Which of these discounted HT magazines should I get? (1 Viewer)

[Todd K]

Hello all,

I have the opportunity to get these Home Theater magazines at the following rates:

Audio Video Interiors (10 issues for $10.00)

Home Entertainment & Design (6 issues for $9.00)

Home Theater (12 issues for $6.50)

Sound & Vision (10 issues for $6.00)

Stereophile's Guide To Home Theater (10 issues for $8.00)


Does anyone have any recommendations? I am really not a magazine guy, so unless any of these mags gets glowing praise from you folks, I'll probably pass. Thanks for looking.

-Todd

EDIT: Prices updated. They are actually cheaper than I originally thought.

 

[Matt Gordon]

I like SGHT.

AVI used to be a pretty good magazine, but the quality of the installations has gone seriously downhill last time I checked, and they all look the same these days.

If it was me, I'd stay away from Sound and Vision and Home Theater. Never seen Home Entertainment & Design.

If you're not buying/upgrading/designing/installing, there isn't really a compelling reason to subscribe to any of them, unless you just like to drool, like I do.

 

[Todd K]

Matt, thank you for your response. I am not in the market right now to buy or design, but it's always nice to see what people are talking about. If there were no Home Theater Forum, I'd be more inclined to get these magazines, but it just seems like the stuff here is always current and I can get my questions answered immediately. On the hand, I can't bring the HTF with me into my library, and $8 isn't too much to keep it stocked with reading material for a year.

Todd

p.s. by "library" I mean "bathroom."

 

[Todd K]

No one else has any opinions whatsoever on the above magazines?

 

[Ron Etaylor]

I like and subscribe to Home Theater and S&V. At those prices you can't go too far wrong.

 

[Scott L]

I also got a deal on SGHT, very nice mag, but I miss HT mag's in-depth articles. SGHT has much better component reviews though.

Where did you find you can get HT mag for $6.50?

 

[Todd K]

It's through my aunt. I'm not sure on the details, but it's one of those magazine deals where high school kids or whoever do fundraisers with brochures where you can get discounted magazine subscriptions where half goes to the school and half goes to the magazine company. Somehow she's set up where they're only paying the half that would go to the magazine people.

I might get the SGHT subscription. Maybe S&V, too.

 

[Keith Mickunas]

I like both HT and SGHT. They're owned by the same people now, and there's been some movement of people between them I believe. I don't really prefer one over the other, and neither have any real problems as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Drew Bethel]

I would stick with Home Theater (12 issues for $6.50) and
Sound & Vision (10 issues for $6.00.

The others are all about electronics and speakers costing a gazillion dollars!

 

[Bob McElfresh]

SGHT is one of my favorites. Home Theater goes up and down in terms of quality.

I dont know if you can get them, but some well-respected magazines are:

WideScreen Review (dont let the title fool you - lots of good technical info is in the articles).

DVD Etc - a new mag, but fresh and trying to be a contender

Home Theater Builder - This is the DIY magazine so you dont have to spend $$$ on custom installs.

 

[Todd K]

Wow, seems like almost unanimous praise for SGHT. I'll definitely spring for that one.

The titles I mentioned in my first post are the only ones I can get at the discounted price. I may pick up one more title. I'm kind of leaning towards S&V since it's the cheapest.

Thanks again, all.

 

[Dave Falasco]

I got a gift subscription to S&V from Tweeter (for spending so much money over the years, I guess... ) and it was worth exactly what I paid for it. By the fourth issue I was just transporting it directly from my mailbox to the dumpster.

I subscribed to HT for years, but that, too has seriously declined in quality. Can't speak for the others, but I would stay away from those two.

 

[DaveHo]

I've been getting HT for a few years now. I usually spend 5-10 minutes max flipping through it when it first shows up in my mailbox, and then put it aside for later. Later usually never comes and it ends up in the trash. In other words, there's almost never anything in it that makes me want to read it. If they hadn't offered me a smoking deal the last time my renewal came up, I'd have ditched it.

Can't comment on the others.

-Dave