I never liked Jonathan Scull. Others in this thread have provided criticisms of him, most of which I agree with. He is a pompous, spoiled individual, whose pretentious reviews were both sickening and of very poor quality. I didn't feel he was truly serving the readers; rather, he was ass-kissing the manufacturers who provided him with a constant flow of their expensive toys.
I found his prose to be boring, tedious, overwrought, and generally vacuous. He was very careful to avoid making hard comparisons between competing products. It always boiled down to a "matter of flavors" with him. He eschewed negative commentary of any piece, and was careful to minimize the sonic flaws. Further, I think his powers of discernment were limited, as is the case with many so-called professional reviewers.
Stereophile has gone so far downhill, and has so many mediocre reviewers, that it really doesn't matter either way in the end.
I found his prose to be boring, tedious, overwrought, and generally vacuous. He was very careful to avoid making hard comparisons between competing products. It always boiled down to a "matter of flavors" with him. He eschewed negative commentary of any piece, and was careful to minimize the sonic flaws. Further, I think his powers of discernment were limited, as is the case with many so-called professional reviewers.
Stereophile has gone so far downhill, and has so many mediocre reviewers, that it really doesn't matter either way in the end.