Usenet.com

www.Usenet.com

Group Index

Rec Thread Archive from Usenet.com

<-- __Chronological__ --> <-- __Thread__ -->

FAQ: rec.audio.* The Press 2/99 (part 12 of 13)



Archive-name: AudioFAQ/part12
Last-modified: 2002/02/17
Version: 2.15

19.0 The Press

19.1 Which magazine should I read?
        Which ever one you like.  None are absolutely objective.
        Here's a list of some common ones:

                audioXpress ($30/yr 12 issues) (Do-it-yourself)
                           Note: This is the successor of Audio Amateur,
                           Glass Audio, and Speaker Builder Magazines
                        Audio Amateur Publications
                        Box 576
                        Peterborough NH  03458 USA
                        603-924-9464
                        http://www.audioxpress.com
                Audio Critic (US $24/yr 4 issues) (High-end)
                        PO Box 978
                        Quakertown PA  18951 USA
                        215-538-9555 or 215-536-8884
                audio Musings (US $24/year 6 issues)
                        25500 Hawthorne Blvd. Suite 1250
                        Torrence CA  90505  USA
                        Editorial Office 562-424-7911
                        Business Office 310-378-6011
                Audio Observatory (US $15/year 12 issues)
                        22029 Parthenia Street
                        West Hills, California  91304
                Audiophile Voice ($18/year 4 issues)
                        Subscriptions: Michael Tantillo
                                132 Beach Avenue
                                Staten Island 10306 USA
                                Phone 718-351-9365
                        Editorial Office: 2001 Palmer Ave Suite 201
                                Larchmont, NY  10538-2420 USA
                                Phone 914-833-1417
                                FAX 914-834-4070
                Bound For Sound (US $18/yr 12 issues) (High-end)
                        220 North Main St
                        Kewanee IL  61443 USA
                        309-852-3022
                Car Audio and Electronics ($19.95/year 12 issues)
                        Avcom Publishing Ltd
                        21700 Oxnard Street
                        Suite 1600
                        Woodland Hills CA  91367 USA
                        818-593-3900
                CD Review (Music Reviews; all tastes, only CDs.)
                        $19.97 per year 12 issues
                        PO Box 588
                        Mount Morris IL  61054 USA
                Hi-Fi Choice (Mid-fi. Comparative reviews with graphs, 
                                tables, and subjective commentary; 
                                'Buying Guide' section)
                        Dennis Publishing Ltd.
                        14 Rathbone Place
                        London, W1P 1DE, UK
                        +44 71 631 1433
                Hi-Fi News and Record Review (Broad. Good new record 
                                reviews. Good equipment measurements)
                        Subscriptions Department
                        Link House Magazines Ltd
                        1st Floor
                        Stephenson House, Brunel Centre
                        Bletchley, Milton Keynes MK2 2EW, UK
                Hi-fi+ (Mid and high end with reviews and tweak tips)
                        Available in US/Canada thru Disticor outlets
                        Unit 12, Albany Business Park
                        Cabot Lane, Poole, Dorset. BH17 7BX, UK
                        http://www.hifiplus.com
                Hi-Fi World  (Friendly, lower-to-mid-fi magazine)
                        (reviews and "how things work" articles)
                        Audio Publishing Ltd
                        64 Castellain Rd
                        Maida Vale
                        London  W9 1EX, UK
                        +44 71 266 0461
                In Terms Of Music  (Emphasizes music reviews, new)
                        PO Box 268590 
                        Chicago, IL 60626  USA
                        312-262-5918
                International Audio Review (US $38/yr, 12 issues?)
                        2449 Dwight Way; Box 4271
                        Berkeley CA  94704 USA
                Positive Feedback Mag. (US $30/yr 6 issues) (high-end)
                        Positive Feedback
                        2939 N.E. 155th Avenue
                        Portland, OR  97230 USA
                        503-256-1300
                Primyl Vinyl Exchange (Equipment for LP users)
                        (US $15/yr 6 issues, $20 International)
                        PO Box 67109
                        Chestnut Hill MA 02167
                        617-739-3856
                        [EMAIL PROTECTED]
                Sound Practices (US $20/yr 4 issues) (Do-it-yourself)
                        Box 180562
                        Austin, TX   78718
                        (512) 339-6229    Voice/Fax
                        [EMAIL PROTECTED]
                Stereophile (US $20/yr 12 issues) (High-end)
                        110 5th Avenue
                        New York, NY 10011 USA
                        800-666-3746 or 212-229-4896
                Stereo Review (US $6.97/yr 12 issues.  Lower end/mass 
                                market)
                        Subscription Office: PO Box 52033
                        Boulder CO  80323-2033 USA
                        Editorial Office: 1633 Broadway
                        New York, NY  10019
                        212-767-6000
                The Absolute Sound (US $46/yr 8 issues) (High-end)
                        Subscription Center: Box 6547 
                        Syracuse NY  13217 USA
                        800-825-0061
                        Editorial Office: 2 Glen Avenue
                        Sea Cliff, NY  11579
                        516-676-2830
                The $ensible Sound (US $29/yr 6 issues) (Mid/High-end)
                        403 Darwin Drive
                        Snyder NY  14226 USA
                        800-695-8439
                        e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
                        http://www.sensiblesound.com
                Ultra High Fidelity (UHF) (High end, no advertising)
                        Box 65085, Place Longueil
                        Montreal PQ  J4K 5J4  Canada
                        514-651-5720
                What Hi-Fi (Mid-to-high End; comparative, subjective 
                                reviews. Contains it's own buyer's guide 
                                with recommendations)
                        Haymarket Trade & Leisure Publications Ltd
                        60 Waldegrave Road
                        Teddington, Middlesex, TW11 8LG, UK
                        e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
                        +44 181 943 5000
                        US Enquiries should go to:
                                Eric Walter Associates
                                Box 188
                                Berkeley Heights NJ  07922 USA
                                201-665-7811

