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Bound for Sound is Twenty Years Old

I knew it, but I hadn’t
really thought about it until Senior European Correspondent, Rich Rodgers,
asked what we were doing to celebrate our twentieth year of publication. Had
it been twenty years already? I had to inform him that I hadn’t planned
anything special to designate the landmark; I still haven’t. But I wouldn’t
be totally honest if I didn’t admit to some pride in attaining the august
old age of 20 in an industry where print publications seldom reach puberty,
much less young adulthood. While other magazines have been around longer, as
far as I know, no audio based periodical has shown the stability of
ownership, consistency of viewpoint and overall continuity that we have.
Well, there is the publication of the Boston Audiophile
Society. Does an audio club count? If so, that’s okay, though I don’t
believe they have had the same editor since 1989 (the year we started). And
there is The Sensible Sound that’s been a stalwart journal since
the early days, but if I’m not mistaken they took some time off in the
1980s seeking greener pastures. TAS has seen a major shakeup and new
ownership with MultiMedia. Stereophile has gone from J. Gordon Holt,
to Larry Archibald, to corporate ownership and being lumped in with such
non-audio publications as Maxim and Motortrend. And there has
been the complete demise of large readership magazines like Audio, High
Fidelity and Stereo Review. They were the standard bearers which
carried the industry on their backs through the 60s, 70s and 80s. On the
opposite end of the print spectrum you have the short lived upstarts that
showed so much promise before wilting in the harsh landscape of dwindling
readership, increased expenses and the internet. In this group I would place
Listener, Fi, Audioand
High Performance Review. Plus any number of regional as well as national
attempts to publish audio reviews on a regular basis. Bound for Sound has
outlived them all…
The high mortality rate for audio publications stems
primarily from two things: The bottom line, and the fact that it isn’t
easy to write audio reviews. The bottom line is a pretty easy thing to
understand. It takes money to circulate the written word. Paper, ever
increasing postage, layout, printing, a web page and an office to keep all
of the above organized are expensive for print. Hard copy magazines also
need to maintain a web page archiving reviews and essays in much the same
way as an e-zine does; though e-zines don’t need to maintain a print
publication to maintain their distribution. And when income is primarily
based on advertising revenue, as it is with most publishers, money has to be
spent on creating the infrastructure necessary to acquire advertisers,
attend to their needs and answer their questions – all things that have
nothing to do with audio, while costing money nonetheless. Our decision back
in 1989 not to take advertising was a wise one from the point of financial
stability and editorial freedom.
Still, it’s expensive to print and distribute audio
text of any kind. That’s why so many magazines have sprouted up in the
past touting high expectations and hope, only to see them scurry off into
oblivion amongst an avalanche of debt and excuses. If the high-end
publishing industry is bankrupt of anything, it’s foresight and realistic
expectations.
When we started Bound for Sound our goals were modest and
we wanted to keep costs down. It’s the reason for our present format and
our undying dedication to simplicity. I would love to have a magazine in
digest form like TAS was twenty-five years ago. It would be a dream
come true. But the added expense would require advertising and selling out
to the opinion skewing forces of advertisers and the bottom line. As it is,
and as it has been for twenty years, a slow month at BFS revenue wise only
means trying harder the next month. Of course, we want to turn a profit, and
for most years we have, but money alone has never been the determining
factor on whether we print or not. For that reason, I can guarantee that
there will always be another issue of BFS right around the corner. (Even if
it seem a little slow in coming out.)
My second point above was that writing audio reviews
consistently and competently isn’t easy. If I only had a nickel for every
time someone has approached me wanting to review for Bound for Sound.
Usually, the request arises not out of a love of music or agreement with our
ideals, but in expectation of the wonderful perks associated with being a
Big Time Audio Reviewer. For example, Corey Greenburg sent me a letter
wanting to write wire reviews for BFS before he latched onto a gig at Stereophile
and stardom. From his letter alone, I had questions. In twenty years, I’ve
only accepted eight "applications" to write for BFS, of them,
three have been up to the task of regularly contributing quality material on
a regular basis; and they are with me now. It takes a special kind of person
to audition and then competently write about a piece of audio componentry on
a regular basis, especially for the meager dollars I pay. Few people realize
how challenging and grueling it can be to write three to five pages of
quality text… until they try it.
