TAS new look-the end is near?

My understanding is they were losing a LOT of money with the old style, even after their initial changes from journal size to the larger format. They're doing what Stereophile did (and what Pearson decried, but in his defense I don't think this was his decision to make) in an effort to increase their circulation. Can't say I necessarily like it (unless their content remains critical and relatively unbiased), but they're not running a charity for us, ya know.

Having read this month's issue, I hope TAS can stay afloat. They have far more equipment reviews and, of more interest to me, record reviews than Stereophile (my biggest disappointment with S-phile, they used to have a lot of record reviews, now they look like the late Audio in that area), and pretty good quality people writing for them. Circulation numbers and advertisers, though, will have to increase for them to stay alive, no matter how good the content. The Incredible Shrinking Stereophile is purely a factor of advertising pages, as Atkinson has made clear in prior issues.

I recognize all the anti-HP sentiment expressed above, as I used to really feel that way too. Then I started reading some of the earlier issues and getting a flavor for the fact that this really was his journal as he learned about the equipment, and it made his writing a lot more palatable to me. His articles still could get me boiling at times, as could his style, as I think he came off appearing as knowing more than he really did. But you know, even when I might think he or one of the TAS writers was a pompous you-know-what, I would still be stimulated by what was said to read it thoroughly, and give some additional thought to how I was listening, what I was listening for and what to listen to. Never really got that feeling about many of the recent Stereophile writings. I will genuinely miss that, if it comes to pass.