that companies used threats and pressure should tell you all you need to know, I did not back down because of me I did because I can't force shit on the innocent people and companies that were being coercised. OK now I am done and dead LOL

 

[BendingWave]

It's not my fight, it's yours. I explained how I conduct myself. I never signed up to police the high-end audio industry against things you don't like. You took that role on and had to cave because of the heat and harm you caused to people that were collateral damage in your scab picking mission. As a result of the blowback you received, you resigned from the Fab 5.

actually you are a chicken. You danced around the questions and you are the type of person that if it didnt happen to me then it didnt matter.
Honestly please put me on ignore because I am doing it to youi

 

[mep]

just like reviewers LMAO

You like to talk about the old days and how HP was your mentor. HP founded TAS and all the gear in his reference systems in different rooms of his house was there on long-term loans. As far as I know, the practice of reviewers getting long-term loans of gear started with HP. Did you ever lecture HP about his use of long-term loans?