tpg Posted October 22, 2002 Share Posted October 22, 2002 Choices: Stereophile Stereophile: A Guide to Home Theatre Sound and Vision I have never read any of them, I don't think, but may be getting one soon, and didn't know which to get. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted October 22, 2002 Share Posted October 22, 2002 http://forums.klipsch.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=26411&sessionID={8823B450-D637-4468-A57F-45E1DA737AD8} check out my thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted October 22, 2002 Share Posted October 22, 2002 To me, Sterophile is horribly high end as far as equipment. Snobish. I find the subjective reviews of mega buck equipment to be offensive. It might be worthwhile for media review. Sound and Vision has more balanced ranges of equipment reviewed, and more industry news. It has extensive reviews of mainstream media. I think it is more instructive about things I want to know about. I'm mindful that the publishers and reporters of any magazine rely on getting access to equipment and media from the manufacturers; and they have to keep a wide range of readers interested. So, everything must be read with a grain of salt. Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenratboy Posted October 22, 2002 Share Posted October 22, 2002 Car and Driver Road & Track Automobile Euro Porsche Oh wait From what I gather, it's either HT with Home Theater or the like, or for 2-channel, all the snobbish stuff like Stereophile. I like Sound & Vision, they seen to be on the middle path. Stereophile is fun!!! $$$ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike82 Posted October 23, 2002 Share Posted October 23, 2002 Don't get any of them. The drivel is not worth reading anyway. The mags will f*&$ your head up and you'll end up jumping from component to component and never find happiness. Been there, done that. Instead, spend time learning about the music you like. This ultimately makes for a much more rewarding experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Garrison Posted October 23, 2002 Share Posted October 23, 2002 I have been a subscriber to Stereophile since early 1985, and I *LOVE* the magazine. I have learned more about how the technology (how digital audio works, theory behind tube / solid state circuit design, recording equipment, similar stuff) from Stereophile than I have from any other source. I don't really understand Gil's comment about the magazine being "...horribly high end as far as equipment. Snobish. I find the subjective reviews of mega buck equipment to be offensive...". Sure they review super expensive stuff. That's part of the fun. Car & Driver reviews Ferrarri, Porche, Aston Martin, drives Dodge Vipers and Bentlys and such. Would you read it if they didn't? I wouldn't. Stereophile *ALSO* reviews things like sound cards, CD burners, hard disc music servers, Polk speakers, stuff like that. I also find their music reviews much more in alignment with my perceptions than some of the other mags. I also subscribe to Sound and Vision, The Absolute Sound, The Audiophile Voice (courtesy of Listener, R.I.P.), HiFi News (English), Positive Feedback (though I haven't received a copy lately, anyone know if they're still out there?), and used to subscribe to Fi, Listener, Ultimate Audio, and Audio, all now demised. Of all of these, I find Stereophile the most enjoyable, the most informative, the most diverse and the most bestest. Note that I'm not into surround sound / home theater, so choices like Home Theater and Stereophile Guide to Home Theater don't interest me all that much. Ray Oh, almost forgot, I also pick up as frequently as possible Audio Ideas Guide and the Inner Ear (both Canadian and excellent) and Gramophone (mostly music reviews, some equipment) now that Fremer's The Tracking Angle is gone. Check out this link: uh, the link for a cool list of magazines and links to their sites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBrennan Posted October 23, 2002 Share Posted October 23, 2002 The only audio magazines worth reading are Vacuum Tube Valley and back issues of Sound Practices and Listener. The rest is BS. I hold Stereophile and Absolute Sound in particular contempt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai2000 Posted October 23, 2002 Share Posted October 23, 2002 I have subscribed to The Absolute Sound - not because I am keen on their equipment reviews (too costly for my budget and not in my line of equipment), but because it gives me ideas about CDs and records that might be worth buying - apart from classical stuff which I also get from Gramophone. Wolfram Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted October 23, 2002 Share Posted October 23, 2002 Okay, Ray is correct and I shouldn't be so harsh. There is some good stuff in Stereophile. You pay your money and take your choice. The large and murky vocablulary of subjective reviews in Stereophile annoys me. That is my gripe. Of course Road & Track or Car and Driver do some subjective testing too. Yes it is fun to read. Neither has claimed that red cars are different than blue cars, because red ones are swifter, while blue ones are quicker. Then again, yellow cars are different than either because of tempo and microdynamics. Smile. I wonder what would happen if the auto magazines published lists of C, B, and A grade autos which start at unaffordable, and then go up two notches. There is some hubris to that, in my book. I pay more attention to Sound and Vision because I might buy something they review. Most recently I've been considering a big TV. Again, anything must be read with a grain of salt. Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Garrison Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 Trespasser_guy, One thing I wanted to mention. Don't try to evaluate which magazine you'd be happiest with by pouring over older back issues, particularly if the back issues are, say, ten years old or more. All of the magazines that have been mentioned in this thread have shifted their editorial direction and written commentary this way or that over the course of time, some more so than others, and the magazine you receive after subscribing today may bear little or no resemblance to those of yore. This is particularly true of Stereophile. One of the criticisms I've seen directly repeatedly at Stereophile is that they never seem to give anything they review a bad writeup. With rare exceptions, this seems to be true, and is probably due to the fact that they have a limited amount of editorial space in today's depressed advertising market, and the products that tend to get reviewed are those that someone heard and liked, or that have established a good reputation in the industry. Twasn't always so. If you go back ten or fifteen years, you can find some hilariously negative reviews. One of my favorites was Corey Greenburg reviewing a smaller Tannoy speaker back in the late 80's (? I think - maybe early 90's ?) in which he said (to paraphrase): "...Out, damned transducers!!! These are, without a doubt, the *WORST* speakers I have ever heard in my life." My point being, that if you read that particular issue, and subscribed thinking that was the type of content and reporting that you were going to get today, you'd be sorely disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 I suppose it could depend on how "language-accrobatic" you like your writers to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 I am really gonna miss Listener. Sadly I threw out a bunch of old issues in a "clutter control" fit about a year ago -reviews of old equipment -departed Dr. Gizmo -Bunnies(life is all about the Bunnies!) Most magazines I read for sotware reviews. TAS and Stereophile for undestanding the leading edge of technology(expensive). I agree with the Car and Driver analogy; they would be out of business if all the reviewed were Chevy Vans and Ford Escorts. Sensible Sound has their strange points I do not agree with. -all CD players sound the same -limited interest in tubes -in love with Legacy speakers Is there a good tube magazine? But their software reviews are numerous every issue and quite good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.