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All the old issues of Stereo Review are online!!

And available here:   https://www.americanradiohistory.com/HiFI-Stereo-Review.htm

The infamous Clark amplifier test is January, 1987, if anyone wants to re-live that.  I remember reading that when it came out (I was just out of college, but, having worked at an audio shop when I was 14, was already well into the hobby).  That was when I began to be aware of how I might be suckered by appearances.

Lots of things to love or hate, but oh, the advertisements!
ahofer
jtcf's avatar
jtcf
1,620 posts
 
I love those old ads also:)I remember going to shops looking for and listening to components that Mr. Hirsch recommended.And how many times I came away confused from the experience.What in the world was he hearing that I wasn't?Then I became older and wiser,lol!
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,014 posts
 
I have you ever seen a pic of Hirsch's "lab"? A barely converted garage, with a work bench and measuring tools all over the place. That was his listening room! His approach to hi-fi was through his eyes, not his ears. Music was nothing more than a test signal.
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,973 posts
 
This takes me way back. To see cigarette ads again......
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,014 posts
 
I miss cigarette smoke in bars and clubs (some of my drumsets reek of the stuff ;-). California even outlawed smoking at the beach. Sand-huggers. Buncha guys I knew (and some I didn't) died of lung cancer: John Wicks (The Records), Paul Skelton (Wayne Hancock), Bill Pitcock IV (The Dwight Twilley Band), Levon Helm (The Band), George Harrison (some minor band).
ericsch
760 posts
 
I subscribed to Stereo Review for many years. In the mid 70' after owning a Sherwood receiver, I went with separates, a Mac C-26 and a Crown DC-300A. I couldn't afford the extra $100 or so for the matching Mac C2105 amp, so I got the Crown. 
I just looked up J. Hirsch's review on the Crown. The entire text is devoted to measurements, not a word on how it sounds. He was really focused on inaudible distortion. Interesting. 
To be fair, it was early in terms of audio reviews. I enjoyed reading the magazine back then. 
I still have the C-26 and Crown amp, I use them in my office system at low volumes. I had both of them serviced a few years ago, they still sound decent. 
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