stereophile magazine

[rfrey]

does anybody on here read this & what do you think

[billfitzmaurice]

The more it costs the better they like it. I don't subscribe because I don't own a bird. :rolleyes:

[kevinr]

I subscribed a year ago and really enjoy reading it each month from front to back . Well worth the 99 cents each month . A deal in this day and age

[edlafontaine]

I've tried the subscription a number of times. It is now lapsed. The further I get into diy the less I need it. The participants on forums are generally ahead of the consumer/high end curve.
I've found the content to be useful only a few times.
It is entertaining and pretty.

[rfrey]

so i guess it might be worthwhile to check it out 26 issues for less than 50 cents per thanks ralph

[Max_Andrews]

It's a monthly book of advertising! :)

[scottq]

I personally feel that most of the things I've read in it were disheartening. They never seem to rip anything apart. I think things really changed when I read an article/review on some speakers... they happened to be at a local Hi-Fi shop, so I went to listen. They were absolutely atrocious. The article raved them up and down and around the sun as fantastic. I gave them a chance, trying to work with the shop owner moving them around. He didn't like them either, though thought far more highly of them than me (go figure, salesman). I don't even remember what the speakers were, but that really left a bad taste in my mouth for the magazine.

That said, they did review some things that I know I do respect and think highly of. But, I like consistency. If I was that far off with the review in the centerfold, I'm a bit weary of their criteria for judging...

I wish there was something along the lines of the old "Maximum PC" magazine for the audio world. They used to really tell it like it is...

[bobleeqsc]

In the past decade or two it's always seemed to me more of a fashion magazine than a technology one or even an art-oriented publication.

I miss the old Audio magazine that I used to faithfully pore over in my late teens and twenties, and The Audio Critic, which is still available as an online publication.

[johnnyrichards]

Yes, they rarely "tear" anything apart. On the other hand, they post a lot of measurements (more so than most DIYers and other review magazines for example) so an educated consumer can ignore the hyperbole and head straight for the measurements. This is how I learned a 200 dollar pair of Infinity Primus 2-way bookshelfs measured flatter than anything Wilson makes. This is also where I learned this doesn't tell the whole story either.

I like Stereophile. They combine objective measurements and subjective impressions into one easy to read article. Do they have a revenue base to protect? Absolutely! **** off the advertisers and revenue is gone. However, they still post measurements and that goes a long way.

[rfrey]

Yes, they rarely "tear" anything apart. On the other hand, they post a lot of measurements (more so than most DIYers and other review magazines for example) so an educated consumer can ignore the hyperbole and head straight for the measurements. This is how I learned a 200 dollar pair of Infinity Primus 2-way bookshelfs measured flatter than anything Wilson makes. This is also where I learned this doesn't tell the whole story either.

I like Stereophile. They combine objective measurements and subjective impressions into one easy to read article. Do they have a revenue base to protect? Absolutely! **** off the advertisers and revenue is gone. However, they still post measurements and that goes a long way.

is there anything out there that tells you how to read the measurements in layman terms

[davidl]

Stereophile is a waste of time. They are always going to like the products that buy lots of advertising. The silly audiphool products they like to talk up is crimminal........a demagnetizer for records lmao and that was from the head guy of the magazine not some of the flunkies they hire to write the monthly silliness about some crap product that does nothing. Yes I miss Audio Magazine the most and The Audio Critic when it was a magazine. Sad to say there isn't any true audio magazine left that hasn't been reduced to drivel.:(

[ajinfla]

I've always enjoyed reading this commentary (http://www.goodsoundclub.com/Forums/ShowPost.aspx?postID=1957#1957) on Stereophile

cheers,

AJ

p.s. Soundstage mag has some good speaker measurements

[johnpastuck]

I read it. The measurements are helpful and interesting. Also, this ultra libertarian really enjoys Art dudley.
John

[davidl]

I've always enjoyed reading this commentary (http://www.goodsoundclub.com/Forums/ShowPost.aspx?postID=1957#1957) on Stereophile

cheers,

AJ

p.s. Soundstage mag has some good speaker measurements

Yes the speaker measurements are nifty but I saw that they review cables:mad: ugh and ugh and double ugh.........yes it was typical cable gushing madness :rolleyes:

[philiparcario]

at least 10 percent of what they say is good. They have pointed out a few low cost products that work well. I have gone with love hate relationship for 2 decades I get it for a year or 2 then I don't get for a year or 2. It is hard to read articles on 100,000 dollar amps with 30000 dollar preamps and 50000 record players. Or 129000 dollar speakers. If I had 300000 for a setup. I would spend 10 or 20 k and keep the rest for more important things.

