Better magazine, Stereophile or Absolute Sound

I agree with Sdcampbell. TAS is a better magazine, but had lost a few of its quality characteristics since they switched to the new layout. I never liked listener. Just a preference I guess.

Both Stereophile and TAS are fun to read. Assuming you don't look too much into the advertising side. They both provide good info into the world of high end. They have their problems, but how many reviews would you read without either of these?

I've subscribed to TAS for over 25 years, and thought they
had more editorial independence from the advertisers than
most other magazines. Now I'm not so sure.....

A recent post on Audio Asylum noted the following:
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Leafing through the June/July issue of TAS, an advertisement for a MIT product caught my eye (page 35). The ad copy quotes from a TAS writer's review of the cable line in Issue 136.
What's the big deal?

Issue 136 is the June/July issue.

I gather from the link below, that's not generally accepted practice.

Comments?

http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/general/messages/204111.html
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Maybe they're all for sale, and not just at the magazine
rack in the local supermarket?

I like them both, but they're both marching as fast as possible to the most commercial (ie, high circulation) style they can achieve. I would have said that TAS was the better magazine a year ago, but they have made major "strides" in catching up to Stereophile's less in-depth reviews and more commercial presentation. I subscribe to both and reserve the right to complain about either / both, but have always said they're worth the price of admission and fun to read. -Kirk

I've been reading and subscribing on and off to Stereophile for about fifteen years. During that time I picked up the occasional TAS. Up until five years ago I would have said Stereophile was the better rag. In the lat few years they have lost a lot of credibility. I'm not worried about things like the ads with comments from the same issue. Both magazines send copies of their articles to the manufacturers for comments, so what's the big deal! I think the problem with Stereophile and TAS to a degree is the cousins marrying cousins. There is way to much inbreeding in this very small and tight community. And now JGH is writing for HP! What is that all about?!?
Those guys need to get out of their listening rooms and live in the real world. I'm not complaining about reviews of expensive gear, I'd rather read those than articles about cheap stuff. I don't know if they didn't inhale enough in the sixties and seventies or if they're inhaling too much now.
Kirks right, if you pay the subscription price they will pass for bathroom reading material but don't take them too seriously.

I will simply say that i have WAY more respect for the "Captain" of Stereophile than i do for that of TAS. Given the "public disagreements" ( HA HA HA ) that i've had with some of the staff of Stereophile in the past and especially quite recently, that might seem kinda strange. Even if i don't agree with a LOT of what has been taking place over there for quite some time, i still think that Stereophile is by far "the lesser of two evils". Either way, i think that both mag's have LOADS of room for improvement. Sean
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