Rate the Audiophile Publications

I only buy audio mags to look at the naked women...all those articles just waste space!

I read them all ... one problem is when they (especialy Stereophile) can rip to shreds a piece that cost S 10,000.00. If your spending $ 10,000.00 on a power amp , preamp speakers etc. They had better sound good. You know what, in my 25+ years buying audio, most gear from respected manufactuers sounds great . Flexability , features , styling and value always varies. They need to get real! and also offer more variety in what they review. I like The Listner (it does'nt take itself too seriously! TAS is also a good publication, British mags are good but sometimes not to in depth. Home theater Mag is also a good mag, fun to read but the gear they review can be lightweight sometimes , lots of HT receivers etc but also some very informative articles. I like objective reviews with lots of facts. To the editors out there I don't want to hear you cry about a $ 3,000.00 power cord. Get real And you know what? How come they never mention that my Tandberg 3001A tuner killers any Tuner under $ 5,000.00 made today ? In fact there are lots of vintage pieces out there selling for thousands less then the new gear that sounds as good or better. Anybody out there listen to a 10B ,Vintage ... Luxman , Accuphase, Mcintosh even some of the Top Pioneer Kenwood etc. ? How come few of the mags ever mention that for under a grand you can put together a real Audiophile musical system??? I guess I am rambling ...

My two Fav's are Bound For Sound and Listener is ok.I hate British MAG's.They tend to play up made in England gear to much.Rgds Peter

Metaphysics, I hear your point and it's well taken. The thing is, is that even if they are skewed towards the people who advertise with them, I have still learned about this hobby from reading them. For example, I had never heard of either Cary or Krell before starting to read Stereophile, which was Summer of '97. Both of these brands have their supporters, and after listening to them both I have learned that I don't care for Krell but I really like the "Cary sound". Now that I knew this, but realizing that I couldn't at the time afford Cary gear, I started using other sources (Internet, local dealers, whatever) to find out about more companies that made tube gear. Now I am using and enjoying an integrated by Antique Sound Labs. My point is is that without reading the 'Phile I wouldn't have even known where to start looking. It's always important (I believe) to take in as much information as is possible, and in this light I find the "limited" roadmap that is Stereophile to be helpful.

My two Fav's are Bound For Sound and Listener is ok.I hate British MAG's.They tend to play up made in England gear to much.Rgds Peter