[Jeff B.]

Ok, allow me to write the dissenting opinion for the court. I have been a Stereophile subscriber for many years and I find it to be an excellent value for the money and useful tool as well.

Others keep critcizing the equipment reviews as soft as their main objection, but the fact is, I seldom ever read a review, and when I do it is usually only a speaker related one, and that's just out of topical interest and nothing else. However, for me, the magazine pays for itself in the industry updates and coverage of audio shows. Not that I pay much attention to which products they like, but rather it simply allows me to see what new products are being offered. For that matter I like the ads too. Both of these are nice in order to keep up a little on current product information and development. (C'mon, a lot of us have gotten some great speaker ideas from things we have seen in these magazines).

I also like the measurements, especially in the speaker reviews. Of course, I know how to read the measurements and can draw my own conclusions from them as well, so I don't rely on their take on the matter. A lot can be gained here after you see enough of these. Yes, I have seen some horrible looking speaker measurements that came with great reviews. I don't buy into the hyperbole too much. That 10 db drop-out in the lower treble IS going to be audible, and that's all there is to it, even if the speaker costs $20k. However, I have also seen some modest speakers that had some excellent measurements and you can gain some nice understanding of the design from those. You can see which speakers have some real design work and an honest attempt to arrive at a reasonably good response and phase intergration. I also find it entertaining when you see a speaker whose tweeter is obvously out of phase with woofer (like the recent review of the Avantgardes in July - if they had flipped the woofer polarity they probably would have ended up with a flat response, but no one commented on this), and you have to ask yourself - now why couldn't the manufacturer see this? You know, it's fun.

Anyway. I enjoy looking at the stuff and reading certain columns and industry updates and checking out now products, and for that, it's certainly worth the cost of the subscription.

Jeff B.

[johngalt47]

What blew it for me was Sam Tellig's review of some Allison Acoustic speakers back in the 90s. He said that they sounded like $1000 speakers even though they cost between 2 and 3 hundred. Based on his recommendation I bought a pair. They were horrible!

[cpcarter]

I too have had an on-again/off-again thing for this mag. It's fun to see absurdly high priced gear tests but not really useful. Some of the music reviews are helpful depending on the reviewer. The editorial stance is much too soft to offer any hard criticism but at least consistent so you can learn to read between the lines to translate their ratings language into real-world terms.

Bottom line I let it lapse 5 yrs ago but renewed it today because they offered $10 for 13 issues and a free T-shirt. How could I resist!

CC

[johnlinvell]

My wife subscribed it for me (bless her heart) I skim through it (great wish mag) and PASS it on...........I still remember magazines like Stereo Review and trying to hunt down Speaker Builder. Now those were the days............

"I have almost a year and a half left of this magazine.....:p

[rone]

I also miss Audio Magazine. I really miss D.B Keele's speaker reviews. D.B. Keele wrote in to Stereophile and noted that their impedance phase measurements were inverted. ;) The only thing is that Audio usually only reviewed equipment that was positively reviewed elsewhere, or at least that is how it seemed to me.

Stereo review (Julian Hirsch, IIRC) all their reviews were very positive seeming and you really had to read between the lines to get at the real criticism of the equipment. Too much prose and not enough graphs.

Stereophile is more about a bunch of hoity toity reviewers trying to be entertaining by saying something they feel is clever, but usually it comes out as foolish, IMO. Perhaps it has changed, I haven't read it (except for some online archives) since it changed from a little mag to a normal sized one and the price went up to $7 per issue.

My favorite gaffe in that mag is when Dick Olsher talked about how long it took for a Koetsu cartridge to break in, and then the factory wrote a scathing followup commentary, noting that it was the same cartridge that had been reviewed by many other reviewers previously and was certainly "broken in".

I do have a lot of respect for John Atkinson in that mag, wonder if he is still there doing measurements and reviews, or?

[maynardg]

Stereophile is entertainment and a good value -way, way better value than a bad movie.

