What's your favorite equip. review magazine? NOT Stereophile

Jayman · « **on:** 27 Oct 2004, 04:33 am »

I am asking for help because I am not happy with my Stereophile subscription and need to find a real alternative.

I am looking for a magazine that reviews what most people can actually afford....not single components that almost aways are above or around USD 10,000. I am sick of looking at Stereophile reviews of predominantly exotic equipment and then the silly conclusions that everything is great! For that much money it better be! A quick glance at the most recent recommended components proves my point....for class A and class B there are tons of options. Once you get to class C & D it is very, very thin. In some categories there is NOTHING listed at all!!!

If that doesn't tell the editors that they are overly skewed toward the top end then here's a quarter. Buy yourself a clue.

Don't get me wrong. I don't want high-quality audio on the cheap and I am not opposed to spending a few thousand dollars for a good component. But I can remember when Stereophile would review and recommend good mid-ranged products like the old Rotel 855/955 CD Player, B&K monoblock amps, etc. that would make it to the Class C & D recommendations. These products are still out there if not even more than ever but Stereophile doesn't seem to find the time or the inclination to tell us about them.

Knowing what my little rant is about, can anyone here recommend a print magazine or online magazine that isn't afraid to review components that most people can afford?

Your honest opinion and understanding is much appreciated

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #1 on:** 27 Oct 2004, 05:34 am »

Quote

can anyone here recommend a print magazine or online magazine that isn't afraid to review components that most people can afford?

This has been around for awhile.... http://www.sensiblesound.com/

maxwalrath · « **Reply #2 on:** 27 Oct 2004, 05:43 am »

I know what you're saying...I started reading stereophile in highschool (maybe '94) and had a subscription for a few years, but even at the $10 renewal rate it wasn't worth it. Every single component got recommended, and less and less were in my budget as time went on.

I haven't had a subscription to anything since I gave up stereophile after a few years, but every now and then I'll stop by the book store and flip through the usual mags. Sensible Sound is the best for less rediculously expensive gear that I know of, but I get most of my info off the web now. Between audiocircle, 6moons, enjoythemsic, etc I can keep up with what's out there.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #3 on:** 27 Oct 2004, 05:49 am »

Quote

but I get most of my info off the web now. Between audiocircle, 6moons, enjoythemusic, etc I can keep up with what's out there

That's the ticket !! Most mags are months behind of what you can find out today on the web. But they do have some nice photo's.....

Inscrutable · « **Reply #4 on:** 27 Oct 2004, 08:40 am »

Other mags to which I have subscribed at various times include The Absolute Sound, Inner Ear Report, Bound for Sound, Positive Feedback. Nice pictures (except BFS which is b&w), nice tactile feel (except BFS, which is 'xerox' paper) - you might surmise correctly that BFS is the only one not accepting advertising (and no, I don't want to threadfart in that direction!). I'd guess TAS would come closest to your goal, but I agree with the online/forum approach. Especially since much of the affordable gear is now coming 'direct' from small owner/designer/manufacturers such as are found on our circles here.

giorgino1 · « **Reply #5 on:** 27 Oct 2004, 10:19 am »

I tend to read the online magazines also. For me, forums are a great resource as you can "quiz" members and establish their personal listening taste and put that in context with their recommendations. There are usually several people piping in which makes it easier to get an overall sense of a product rather than from one single reviewer.

With regard to Stereophile only recommending megabuck products, I'm not so sure about the comment. I'm not a regular Stereophile reader and so am at a disadvantage interms of an overall impression. It seems from reading their April 2004 Top 500 Recommended components issue, that there are a number of "good value" components mentioned. (Example: Sony SCD C555ES: $800, Benchmark Media Systems DAC1 $850)

I think there are 2 questions that may be worth asking:

1) How easy is it to create Class A products by all manufacturers all the time? I spoke to a DIY'er once who said that every $100 he spent on a project, a manufacturer would have to charge at least $500. Not greed, just economics of the supply chain. So, even a $10K amp would have only at best $2K worth of components.

2) If there isn't a budget product that is worth the recommendation of Class A, should Stereophile include one inorder to have a budget representation?

I don't intend to be argumentative. Just throwing up questions to put the subject matter within a context.

Regards

George

Tonto Yoder · « **Reply #6 on:** 27 Oct 2004, 11:48 am »

Quote from: giorgino1

With regard to Stereophile only recommending megabuck products, I'm not so sure about the comment. I'm not a regular Stereophile reader and so am at a disadvantage inte ...

I agree that Stereophile gets unfairly criticized for reviewing only mega-buck gear. The last issue "reviewed" the Omega Grande 6 speakers which are very affordable; I was going to mention the Benchmark DAC as well (John Marks, the reviewer, even put the Benchmark's quality into the context of the mega-buck DAC's). Part of the situation is whether the reader is looking for recommendations for purchase or just happily gawking at the state of the art (like the $350,000 Wavac amp). I still subscribe to Stereophile, but don't read it religiously like I used to (when I was considering gear purchase).

Rick Craig · « **Reply #7 on:** 27 Oct 2004, 12:21 pm »

Pick up a copy of the "Audio Critic" at your local bookstore. Their publishing schedule (or lack of) is really bad but the content is excellent.

PhilNYC · « **Reply #8 on:** 27 Oct 2004, 12:22 pm »

My favorite mag is HiFi+ from Europe...particularly for their music recommendations, but I think they offer some of the better published equipment reviews out there. That said, they too also focus a lot on very expensive gear.

Beyond that, I think HiFi Choice is a decent mag with more affordable equipment being reviewed...

