Steve Conatser Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Gallagher, the watermelon-comedian, mentioned that Hugh Hefner is coming out with a new magazine for married men: Every month, the centerfold is the same girl. SInce Playboy has been ruled out, I'm wondering on a subscription to a good audio magazine, that will help me to get a better understanding of audio technology, and to get more information about audio equipment for audio sound. Does the gang have a recommendation on good audio magazines ... centerfolds optional ... that I can check out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ69 Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 All the audio magazines suck. That's just the way it is. I don't think any of them are helpful. Stereo-pile is out of touch with 50,000 buck CD players and tests of products most people can't afford. Forget the mags and just hang out here.......... Thanx, Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardP Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Sound and Vision is perhaps the most accessible and geared towards "normal" audio and video equipment enthusiasts. They have a very long lineage, formerly as Stereo Review, which goes back even further to the 1950s hi-fi review (or some title like that). All magazines will be somewhat "beholden" to companies who pay them for advertising, but S&V will (in a very polite or even veiled manner) state the weaknesses of specific equipment being reviewed. It's also a decent way to get a basic education about products and technical developments. I just wish they had not cut their music review section so much as of late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 All the audio magazines suck. That's just the way it is. I don't think any of them are helpful. Stereo-pile is out of touch with 50,000 buck CD players and tests of products most people can't afford. Forget the mags and just hang out here.......... Thanx, Russ I agree. And believe me, after a while, I swear they just re-circulate the same reviews (on different equipment of course) over and over. How many times do we have to read "And the blah blah blah, sounded more open, more transparent, more detailed" etc, etc, etc. Is the same stuff, over and over. I agree. And believe me, after a while, I swear they just re-circulate the same reviews (on different equipment of course) over and over. How many times do we have to read "And the blah blah blah, sounded more open, more transparent, more detailed" etc, etc, etc. Is the same stuff, over and over. I agree. And believe me, after a while, I swear they just re-circulate the same reviews (on different equipment of course) over and over. How many times do we have to read "And the blah blah blah, sounded more open, more transparent, more detailed" etc, etc, etc. Is the same stuff, over and over. I agree. And believe me, after a while, I swear they just re-circulate the same reviews (on different equipment of course) over and over. How many times do we have to read "And the blah blah blah, sounded more open, more transparent, more detailed" etc, etc, etc. Is the same stuff, over and over. I agree. And believe me, after a while, I swear they just re-circulate the same reviews (on different equipment of course) over and over. How many times do we have to read "And the blah blah blah, sounded more open, more transparent, more detailed" etc, etc, etc. Is the same stuff, over and over. [:@] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winchester21 Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Agree- Stereo rags pretty much suck. Reviews driven by advertising and insiders helping out their friends in the business. This is by FAR the best resource for information Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 You can find fault in allot of magazines audio or otherwise. I like the "records to die for" recomendations that come out once a year in stereophile. If it a compnent over $ 10,000 I just do not read it. The Absolute Sound is a bit snobish but gets some good interviews with industry leaders every now and then. Bob Stuart of Meridian, Mark Levinson and musicians as well. Stereophile's pending review of a Palladium will be interesting. Wonder if they will use a tube amplifier while reviewing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 For newstand prices, they are not worth it. OTOH, by subscription they come down to nearer a buck a copy and that I will pay, depending on my mood and pocketbook. There are occasional nuggets. Sam Tillig in Sterophile is a case in point. I also subscribe to AudioExpress. No discount there but the articles make me think of home building an amp. Wm McD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZAKO Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Yes Stereophools Mickey Fremmer.. is a real joker on ranting how great $200,000 turntables are Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 I have a subscription to a magazine called TapeOp, but it is geared toward the recording arts. A nice mag, with articles on how to modify microphones, build stuff yourself, interviews with engineers and musicians. Although some ads may be placed strategically, it is more practical and a lot of fun. BUT... not for the end users, per se. