Which Audiophile Magazine Would You Recommend?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Argus1, Apr 12, 2019.

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  1. Grower of Mushrooms

    Grower of Mushrooms Omnivorous mammalian bipedal entity.

    Location:
    Glasgow
    My ideal audio magazine doesn't exist, but living as I do in a small cottage, I would love if you could buy audio equipment that doubled up as kitchen equipment to save space.

    I've already posited the idea of a microwave that doubles as a turntable. I'm sure a toaster could be designed that also plays CDs. A fridge-freezer could conceal a fantastic amplifier. You get the picture.

    So, a magazine that has all the latest gear reviews and some great recipe ideas would suit me down to the ground.
     
    AudioEnz likes this.
  2. Reamonnt

    Reamonnt Mr.T

    Location:
    Ireland
    I see you can have a free sample edition might be worth members here downloading it. Some of the stuff is too expensive for me 16k for a CD player etc. Stuff for a few grand I could save up for but thats just me. Whats the average price point are they mainly for the high end or do the go down the ladder a bit regularly.

    I bought the special hifi+ 20th Anniversary edition the other day very high end but you get a free Isotek system testing CD.
     
  3. vinylkid58

    vinylkid58 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Victoria, B.C.
    Ding!
     
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  4. Bachtoven

    Bachtoven Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    Neither. Both are basically extended adds for the companies that advertise with them. Ideally, an audio magazine would have no adds--just news and reviews.
     
  5. Big Blue

    Big Blue Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    I think if your reason for subscribing to one of these is as a sort of Consumer Reports for Hi-Fi, you’re in it for the wrong reason. It’s porn.

    Internet sources, especially consumer reviews, are much more valuable in making audition/purchase decisions, IMO.
     
  6. Big Blue

    Big Blue Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Sure, but then, as you can see of something like HiFi Critic, it’s $128 a year. That’s an expensive magazine.

    One of my other interests is cooking, and Cook’s Illustrated is an ad-free magazine like you describe. The reviews are impartial, and there is plenty of informative and educational material. That’s more reasonable at almost $30 a year. Something like that for audio would be great, but I am not holding my breath.
     
  7. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    Stereophile here...
     
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  8. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    I like that mag as well...picked up a bunch of older issues at our local library...it's the real for sure.
     
    Big Blue likes this.
  9. varyat

    varyat Forum Resident

    Location:
    wheaton,IL,USA
    HiFi+
     
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  10. bhazen

    bhazen I Am The Walrus

    Location:
    Deepest suburbia
    I miss The Audio Critic. Peter Aczel punctured a lot of audiophile sacred cows (even some I cling to!)
     
    McLover likes this.
  11. bluesky

    bluesky Senior Member

    Location:
    south florida, usa
  12. heyMo

    heyMo Forum Resident

    Location:
    LKN west, NC
    I've been subscribing to Stereophile for several years and had been slowly regretting it over the past couple years. This is due to the majority of reviews are on equipment I will never own. Some like to, but I don't care to read about $20k carts and other proportionally priced equipment.

    Coincidentally, my renewal came about the same time as their most recent 400 recommended products. Several categories had no C or D rated equipment. Really? All the previous editions had some.

    The straw which broke this camel's back was, in this edition, Sections on: Turntables? Check. Tonearms? Check. Cartridges? Check. Phono amps? WTH?
    No phono amps? Seriously? I'm done.

    Ok, I'm done venting now. :rant: YMMV. Carry on..........
     
    SpeedMorris likes this.
  13. SpeedMorris

    SpeedMorris Forum Resident

    Location:
    Iowa
    I've gotten to the point that I simply peek at Fremer's $30k tonearms and >$10k cartridges and look elsewhere. How big can that circle jerk possibly be? I'm so far past the "Oh, I just like to learn about what's possible" stage; it just adds to the disgust. Apparently, he's really embraced the philosophy of ..."can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself ".

    I may just cast my lot for Bernie, just so he can go to Mikey's house and say, "We have too many kinds of rekkud playuhs and no Mediceh fuh oll. Here's your Crawsley Cruisah". :p
     
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  14. Claus

    Claus Senior Member

    Location:
    Germany
  15. Richard Austen

    Richard Austen Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hong Kong
    Hi-Fi Critic for the paid ones.

    For more entry level products - Hi-Fi Choice mainly because they're a cut above What Hi-Fi and Hi-Fi Choice pits several similarly priced units head to head in level matched blind auditions with a panel of listeners. It's not as good as it was but probably the best out of the which of these $1000 amps is best kind of thing.

    I'd say Stereophile for the measurements but you can see the measurements for free online at Soundstage (and they do better measurements) and Hi-Fi Critic also does measurements - Martin Colloms unlike Stereophile - actually has a degree in engineering.

    But people spend more on wire lifters than a 5 year subscription to all the magazines combined - so it's not like it's a big expense. But to me reviewers are better as after the fact feel good writings than helping you purchase something. Actors say "If it ain't on the page it ain't on the stage" which means that no matter how good the actor - if the writing sucks the play will suck.

    And in the end your ears will and should be the judge no matter how great the prose and the hype and the measurements and all the other blather. I became a reviewer because the likes of Stereophile and TAS kept leading me to buy a bunch of unlistenable dredge. I could brag on audio forums that I had a class B this and a Class A that - but what I had was C- dredge.
     
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  16. Chris Schoen

    Chris Schoen Rock 'n Roll !!!

    Location:
    Maryland, U.S.A.
    I would actually recommend this forum before any audiophile magazine.
     
    heyMo, geodiak, Jerjo and 1 other person like this.
  17. Roland Stone

    Roland Stone Offending Member

    The Internet provides enough crowd wisdom for the basics. When everyone gets behind something, you'll hear about it.

    Looking back over thirty years of audiophile mags, I would not have been misled to simply buy the most popular audiophile thing at the time: Adcom 500-series amps, Linn LP12 turntable, etc., all the way up to the Onkyo 7030. Yes, things get a marketing push but unless enough people who also care about sound like it enough, it won't become a mainstay.
     
  18. Cyclone Ranger

    Cyclone Ranger New old stock

    Location:
    Best Coast USA
    Agreed. SHF advice has its flaws, but I think they're less serious than the flaws of the audiophile mags. :thumbsup:

    .
     
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  19. Chris Schoen

    Chris Schoen Rock 'n Roll !!!

    Location:
    Maryland, U.S.A.
    Plus no advertisements, and you can ask questions to those who have more experience.
     
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  20. Spin Doctor

    Spin Doctor Forum Resident

    I miss "Listener" magazine. It was a fun and interesting read. I dropped Stereophile a long time ago. It's cheap, but is neither fun, nor even relevant.
     
    33na3rd likes this.
  21. fmuakkassa

    fmuakkassa Dr. M

    Location:
    Ohio
    I have been a subscriber to Stereophile since 1983. I also get The Absolute Sound. Subscriptions are not that expensive and I enjoy the magazines.
    But you know what, my best subscription for equipment and record review is free. Google.
     
    Big Blue likes this.
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