Michael Fremer leaves Analog Planet

Never read his articles, never cared about what he said. Dropped my subscription to AS and Stereophile a few years ago, never experienced the “vinyl resurgence” as vinyl never left me. Only eventually bought a CD player because I could not get new music by my fav artists on vinyl. Felt like digital was forced upon me as a consumer. The only expert I care about, is how my “expert” ears hear.

@dover, +1 on Fremer’s contributions to the resurgence of vinyl (and on “advertorials”).

I have liked Fremer since his early TAS days.  First of all, and important to me when assessing a reviewer’s relevance, is that when he speaks about the music he does so intelligently.  I remember his early TAS review of his capacitor mods to his lowly Hafler preamp and what a revelation this was for him….and me.  This was back in the day when hobbyists were just learning about the benefits of mods like capacitor upgrades.  I like his passion for the hobby and his quirky and sometimes funny style; a style befitting his background as an aspiring stand up comic…. ok, sure, let’s hear the snarky comments about that one! 

Speaking of snarky comments, I would also say that the vitriol directed at Fremer (and audio critics in general) by some “enthusiasts” is often nothing more than sheer envy.  On some level we all wish we could afford, or at least have access to all those uber expensive toys.  It’s just not fair, right?!

If people like Michael Fremer then who cares where he goes so long as he's on this side of the grass.

@frogman his quirky personality and how he speaks his truth is why I've enjoyed him so much. Plus he's hilarious. There are so many sticks in the mud in audio and all this weird classism over products +$100k, I've always gravitated to the guy. Sure he's got expensive equipment, but he's really one of the few who's worked his life in audio and has done well so why shouldn't he have the best he can afford? 

Don't cry too much for Mikey, Audiophiles! I wonder how much of this move was his decision, as opposed to Stereophile suggesting he take a hike. He and Stereophile took a lot of heat after that article he published about the Onzow Zero Dust Stylus Cleaner several months ago. That was arguably a real half-ass hatchet job of journalism or reporting, as it were. I wonder if Onzow and some of the other goop-type stylus cleaners may have threatened to sue him and Stereophile.