Being a writer is something that you first have to love,
have a knack for and then be willing to keep at it. Talented writers are
constantly getting a start as reviewers in this industry, but when they find
out how difficult the task truly is, they usually head off for something
easier. Sticking to the job of audio evaluation requires equal parts of
dedication, curiosity and artistry – a rare mix.
I can say that I truly appreciate our BFS readers; you
are our greatest asset. I get your e-mails, letters and phone calls. Each
contact makes this job more rewarding and human. I’ve told my wife many
times that no matter where we traveled in the Country (including Hawaii),
BFS readers have offered to have us stay at their homes and spend some time.
As a tribute to you, a number of months back we made our offer to have
readers come to Kewanee to visit and listen to the Big Rig. Some of you have
taken us up on the offer, and the offer is still open. You will always be
welcome. Still, I think that even if I had no readers, no writers and no one
to mail BFS to, I’d still write it… Here’s to another twenty.
The AKfest in Livonia, Michigan has just
finished, and while I didn’t get to go this year, I hear it was a real
success. With the obvious growth of the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in Denver,
it appears that the audio industry has turned a corner of sorts. The focus
is now more on the consumer and his needs as opposed to simply getting the
most boxes out the door. Trade only shows such as the CES in Las Vegas every
year serve a purpose as an industry watering hole, but it’s the local
shows in Denver and Livonia that custom fit consumers to the right gear,
while opening up lines of communication between the local dealers who
provide the displays and the hobbyists who attend. At these smaller, more
regional shows, it’s the dealer who puts a face on the products at a forum
large enough to attract persons from a vast area. These more regional shows
are a buffet of sorts that can be covered thoroughly in a couple of days as
opposed to the miles of aisles in ‘Vegas. The manufacturers, for the most
part, then stand back in support roles, thereby allowing the "middle
man" (dealer) to create the commerce and make the sale. I think it
works better that way.
No doubt about it, these smaller shows work. The
remaining question is; when and where? I believe that we can fit in one,
maybe two, more regional audio shows during the years; perhaps, one in the
South and one in the East. Eventually, I hope that everyone can participate…
It’s been a source of confusion
in the past, and I think a word here can remedy the situation. On the front
page of every Bound for Sound is an issue number and a publication date. For
this issue the number is 193. The publication date is June 2009. Even though
I would like to, we do not come out on a monthly basis. Hence, you will not
see covers with publication dates that closely correspond with consecutive
months. So, don’t be surprised when one issue says "March" and
the next one says, "May." It means nothing other than one issue
came out in March and the other in May. It doesn’t mean that you missed
the April issue. On the other hand, the issue number means everything. We
number our issues consecutively. Our last issue was #192 and this one is
#193. If you are missing #191, you have missed an issue. It’s as simple as
that.
And while on the subject, there is a way for you to know
the issue number of the last issue of your subscription. Simply look at the
label on the outside of your envelope. Just to the right of your name is a
number. That number corresponds to the number of the last issue of your
present subscription. So, if it says 193, this would be your last issue.
If, however, you don’t pay attention to the expiration
number on the envelope, we always send two notices of expiration before you
run out. After all, we want you to stay current …
Our cable and broadband has been furnished by Insight
Digital for a number of years. That has changed recently, and with the
change the purchaser of Insight’s consumer base (Comcast) has changed our
e-mail address. The new e-mail address is bfshifi@comcast.net.
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Daedalus Ulysses
Loudspeaker
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ISSUE #193
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Martin G. DeWulf -
Editor & Publisher
Laura M. DeWulf - Circulation
Contributors
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H. Richard Weiner
Marc Kao-Yun
Kessel Day
Brandt Kwiram
Chris Gately
Richard Rodgers
FEATURING -
MGD's comments about our 20th year of publishing BFS; news concerning the
AKfest in Livonia MI; clearing up subscription confusion; a reader letter
from Gary Bronner, a self-professed "DIY solder slinger"
concerning the realm of digital data storage
MGD reviews the Daedalus Ulysses Loudspeaker and the
Antique Sound Lab FLORA EX DT Tube/Autoformer Preamplifier
Rich Rodgers reviews the
AStri T3 Sterope loudspeakers
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