[jeffreynixon]

If it was priced like their kind of speaker wires, I wouldn't even look at it. But that advertising makes it so dirt cheap for a slick glossy, the question is: "why not?" If it was only the subjective reviews, it would be as useless as all the other rags that proclaim that the golden ears know and you should believe them with no measurement reference at all. I tried Absolute Sound and noticed that, at the time, it never even showed a complete photo of speakers reviewed.
Occasionally Stereophile slips up and listens to some amazing bargains and occasionally reveal some great stuff that doesn't have the ridiculous price tag. And yes they really do say that some designs really do have problems.
And hey, has anyone noticed that several of their generally less expensive but highly acclaimed 2-ways have sported some rather high x-over points?
OK, the truth is, once a month the postal service delivers a slickly produced and sometime enjoyable combination comic book and pornography that sometimes shows a few ideas worth playing with.

[MSaturn]

they honestly come off as a bunch of idiots, and I feel really bad that JA has to sit in the middle of them. In many of his comments in the measurement section, he covers up downright disbelief in the reviewers with questioning statements. it's funny.

they are, like all audiophiles, convinced there is some MAGIC that can be found with more dollars. they have reviewed a 1w tube amp and forgiven its incredible distortion because it sounds so CLOSE TO THE MUSIC.

Anyone who uses cables that cost more than $2/ft is already on my sh*t list, and these guys are using stuff that costs waaaayy more than that to LIFT SOME VEILS.

stereophile is best used as toilet paper, really. except for JA's stuff.

[r-carpenter]

Stereophile........ohhhhhh pretty pictures!!!
I'd opt for the evil Peter Aczel and The Audio Critic. I had a few laughs reading that.

[cpcarter]

The one magazine I really miss is Audio Amateur. Anyone else remember this? I guess they folded around 1999-2000? I lost track. I mean this was seriously obsessive DIY! They tried the coolest stuff. DIY tonearm made of Balsa wood and about 2 feet long to reduce tracking angle; a 24" Hartley speaker build in a box about the size of a refrigerator; Kits and Mods for everything from Dynaco PAT5, Stereo 120, Ampzilla, Hafler pre amp to improving the first Philips CD player when 14 bit DACs were the hottest; Visits to Quad. And when these guy reviewed something it was the brutal truth! Guess today's slick advertising supported model is what we are left with and of course this forum! Thanks guys for keeping DIY alive.
CC

[brianp]

Like Jeff B. et al, I find the measurements the most interesting part, as they often reveal obvious problems with a piece of equipment that the "subjective" review misses. Particularly interesting are the speaker reviews which include both quasi-anechoic and in-room response graphs. With a near-clinically-perfect speaker (like some Dynaudios they reviewed awhile back), the comparison can tell you a lot about the reviewer's listening room. If it's really awful, you then have to take the rest of the review with a BIG grain of salt.

[cpcarter]

The one magazine I really miss is Audio Amateur. Anyone else remember this? I guess they folded around 1999-2000? I lost track. I mean this was seriously obsessive DIY! They tried the coolest stuff. DIY tonearm made of Balsa wood and about 2 feet long to reduce tracking angle; a 24" Hartley speaker build in a box about the size of a refrigerator; Kits and Mods for everything from Dynaco PAT5, Stereo 120, Ampzilla, Hafler pre amp to improving the first Philips CD player when 14 bit DACs were the hottest; Visits to Quad. And when these guy reviewed something it was the brutal truth! Guess today's slick advertising supported model is what we are left with and of course this forum! Thanks guys for keeping DIY alive.
CC

[WmAx]

Stereophile is a valuable resource of measurements for amplifiers and speaker systems, especially speaker systems. I really like the cabinet resonance measurements; they are done at the same input voltage level, so you do have to take into account speaker sensitivity when comparing between different speaker reviews where the speakers have more than a couple of dB sensitivity difference. There are some things that need to measured in addition to the current data, of course, but they still have the most thorough measurements of any review publication of which I'm aware. I don't recommend reading the subjective review text unless you are up for a good laugh.

-Chris

[jonpike]

stereophile is best used as toilet paper, really. except for JA's stuff.

I heartily disagree. Glossy magazine paper is poorly suited for the job you describe!!

Though if you were able to fluff up the paper pulp, and remake it into the proper format, it's probably price competitive with the stuff in stores at $10/13mo.

;)

[billfitzmaurice]

The one magazine I really miss is Audio Amateur. Anyone else remember this? I guess they folded around 1999-2000?
CCThey didn't fold, they got folded (along with Speaker Builder and Glass Audio) into AudioXpress magazine. Circulation and page count has seriously declined, mainly due to a lack of submissions.

