best magazine

Tom hit the head on the nail with Stereophile. The reviews are mega priced gear or inexpensive speakers. I lost interest even at 10$ a year. Audiokarma has unbiased reviews of equipment. All you have to do is post and wait for replies.

If you belong to the Stereophile forum you can dialogue with those reviewers as well. I've had conversations on forums and through PM's with quite a few well read reviewers. I think most of them enjoy having conversations with folks who simply want to pick their brain or learn where the reviewer is coming from. I find that if I come from a respectful place I can talk to them about pretty much anything and the respect is returned.

I've only had one bad experience with a reviewer and that was my own damn fault for needlessly and disrespectfully calling him out. Turns out he was right and I was wrong. Still need to apologize to him...if you are out there Paul Seydor...you were dead right about the NAD C326BEE.:thmbsp:
 
Really appreciate the post from Mark (Affordable Audio), but I have some fairly strong views on this subject and I dont want to wear out my welcome on AK so soon after being warmly welcomed by Art and others. I can only say that Mark's experiences dont parallel those of Martin Colloms, and Mr Colloms has been there and done it with Brit print mags. Online may well be the way of the future for those who want to find a balance between revenue and complete impartiality, and that is where Martin has chosen to make his current stand.
 
I don't know that there is such a thing as complete impartiality in this hobby, and I don't think there needs to be. It is a subjective adventure to some degree and as such, we all walk into any discussion or review with our own preferences. So even if somebody isn't influenced by revenue, they're influenced by what they've heard in the past that they've liked or disliked. But you can get a feeling for this by getting a feel for the reviewers preferences and taking them into account.

I look at it all as information. You can never get too much of it. Just use your own filters and skepticism and all will be fine.
 
If I had to pick a magazine I'd want to work for, it would have to be Mad Magazine. They have been steadily churning out the same crap for 60 years, and people keep buying it - some of the writers have been there for 50 years and the mag has seen others leave in a casket. Totally predictable 'humor', but any team that came up with Spy Vs Spy cant be all bad. Audio magazines have nothing on this old standby - its like watching an episode of 'Get Smart', cringing the whole time, then wondering where the last 30 minutes of your life went. :)
 
I'd like to make my own magazine. It wouldn't be as serious as the ones out there. And it would be unapologetically biased with an understanding that there isn't a right way, but we prefer this way. It would poke fun at the absurdity that is so prevalent in this hobby when you take a step back and look in from the outside. It would be an attempt to bring levity and humor to what should be a fun pursuit that instead takes on all the humor of a prostate checkup at times. My issue with all of the magazines except Listener is that they all seem to forget that this is a pastime for most of us, an optional pursuit for relaxation and fun. I think they all could stand to get over themselves, if just a little.
 
I don't know that there is such a thing as complete impartiality in this hobby, and I don't think there needs to be. It is a subjective adventure to some degree and as such, we all walk into any discussion or review with our own preferences. So even if somebody isn't influenced by revenue, they're influenced by what they've heard in the past that they've liked or disliked. But you can get a feeling for this by getting a feel for the reviewers preferences and taking them into account.

I look at it all as information. You can never get too much of it. Just use your own filters and skepticism and all will be fine.

Agreed, but the problem with 'advertorial' is that we don't get ALL the information. We get the Kool Aid, and a hearty endorsement of its nutritional properties. We have one AV mag here in Oz which has completely abandoned any facade of objectivity - they now publish glossy photos and nicely laid-out version of the manufacturers spiel. It outsells its stablemate, our last dedicated Hi-Fi mag..... :saywhat:
 
Agreed, but the problem with 'advertorial' is that we don't get ALL the information. We get the Kool Aid, and a hearty endorsement of its nutritional properties. We have one AV mag here in Oz which has completely abandoned any facade of objectivity - they now publish glossy photos and nicely laid-out version of the manufacturers spiel. It outsells its stablemate, our last dedicated Hi-Fi mag..... :saywhat:

All you can do is vote with your wallet. I read most of the magazines but I rarely take their word on anything. I just look at them to introduce me to new things that I then go and research myself. But that's how I use forums, too. I don't trust anybody on forums to be honest, beyond a very select few. Everybody has their agenda and bias. I certainly do. To me, it's all just something to open doors for things I'll explore myself.
 
I admit to using reviews/forums to form a shortlist, but I guess that begs the question - how many people on forums bother to seek out gear that hasnt been (glowingly) reviewed. If I was selling a DAC, for example, I would definitely be sending out review samples and emailing reviewers to find out what they thought of it. We have a very highly regarded DAC here in Oz that is, AFAIK, completely unheard of outside the enthusiast community that has grown up purely by word of mouth. Its expensive, built to order and the guy that makes them has little interest in going 'mass market'.
 
Word of mouth can carry a lot of weight. I don't think that VPI has run ads (though distributors have featured them). DB-Systems has a pretty popular little phono preamp, they don't run ads. Magazines often pick up things that have been talked about online (idler drive turntables, Advent loudspeakers, etc). They're just one resource. If they were the only one it would be flawed. But its just another route in. Combine them with forums, friends, in person auditions, and whatever else.
 
I think most of these magazines are delusional and I'm very wary of what they have to say, especially Stereophile and Absolute Sound both of which encourage most of the cockamamie notions so many audiophiles are saddled with. They exist to sell ads and project and protect the interests of those advertisers and the "high end" business, not the interests of the readers.


I agree. Some of these notions might even surprise W.C. Fields.
 
Somebody bought me a Stereophile subscription, but I really don't think I will renew it. Too much expensive gear that I will never own. To tell you the truth, my fave magazine is a digital-only fanzine called "Audiokarma." I read it almost every day and I get fantastic ideas, cool photos, reviews of things I can actually afford, and its all free!
 
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