Consumer audio magazines... (1 Viewer)

[Eric D Wong]

OK I've been out of the consumer audio loop for a while now. I got into pro audio, production, DJ etc, but I'm getting a job in the consumer audio industry so I need to stay ontop of things. What magazines are out there for me to subscribe to? I was *real* into it about 8 years ago, I got Stereo Review, Audio, Stereophile, Sound and Vision, and I think the UK What!hifi too. At any rate I need to get back into it. Is Stereo Review not being published anymore? I notice all the editors are the same in Sound and Vision magazine. I see stereophile is still around. I'm going to hit Barnes n Nobles after I type this to see whats out there. Too bad the libraries are closed today, happy belated July 4th to those here/from the USA.

 

[StephenHa]

stereo review and sound and vision are owned by the same publisher I think stereo review has gone away

 

[DanaA]

I think they dropped Stereo Review to evolve into the home theater arena.

I'm at the opposite point, letting my subscriptions expire and fade away. I'm sure that when I'm at the point of buying a bunch of new equipment, I'll get all excited about what they have to say and, at that point, will avidly read everything again.

 

[Mark Romero]

I subscribe to Sound and Vision and enjoy it. I was a long time subscriber to Stereo Review so my subscription stayed the same. They have what I consider to be the best writers in the genre. It rocks.

 

[Eric D Wong]

Im going to subscribe to S+V. $10 for a year!!!

 

[Garrett Lundy]

My personal opinion:

Stereophile: Nonsense high-dollar BS.

The Absolute Sound: Even more high-dollar BS.

DVD ETC: Trite industry fluff thats printed in a fantasy land where all products are super good & Bose products perform just as well as B&W or $1000 cables.

Sound & Vision: Slightly less fluffy. I only read this because they publish the results of system testing.

Blender: The brittish music magazine that has suprisingly little music material in it. Its 'People' magazine for all-rock stars.

In my honest opinion, internet forums such as The Home Theater Forum or Audio Asylum are the only truly worthwhile information sources.

 

[gene c]

I enjoy reading the mags, subscribe to S&V and Home Theater and buy one or two more a month. I agree that everything they review seems to get a good grade but they are still better than Consumer Reports for the serious HT person. But the internet is the best source of info. Just remember to get more than one opinion on things. There is allot of mis-information out there as well. I know because I've made a few "blunders" around here myself from time to time :b !

 

[RobertR]

I subscribed to Stereo Review from 1975 until it became Sound and Vision. I realized two things: I wasn't part of the mass-market demographic they appeal to, and the Internet has made print A/V publications essentially obsolete.

 

[Danny Tse]

Eric,

Off topic....are you that Eric Wong that had his system featured in the old Stereo Review "Systems" column??

 

[Ted Lee]

i subscribe to the following three.

s&v isn't bad. at least it's stuff that i can afford. as with all reviews, i pretty much breeze through the text and search for the data/test results. good explanations of current technologies.

sght is okay. higher-end gear that i may actually be able to aspire to some day.

stereophile is whack. i pretty much skim it, then toss it. those guys talk about gear like the folks at audioasylum.

 

[Eric D Wong]

Danny, yeah that was me, back in 1996. About 2 years later I completely got out of home audio and got into pro audio. I'm real surprised you remembered that article, I almost forgot about it myself, that was like 8 years ago.

 

[Danny Tse]

Hehehe! Man, you were my idol!!!

I remember you had "audiophile fuses" on your Sound King speaker cables to your speakers, which you picked up after seeing an ad in the newspaper.

My memory isn't as good for other stuff....like my girlfriend's last name. But that's another thread.

 

[DanaA]

Danny,

You have absolutely the best memory in the world. Wow!!! From eight years ago??? Very impressive.

 

[BrianB]

Blender isn't British! Are you thinking of Uncut or Q?

 

[Eric D Wong]

Oh ok I remember the 'audiophile fuses'. I think i made a comment about them not being made although I'm sure they are being made considering all the other snake oil products out there haha.

I think I still am using that Sound King cable haha. Most of the gear in that picture and the carpet in thtat room got replaced however. I still have the Maggies though. Dang I gotta find that article and read it again haha.

You know what now that you mention it, you arent the first person on the net to ask me if that was me in that article (sorry to burst your bubble). I'm _real_ surprised people remember that stuff.

 

[andrew markworthy]

What HiFi is still with us and has its own website: http://www.whathifi.com/
I've always found it to be pretty reliable. It's also perhaps worth reading because it can reveal that what is taken as a sacred cow on one side of the Atlantic isn't on another, and it can provide a useful check on the hyperbole.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Dedicated hobbyist-audio magazines largely have disappeared here in the U.S. What used to be referred to as the "underground audio press" back in the '70s is now, in all its commercial glory, all that remains: The Absolute Sound and Stereophile (and every once in a while, The Audio Critic).

The first hobbyist-audio magazine, Audio, folded years ago. And High Fidelity bit the dust in the early '90s. As noted, Stereo Review (which began life in 1957 as HiFi/Music Review) morphed into Sound & Vision when it became clear that the future of hobbyist audio was tied inextricably to the emerging home-theater phenomenon.

 

[Shane Martin]

I still subscribe to S&V. I like the magazine overall. I do however pickup copies of DVD ETC, Stereophile, SGHT, and Widescreen Review from time to time. I do enjoy them all.

Whathifi is good from time to time.

 

[Ted Lee]

is the stuff listed in whathifi available in the states? i always wondered that.

i do like the mag though.

 

[Danny Tse]

Ted,

Most of the stuff in What Hi Fi are available in the States. Of course, some brands are not as well distributed, or simply NOT distributed here. But most major UK and European brands are available here.

Eric and Dana,

What was VERY impressive about that Stereo Review "Systems" column was the kind of equipment Eric assembled at his then tender age of 16 (??). I believe the article started by say even guys in their mid 30s and 40s would be envious of Eric's stuff.