People who read my site are accustomed that in my section “Audio News” are published the semi-sarcastic articles about different aspects of audio industry. This article however is far from satire and now I would like just to publish one none-invented fact. You read this decide for yourself if this actual fact about a “famous reviser” is more absurd and ridiculous than the rest published at the given “Audio News” forum - I would hardly was able to invent the stupidity like this...

I received many e-mails from the visitors of my site. On 26 Jan 2007 I received an e-mail that makes me to laugh and to reply to the sender with the words: “It is typical and I know many stories like this about many industry players”. However, I decided do not publish the facts of that e-mail as I had no corroboration on the story from other sources. The story does sounded to me as a perfectly composed gossip, not impossible, but still, not credible enough to publish it as a fact.

Recently I got confirmation from very credible sources that the facts described in the mail were correct and without providing any further comments, here is the text of the original e-mail that I received.

On Fri, 26 Jan 2007 11:37:12,
Original Message -----------------------

Don't know if you've heard this, but I'm guessing you're interested.
Jonathan Valin was nearly fired at Absolute Sound for unethical
behavior. Instead he was forced to formally apologize to Nordost for
attempting to sell interconnects that had been loaned to him by Nordost.
Originally, he had been sent a 17 meter length of Nordost interconnect
(probably their most expensive). Scum Valin had the interconnects cut
up into 17 one meter lengths and reterminated. Then douchebag Valin
attempted to sell these interconnects on Audiogon. The manufacturer
discovered this and traced the interconnects to Valin. The
manufacturer contacted Valin and asked that he return the 17 meter
length of loaned cable. Valin claimed he "lost them." LMAO. The
manufacturer then contacted the Absolute Sound. When confronted, Valin
lied and claimed he loaned them to a friend who cut them up and tried to sell them.
Apparently, the Absolute Sound nearly fired him, but instead, made him
write a formal apology to Nordost. Too bad they didn't fire his ass!!!

I have quite a confidence that if you meet and talk with Joseph Goebbels or Lavrenti Beria or with Idi Amin then they all will come along like “nice guys”. When I met and spoke with Valin he seemed “normal” as well. Hey even I appear as “a nice guy” when audio people meet me (well, it is not necessarily true :-).

Valin and the audio industry are the a perfect match. From one side we have criminal naivety, inaptance, inadequacy, ignorance and simple stupidity and from other side we have a machinery build to capitalize on those qualities and convert them into marketing traffic. 

If to forget about the “nice guys” status and to look at the actual deeds then it would be very easy to observe that Valin’s actions is a trail of horrible audio products that were build to be targeted the Valin-level ability “to be impressed”. What was MBL’s sale in US before Valin begun to blab about them? Look in what cult Valin converted Kharmas! Look what he is doing today with Magico… Sure, he is being plugged in the industry’s well-oiled mechanism of distribution and sales is effective but des it has anything to do with Sound?  The MBL, the Kharma and the Magico are the worst sonic attempts ever undertook, precisely for the reasons of following the very mistaken strategic sonic objectives. Jonathan Valin was the person who in his endless stupidity and simplicity curatives and sell those Mistaken Strategic Sonic Objectives… A typical suburban Audio Moron ™ is getting his audio magazine and reading Valin’s drooling about the next sonic Mecca that Valin discovered runs to a dealer. But the Audio Moron ™ is not familiar with the fact that in many instances manufactures and distributors are laughing on the Valin’s writhen silliness and in some case even ask apologies to own customers for Valin’ taken it overboard (I witnessed it in multiple occasions).

What however, really thrilled me in the Valin’ Nordost story was the brutality with which it was executed and the firmness of believe that hey will be able to go away with it. Any manufacturer can tell stories of the reviewer – the industry parasites - extort money and services. The manufactures do not complain too much as the extorted loss has already built-in into the cost of products. However, in this case Valin took is to a totally other level and I think he had crossed the line that divided executioner and murderer. I wonder what would be with him if he committed the same actions in any other environment.

Which brings me to an interesting question… Would I accept the story above about Valin differently if I knew that Jonathan Valin’s writing critiques were in fact worthy?