        You can find e-mail addresses for many magazines at 
                www.audioweb.com

19.2 Which reviews are better?
        Some reviews are so colorful and exciting, that they 
        make great journalism and fun reading.  Lets ignore 
        these for now, even though they have their place.
        
        Beware of reviews from magazines that advertise the same 
        product.  The likelihood of bias is too high. Unfortunately, 
        that rules out 99% of the reviews in magazines.

        Stereo Review has a bad reputation for loving everything 
        made by every advertiser.  Even high-end journals such 
        as Stereophile and The Absolute Sound can be influenced.

        A classic example of misleading reviews occurs with equipment 
        submitted to a magazine for review.  The manufacturer may send 
        the editors a carefully built, adjusted piece for review.  The 
        magazine will honestly rave about it. The manufacturer will then 
        send the design off-shore for more economical manufacture and 
        assembly, and the quality will suffer.  Lower quality components 
        will be substituted for prime parts.  Adjustments will be made 
        to wider tolerances or will not be made at all.  The design may 
        be completely changed to make it more manufacturable.  You will 
        unknowingly get a completely different piece than reviewed.

        Home auditions with one or two candidates from each of a few 
        dealers are your best guide to be sure that you get what you 
        want and pay for.

19.3 Is Consumer Reports right?
        Consumer Reports is the most objective testing lab we have ever 
        found.  Unfortunately, they are also the world's least 
        specialized testing lab.  They market their testing to the 
        average consumer.  The average consumer will not hear some of 
        the subtle differences which audiophiles hear.  For that reason, 
        Consumer Reports ignores issues that others feel vital.

        Consumer Reports also insists on basing their audio testing
        predominantly on lab measurements.  Although lab measurements do 
        tell many differences between devices, interpreting lab 
        measurements for best sound is difficult or impossible.  For 
        example, it is very hard to compare two speaker frequency 
        response curves and tell which will sound better.  Some $3000 
        speaker frequency response curves look worse than some $600 
        speaker curves, even when tested in the same setup.  On the 
        other side of the issue, Consumer Reports has improved its test 
        methods, and will continue to improve.  Expect the accuracy of 
        their reviews to improve with time.

        The Consumer Reports frequency-of-repair data base 
        is larger than any similar data base published and 
        can be trusted as well as any statistic.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE
The information contained here is collectively copyrighted by the 
authors. The right to reproduce this is hereby given, provided it is 
copied intact, with the text of sections 1 through 8, inclusive. 
However, the authors explicitly prohibit selling this document, any 
of its parts, or any document which contains parts of this document.

--
Bob Neidorff; Texas Instruments     |  Internet: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
50 Phillippe Cote St.               |  Voice   : (US) 603-222-8541
Manchester, NH  03101 USA 

Note: Texas Instruments has openings for Analog and Mixed
Signal Design Engineers in Manchester, New Hampshire.  If
interested, please send resume in confidence to address above.



<-- __Chronological__ --> <-- __Thread__ -->


Usenet.com



Please check out one of the premium Usenet Newsgroup Service Providers below for access to Usenet.