[cpcarter]

I wondered what happened to them. Thanks for the info. I'll have to check out Audioexpress.
Thanks
CC

[ajinfla]

II'll have to check out Audioexpress.
Thanks
CC
They handed some of those out at Dayton DIY.
On one page there was an editorial about the shrinking size and lack of support, etc., then on the opposing page, there is the chief contributor talking about how "lifeless" his solid state (voltage) amplifier sounded vs his magical tube amplifier/effects generator/limiter/compressor/eq.
Go figure.

cheers,

AJ

[mikejennens]

I got an offer in the mail to try it for $7 for a year or $12 for two years. Plus, they give away a T-shirt with the subscription!
For $7, I'll bite.:rolleyes:

[edlafontaine]

Must be targeted marketing...I got the same offer...twice in the same day...

I'll probably jump in too.

[rfrey]

I forgot to mention the t-shirt

[Motorman]

I took it for a year and didn't renew.

[mikejennens]

I took it for a year and didn't renew.

But... did you get a T-shirt???:D

[cpcarter]

They are getting sneaky with the price. Look carefully. it's really $7/yr PLUS $3 shipping and handling. $10/yr but an extra issue so I went for it anyway 'cause I need a new T-shirt.
CC

[Paul K.]

IMO the best audio magazine ever was Audio. Its product reviews had just the right amount of subjective and objective content without the subjective content being so blatantly flowery and often unbelievable as is so often in Stereophile. I remember when the new owners of Audio ceased production of it while expanding the production of Stereo Review which later became Sound and Vision and they said they were trying to reach more people. While they claimed they were trying to appeal to the "more readers", what they were actually doing was substituting intelligent content with fluff and visual "bells and whistles" for people with limited attention spans and no interest in actually learning. That said, I subscribe to and enjoy Stereophile in general. The parts I don't have interest in, like Michael Fremer's stuff on turntables and cartridges, I usually just don't read. I also subscribe to The Absolute Sound and UHF magazine out of Canada.
Paul

[rone]

They didn't fold, they got folded (along with Speaker Builder and Glass Audio) into AudioXpress magazine. Circulation and page count has seriously declined, mainly due to a lack of submissions.

What's the stipend per article? ;)

[cpcarter]

Just got the same offer from Home Theatre. Man I hope they don't send me the whole Source Interlink catalog. What a huge conglomerate! They publish just about every consumer mag in the US. check it out:
http://www.sourceinterlinkmedia.com/

Another example of Mega-Monster corporate media consolidation. No wonder it all looks the same with the same non-think editorial stance. Scary

[philiparcario]

Just got the same offer from Home Theatre. Man I hope they don't send me the whole Source Interlink catalog. What a huge conglomerate! They publish just about every consumer mag in the US. check it out:
http://www.sourceinterlinkmedia.com/

Another example of Mega-Monster corporate media consolidation. No wonder it all looks the same with the same non-think editorial stance. Scary

home theatre was okay for awhile but then all the ht's they were showing cost over 100k! At one time before I got into the net I had 6 or 7 magazines a month come to my house. El pipe o was a favorite sub made in speaker builder. late 90's using a mcm knockoff of a big focal subwoofer and a 15 foot long sonotube. it can be found on the net if you look. by it I mean the article. I forget the builder's name but I am certain he has posted on this site or maybe Mad sound site. i think the claim was 9hz!

[philiparcario]

found a link to the original article 2002 not late 90's


http://www.passdiy.com/pdf/el-pipe-o.pdf

nelson pass made it

[dotzs]

When i sold hi end and someone walked in with Stereophile mag it was as disturbing as someone coming in with a Consumer Report mag .

