Audio Magazines.....

I do get Goldmine and Tape Op.

 

Check out Rudy van Gelder's interview in the latest Tape Op.

 

Geoff, You are absolutely right, I got sound pressure level (SPL) and loudness confused in my original statement. (I wish the reference article used this term since it is the correct term for sound pressure or sound intensity). A 3 dbW increase in amplifier power (a doubling of amplifier power) does translate into a doubling of the SPL produced by a loud speaker as measured by a microphone in front of it. However, the perceived loudness to the human ear/brain combination does not double, to double the perceived loudness takes a factor of 10 increase in the SPL which requires a 10 dBW increase in amplifier power which means you must go from a 10 Watt amp to a 100 Watt amp. I am sorry for the confusion.


This is what happens if you post too late at night.

 

No problem. I started the confusion by saying "Most people naturally (but incorrectly) think that amp A is twice as powerful as the amp B" when what I should have said was something like "Most people naturally (but incorrectly) think that amp A will make their system sound twice as loud as with amp B".

 

I will agree that there were some good articles in Stereo Review. It seems like the farther back you go with these magazines the better the articles were. I guess, like Rudy says, in the early days most readers were hobbyists. As the hi-fi industry spread to the masses it seems the magazines 'dumbed down' to accommodate the newer readers. Hey, anything that gets more people interested in hi-fi is a good thing. Let's not forget that the main purpose of these magazines was to make money. Providing a service to our community was a secondary issue.

The bottom line seems to be that to get the big picture, one should read as much of this stuff as possible. The more you read, the easier it is to determine what is valid for you and what is not. And keep in mind that there are many points of view out there, so nobody can expect to agree with everything they read. This forum is evidence enough of that.

 

That was exactly the thinking my friends had. They were the same ones that also thought that if a stereo was ear-bleedingly loud at only 10 o'clock on the volume knob, it was "like, really powerful, dude". I fooled more than a few unsuspecting friends by cranking up an older 200wpc amp that I had back in the 80s--because it was clean power, something they weren't used to, it never did sound all that loud.

 

Yeah...I miss Audio as well. Their annual equipment directory was the bible.

 

I first subscribed in 1977, IIRC. And as the years went on, the magazine got thinner and the better writing vanished. They were still pretty good in the early 80s, but content began shrinking all around, and the true "hobbyist" articles started to vanish. IMHO, it was a shadow of its former self by the 90s, before changing to Sound & Vision.

Overall it's sad how the whole hobbyist scene has shrunk so much. I found a magazine in my collection called Computers & Electronics, which was a new name for what was once Popular Electronics. Even companies like Heathkit are gone as well. Has everything become so disposable that nobody wants to do these things anymore, or has it all just been driven underground?

 

It's been driven underground. Otherwise we wouldn't have Tape Op, Pro Sound News, etc.

 

I thought Audio changed to Sound & Vision. Well let's put it this way. I had a 5 year subscription to Audio, and when it died they started sending me Sound & Vision. I guess that doesn't mean much.

 

I don't like Sound & Vision.

 

Agreed. I think he's made quite an impact on Stereophile, though. I get the impression that John Atkinson lets Art pretty much have free reign, which is, IMO, a good thing.

 

I find Absolute Sound, Stereophile and Positive Feedback are all excellent magazines. Art Dudley is still writing about audio very well for Stereophile.

Favorite writers? Sam Tellig (S), Mike Fremer (S, raging liberal but as smart as anyone on analog), Art Dudley (S), Robert Harley (TAS), David Robinson (PF), Bob Levi (PF).

I think it's a great time to be an audiophile.

 

Simels was one of the best. Knew good, basic rock & roll and separated it from the junk.

He was the first to inform me about the Blasters and Marshall Crenshaw, for instance, before hardly anybody knew them. Then there were the obcure, great R&R discs like those by the Morells and Skeletons that a few will know, but probably most members of this forum to this day aren't even familiar with.

 

I forgot to mention one that just came today, Audio Xpress. I think this came from Audio Amateur but it is also very good. It is geared towards the hobbyist, and there are lots of DIY projects.

This issue has for cover stories:

Adventures with Full-Range Efficient Drivers
Build a Unique Tube Control Unit
3 Experts Explore THD Effects
Preview: Speaker Building 201
Showcase: A 70W McIntosh Amp Rebuild

 

I think at the time, both Audio and Stereo Review were owned by the same publisher. So, might as well send 'em some crap, rather than nothing at all. I think what happened with Stereo Review is that they may have merged it and their video magazine (was it "Video"?) into one.

Is Corey Greenberg still out there somewhere? I remember when he first lit up the pages of Stereophile.

 

Corey Greenberg is currently NBC Today Show's
consumer correspondent.