Eric · « **Reply #9 on:** 27 Oct 2004, 12:36 pm »

Bound for Sound

mcgsxr · « **Reply #10 on:** 27 Oct 2004, 12:39 pm »

I am with Phil here also, my favourite mag (the only one I buy anymore, even though it is CAN$10 each) is HiFi+. Great mag, interesting gear, cool writing style, and yeah, unfortunately many of the items are pricey, BUT they do have affordable gear in each issue - sort of a taster mag.

I too use the Net as my primary source of information, but that does not mean that I treat everything around here as truth - it shouldn't be - it is a person's take on how it works, in their system - that to me is actually more powerful than a reviewer, since most of us pay for our gear...

Mark in Canada

dado5 · « **Reply #11 on:** 27 Oct 2004, 01:09 pm »

My real faves are gone, Listener and the Hi Fi Heretic. I like Hi Fi + and Stereophile nowadays. The Absolute Sound has gone through nearly monthly changes in the past few years, which made for frustrating reading. It looks like it has settled down somewhat, but it seems to have ended up with a What HiFi'ish sort of style with the constant recommended gear lists...not my cup of tea.

IMO, Stereophile is better today than it was 10 years ago, digest-sized underground charm aside. The writing is the best of the current crop and the letters section is always a great read. Unlike TAS, it has kept a pretty consistent format for nearly the entire decade, which has made it easy to find what you are looking for each month.

I look at the webzines as well. You find a wide breadth of gear, price-wise, here but you pay for it with bad writing. Srajan Eban, Chip Stern and Steven Rochlin are all nearly unreadable. Plus, the relative low cost of bandwidth vs. print has led to reviews that contain ever-increasing amounts of irrelevant nonsense. One has to often plow through three or more paragraphs of drivel before the gear is even mentioned. All that said the webzines really are a great quick stop source for reviews on nearly every type of gear imaginable. TNT is my favorite.

And I would say it makes no sense for a magazine to publish a universally bad review. Why waste page space/bandwidth to tell someone you do not recommend this piece? Now I am not saying listing the weak areas of a given product relative to its competitors is wrong. Rather that publishing a complete pan is not a wise move. It really does the consumer no service and, in the end, only creates controversy and bad blood (remember the Carver T17 or the RGPS?). I read a magazine for two reasons, entertainment and assistance in selecting gear. Tell me what you think is good for the money in an enjoyable way and you have served both ends. Tell me what you think sucks and you just wasted my time.

Thanks,
Rob

doug s. · « **Reply #12 on:** 27 Oct 2004, 01:37 pm »

there are hi-fi mags? i haven't subscribed to any for about three years, & w/so much stuff on the 'net that i cannot keep up with, i don't miss 'em...

doug s.

DickBowman · « **Reply #13 on:** 27 Oct 2004, 03:12 pm »

I find I'm reading them less and less these days.

But HiFi+ is usually good for a laugh "I plugged it in - it was terrible - I changed the mains lead - it was the best amp/cdplayer/speaker/turntable/cartridge in the whole wide world".

But for serious analysis and criticism???

mgalusha · « **Reply #14 on:** 27 Oct 2004, 05:51 pm »

I subscribe to both AudioXpress and Stereopile. AudioXpress is aimed at the DIY crowd but they do have reviews on a fairly regular basis and it's nearly always something affordable. Their bench testing is usually very rigorous and they don't hesitate to publish less than favorable results. A few months back they pretty much ripped the phono stage from DACT and the response from the DACT folks was not pretty.

As for Stereopile, I read it strictly for entertainment purposes. For $1/month I get my moneys worth. I do have difficulty accepting reviews that proclaim an amp (or whatever) to be fabulous and that measures as broken with a statement that says it really was broken and that somehow the reviewer didn't find a problem with the sound. Damn, if a piece of gear is truly broken, it's hard to swallow that it can sound good enough to make you give up sex.

JoshK · « **Reply #15 on:** 27 Oct 2004, 05:58 pm »

wow, never heard of audioxpress....now that is a magazine I am finally interested in.

mcrespo71 · « **Reply #16 on:** 27 Oct 2004, 06:36 pm »

I'm tired of the Absolute Sound for the most part, as the reviewers seem to be too far up HP's ASS! They do make good recommendations for budget equipment, though. This magazine is too blatantly round earth for me, though I've subscribed for many years.

My absolute favorite was Listener- damn shame that one went under. Best reviewers- nice selection of gear.

Stereophile is OK- more varied than TAS in terms of the reviewers biases. I hate Sam Tellig, but love Michael Fremer and Art Dudley (of course!!!).

Best now is Hi Fi +- best writing, will rip a component to shreds if it's not up to snuff, and about the only magazine that makes commentary about how rhythmic a component is (Fremer and Dudley do to a degree, but only when it is obvious- NAIM).

Boy, I still miss Listener, though.

Michael

JoshK · « **Reply #17 on:** 27 Oct 2004, 06:49 pm »

Round Earth? You mean non-Linn/NAIM?

mscdda · « **Reply #18 on:** 27 Oct 2004, 07:23 pm »

Chalk up another vote for the $ensible Sound. They cover reasonably priced equipment. Plus every issue has dozens of music reviews.

Mike B. · « **Reply #19 on:** 27 Oct 2004, 07:28 pm »

I guess my question to this one is who do you believe? I started with Stereophile when it was a small rag out of Pennsylvania. It was a infrequent visitor that was greatly appreciated. I then took on the new Absolute Sound and quickly found the "in your face" approach very refreshing and they actually brought change to high end audio. We all became familiar with the reviewers by their initials. PHD, AHC, HP, ....
Today, I still subscribe to both plus AudioXpress. I also read several websites that offer reviews. I think we have more reviewers today than actual manufacturing entities? There definitely seems to be the philosophy to not publish negative reviews. So, I question the relevant value of the reviews. Have they just become a amusement ?