Our running gag at that store when asked what we personally used for speaker cable - we would say copper pipe with freon running thru it. Somebody asked who my plumber was .:D

[Æ]

Have no fear, audioXpress is pretty much the reincarnation of Audio Amateur. Same company, same editor etc. Content has changed, but it's still a very good DIY magazine.
http://www.audioxpress.com/


The one magazine I really miss is Audio Amateur. Anyone else remember this? I guess they folded around 1999-2000? I lost track. I mean this was seriously obsessive DIY! They tried the coolest stuff. DIY tonearm made of Balsa wood and about 2 feet long to reduce tracking angle; a 24" Hartley speaker build in a box about the size of a refrigerator; Kits and Mods for everything from Dynaco PAT5, Stereo 120, Ampzilla, Hafler pre amp to improving the first Philips CD player when 14 bit DACs were the hottest; Visits to Quad. And when these guy reviewed something it was the brutal truth! Guess today's slick advertising supported model is what we are left with and of course this forum! Thanks guys for keeping DIY alive.
CC

[JRT]

Have no fear, audioXpress is pretty much the reincarnation of Audio Amateur. Same company, same editor etc. Content has changed, but it's still a very good DIY magazine.
http://www.audioxpress.com/

If it gets any thinner, they should consider referring to it as a pamphlet.






.

[JRT]

home theatre was okay for awhile but then all the ht's they were showing cost over 100k! At one time before I got into the net I had 6 or 7 magazines a month come to my house.

Widescreen Review sometimes has good technical content.








.

[romanbednarek]

My buddy used to let me read his Stereophile magazines after he was done with them. I used to read Stereo Review way back in the day as well, mostly because it was only like $6.99 a year for a subscription and was a good "bathroom periodical".

I think that as I've aged and learned about audio, my perception of the products that were presented in these magazines has changed. In the beginning I was fascinated by the high tech stuff that I dreamed of yet couldn't afford but later on I started saying "why the heck did they do that with that design" or "I would never spend that much on something like that!" I still found that it was interesting to be exposed to different design concepts despite what was said in the reviews.

[djg]

I enjoyed Julian Hirsch and Rodriguez's audiophile cartoons in stereo Review. I never read Stereophile.

[johnastockman]

Working at a retail audio store, we carried all the different audio mags available throughout the years. Countless times, a customer would come in with a copy of Stereophile, Stereo Review or others. The stead-fast belief in the all-knowing editors and contributors was amazing. I never found any of the hyperbole and spend-more-get-more philosophy of any use. The comment about how an Infinity Primus measured and sounded better than a Wilson was typical of what we found ourselves. Some uber-dollar speakers were way outside their performance-to-cost ratio. Seeing some of the new stuff and equipment (most everything except speakers) is nice. I saw some of the Emotiva stuff and the new Cambridge equipment in Stereophile for the first time that got me pretty interested...same with Outlaw. It does have it's purpose, but not much for me.

John A.

[DS-21]

For that matter I like the ads too.

Except for the measurements, it's all ads. :)

But I agree with you. Sometimes it's fun to look at the pictures.



The comment about how an Infinity Primus measured and sounded better than a Wilson was typical of what we found ourselves.

In fairness, Wilson and the Harman companies are both outliers. Wilson in that they have yet to discover how to design a crossover, or a bass tuning that makes their speakers not sound like a bad car stereo ca. 1994. Harman in that they've invested so much in real, basic research that even their cheap speakers are excellent.

[jonpike]

If it gets any thinner, they should consider referring to it as a pamphlet.


Sad but kind of true... though they do have thicker months.

Wanna see it thicker? Write up something into an article!!! The articles don't come out of thin air... and you get paid as a writer... and you can truthfully say you're "published"...

There's a well known guy I used to work with, who used to publish build articles back in the Speaker Builder days, build a new design with a nice write up, get paid enough to fund the next project, write that one up... etc. Said he went thru 4-5 projects that way...

[terryo]

The only Audio Magazines that had any real merit, in retrospect, were Audio and the Audio Amateur. With the sole exception of the Audio Critic, I believe that I subscribed to just about all of them at one time or another, at least those in the English language.

If a copy of Stereophile comes my way, I treat it pretty much the same as Playboy...I just look at the pictures and skip the text!

Best Regards,
TerryO

[Jeff B.]

Except for the measurements, it's all ads. :)

Harman in that they've invested so much in real, basic research that even their cheap speakers are excellent.

Yes, how dare they! Don't they know that really messes with us DIYers?

[Jeff B.]

The only Audio Magazines that had any real merit, in retrospect, were Audio and the Audio Amateur. With the sole exception of the Audio Critic, I believe that I subscribed to just about all of them at one time or another, at least those in the English language.

If a copy of Stereophile comes my way, I treat it pretty much the same as Playboy...I just look at the pictures and skip the text!

Best Regards,
TerryO

So, you're saying you don't read Playboy for the articles? ;)

[MSaturn]

Hey, Wilson's midrange speakers aren't THAT bad.