 In the last years of the Cologne period, readers complained about a degradation of the editorial quality, claiming that the magazine was losing its trademark wit and just compiling record reviews indifferently every month.In that sense, "Spex" was no longer a voice distinct from other music magazines such as "Intro", "Uncle Sally" or "Musikexpress".In addition, the financial difficulties of the music industry, meaning declining ad buy figures, might have decided "Spex" to diversify the subjects covered.