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 For newstand prices, they are not worth it. OTOH, by subscription they come down to nearer a buck a copy and that I will pay, depending on my mood and pocketbook. There are occasional nuggets. Sam Tillig in Sterophile is a case in point. I also subscribe to AudioExpress. No discount there but the articles make me think of home building an amp. Wm McD Agree Newstand prices are not worth it. I can get a buck worth of something out of a mailed to the home subscription issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Conatser Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 Thanks everyone. I went to Barnes & Noble this weekend, and there were about a half-dozen audio equipment magazines, but are geared more for professional audio folks and for consumers with reeeeeeally big wallets. Not much use for an audiophile wannabe such as myself. A navigation through the bookstore's computer found only one book that should be useful, at least to teach me how to talk the talk. It costs about twenty dollars, even though the paperback cover displayed a non-Klipsch (B&W 802) speaker, and it's better than no book at all: "High-Performance Audio Systems", by Robert Harley. Hopefully, in a couple of years when I consider acquisition of one of the bigger brothers to the Heresy III speakers for my living room, I'll know how to spell speeker, receever, and ampleflyer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ69 Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 Steve, Not to worry, I've been at this for over 40 years and I don't "talk the talk". I refuse to buy into secret languages when ordinary English works just as well. The best thing to remember is to trust what you hear, that is the only criteria that matters. If you get something home and it sounds good in your system that's all that matters. Thanx, Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipbarrett Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 Audio Xpress is a gem of a magazine with some truly amazing home projects, tube, solid-state & speakers. Can get pretty technical but these are guys who are not afraid to sling an iron around a 900VDC B+! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyboy Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 I agree with Russ totally here. I do have current subscriptions to Sound and Vision and HT magazine that I got as Xmas gifts. But, they are simply "toilet material" for me. It's very rare that I actually read a whole magazine. and most of the other magazines have gear that I would only be able to afford in my wildest dreams, so................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hifi jim Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 I like the British mags best. I like their simple and effective reviews, summing up quickly and with real words and never afraid to call a turd just that. http://whathifi.com/Reviews/ Some reviews from Stereophile, The Absolute Sound and 6moons have also been helpful to me in the past, but I get upset when they hook up $1k speakers to a $50k system (what kind of reference is that?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 I gte a free opy of Stereopile at CES and never make it through it In all honesty, It is only interestng if you actually own the component that they are reviewig and the drabble goes on to long. Try these online free mags: I like Marc Philips. He writes for Tone Audio: http://www.tonepublications.com/ Here is a good budet site with DIY stuff and expensive stuff: http://www.stereomojo.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 I will tell what you should buy in a single yearly issue, often only in a sentence or two for a single yearly payment of $89.74. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Conatser Posted April 14, 2009 Author Share Posted April 14, 2009 I like the British mags best. I like their simple and effective reviews, summing up quickly and with real words and never afraid to call a turd just that. http://whathifi.com/Reviews/ ... Thanks for turning me on to What Hi Fi. This is useful not only for audio reviews, but also for TV reviews. Hey, gotta replace my 1996 Sony 36" cathode ray television one of these decades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 A navigation through the bookstore's computer found only one book that should be useful, at least to teach me how to talk the talk. It costs about twenty dollars, even though the paperback cover displayed a non-Klipsch (B&W 802) speaker, and it's better than no book at all: "High-Performance Audio Systems", by Robert Harley. Hopefully, in a couple of years I got that book for Christmas last year and found it useful. It'll give you a good idea of the basics. Horn speakers are a bit different, but they're still speakers. That book explains how various types of speakers work, as well as most other audio gear. There's even some informative stuff about speaker placement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 Bear in mind that none of the mainstream stuff is geared for tweaking audiophiles like us who appreciate ultra-efficient big ole horns with tube amplifiers. So many of their conclusions may not apply (“2A3 tubes can’t drive speakers,” etc.). Yet, I like two sources in particular: 1) Stereophile magazine, online at http://www.stereophile.com/recentadditions/, launched in 1962, to review audio products on the basis of their sound rather than their measurements. Yet it is exactly John Atkinson’s objective measurements that I like the most. They provide a hard line of performance. His graphs clearly depict differences between equipment. He tries to tell with scientific pictures what our ears cannot hear. Not that I can so easily comprehend what the graphs mean, but they try to explain that too. Subscription is well worth a buck a copy. Where I know the equipment, I don’t disagree with any of the reviews, though sometimes it is hard to tell if reviewers actually hated an item. Their budget recommendations are spot on. 2) My second favorite over the years is http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/, again because they often display measurements. Not that I think that measurements are so awfully important, but they can provide objective evidence of the reviewer’s subjective descriptions. Few reviews have been as useful to me as “Subwoofers Under the Christmas Tree - December, 2001.” This review not only compares the sound of different types of subs, but also shows how their performance looks different. Plus, I know three of the subs and the reference tracks. With Secrets however, it is hard to find out what equipment they recommend at what price level. 3) There are gems on the other sites. I like this Mini–amplifier shoot-out: http://www.stereomojo.com/MINI%20AMP%20SHOOTOUT/MINIAMPSHOOTOUT.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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