Last November, I posted an excerpt from a review by Michael Fremer of Stereophile that seemed to generate much spirited conversation among the Audio Review regulars. The discussion soon degenerated into two camps: "$4200 is too much to pay for a mid-level amplifier" and "$4200 is not too much to pay for a mid-level amplifier". I would now like to quote Art Dudley from the new issue of Stereophile:

"People who lack our enthusiasm for recorded music and exceptional playback gear delight in criticizing high-end audio as fraudulent. I don't share that point of view. We are crippled not so much by fraud as by a bit of greed, a bit of sloppy, cost-ineffective engineering, and a lack of willingness on the part of all of us to speak up and say, 'I'm sorry, but an interconnect is not, under any conditions, worth as much as a new car.' For me, that lack of willingness ends today." He also states; "It's time to call bullshjt on $30,000 amplifiers that would be priced to sell for $10,000 tops, if not for their massive, jewelry-like casework."

It's heartening to me to see a reviewer from the same mag as Fremer take a stand against greed. I'll be curious to see how this goes over with some of Stereophile's big-bucks advertisers.

Your thoughts?