wjm (03/04/83)
There are three widely read audio magazines as Marty Shannon noted. They are
"Audio", "High Fidelity", and "Stereo Review". At present, I subscribe to all
3, but will probably drop my "High Fidelity" subscription when it expires
next year unless they improve it. Comments about each magazine:
"Stereo Review" is the largest circulation audio magazine and for most peoples
needs probably the best single magazine. They have the best record reviews
(both classical and popular), excellent test reports (mostly on mid-priced
equipment, with a bit of high end thrown in), and very good general audience
articles on how to set up and maintain a high fi system.
"Audio" is the most technical of the three and tends to be aimed at a more
high end audience (their test reports tend to favor higher end equipment).
They have the best classified ads, and tend to favor hardware (equipment,etc.)
over software (recordings - they only review a few audiophile recordings each
month). One especially useful feature of "Audio" is their annual equipment
directory (in October for home equipment, and in the spring for car equipment)
which lists all manufacturers goodies by category (receivers, amps, turntables,
etc.) and gives comparative specs. (Keep in mind that these specs are supplied
by the manufacturers and are not verified by "Audio" lab reports).
"High Fidelity" is aimed for the same audience as "Stereo Review" but falls
short of the mark. The issues tend to be much smaller (between 80 and 95
pages most months) and a sizeable portion is devoted to video (here a personal
prejudice of mine appears - I'm not a videophile and would prefer to leave
the video to video mags). They have excellent test reports (generally the
same type of equipment as "Stereo Review" - in fact thats why I subscribed,
to get a second opinion on equipment)., and are the most music oriented of the
three. Their record reviews tend to be quite extensive (and quite good) but
the price you pay is that very few recordings get reviews.
One thing to keep in mind is that all of these magazines offer substantial
discounts to subscribers - typically 50% off their "posted" subscription
price (and about 65% off the newsstand price).
Bill Mitchell
Bell Labs - Whippany NJ
(whuxk!wjm)dbg (03/09/83)
On the more technical side there's also the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society. I let my subscription go since non-students have to pay a great deal more. Also the BTL libraries always have them. But it was great fun while it lasted (special events and such). Incidentally, when I joined the AES it was like joining a country club. They wanted letters of recommendation from current members. I think the dues are between $50 and $100 now, but that includes the Journal and heavy discounts for special events and publications. I bought the Loudspeaker Anthology (all papers published by JAES on loudspeakers) and consider it a prize. I think it was $19 for members and $70 for non-members. And not exactly light reading. Dave Green ihldt!dbg p.s. any speaker builders/designers out there?
rayjay@ihuxr.UUCP (john wray) (06/14/84)
Whereas I think the latest batch of complaints are legitimate concerning
Stereo Review and High Fidelity, I still have to chuckle abit. In High
Fidelity's case, they ceased to be a serious source of audio info about
five or six years ago when they had their last large formatting change.
Stereo Review, by featuring so much video crap, is now showing it's true
colors, ie. nothing more than an advertising vehicle for manufacturers.
Their so-called reviews of epquipment were nothing more than a four page review
of the manufacturers spec sheet and one paragraph of "listening" comments.
Since virtually all of the tested equipment met their published specs, it
was useless to read anything but the "listening" info, and one paragraph
is a woefully small amount of information.
Having been almost completely negative in my comments, I think I will
totally reverse myself and say that I will continue my subscription to
Stereo Review mainly because its only 5 bucks a year. The cartoons &
the bulletin page are almost worth the subscription price alone.
If you want to read reviews of equipment written by people who are truly
concerned with the product and not with pleasing their advertisers, I
would suggest reading:
1) Absolute Sound - These guys are sometimes too far out but NEVER dull
2) Senible Sound - Concerned about good audio for low bucks
3) Stereophile - G. Gordon Holt is a level-headed reviewer
- Rayjay _fish@ihu1g.UUCP (Bob Fishell) (06/14/84)
Time for my $0.02 worth...
I guess this discussion has made me take notice of all the Rock &/| Video
crap that "Stereo Review" has been printing lately. I've also been
sensitized to the fact that they've been reviewing an awful lot of car
stereo equipment of late. Could it be, perhaps, that they're going
after a younger market?
I've been taking "Audio" for several months now, and find it to be
a considerably better publication, if only because they provide
technical information that's written for somebody with at least
an elementary knowledge of electronics. However, I'd be interested
in something like a trade journal, that really gets into the hard
technical aspects of audio technology, and I don't think I'll find it
on the newsstands. Anybody get such a mag?
--
Bob Fishell
ihnp4!ihu1g!fishrtf@ihuxw.UUCP (sparrow) (06/15/84)
<blank line> Rayjay, I agree with your evaluation of 'Stereo Review' and will probably continue my subscription for much the same reasons. I'm also glad to see that someone else has even heard of 'Stereophile'. I have a trial subscription I bought through a mail solicitation. I think they have nice equipment reviews and have recently expanded the number from 4 or 5 to about 20 in each issue. sparrow