Most Honest Audio Magazine?


I subscribe to Stereophile and I really enjoy reading it but something happened last year that made me raise an eyebrow as to the authenticity of their intentions. Remember the review of the B&W Nautilus 805's? The original reviewer raved about them and rated them "Class A Restricted Low Frequency". Shortly thereafter they demoted the same speaker down to "Class B Restricted Low Frequency". This really hurt the magazine's credibility in my eyes. My first conclusion was that they didn't want to upset the other manufacturers who produced "Class A" products at far higher prices. Shouldn't a trade journal give credit to the truly remarkable products especially when they are produced for relatively decent prices? It's unfortunate that the advertising dollars of the megabuck manufacturers bullied a stellar product into receiving a less than stellar final rating. I'm wondering if this hasn't happened before. I've since heard from some of my audio buddies that corruption does indeed exist in the audio press; everything from reviewers being related to manufacturers to reviewers being offered products for a song (pun intended). Please share your thoughts and experiences when it comes to audio magazines and let me know which ones you'd rate best and worst. Putting together a great system is hard enough without having to sift through the sometimes suspicious advice of those publications who purport to advance the hobby.
canadianguy

Showing 1 response by brianmgrarcom

I do not know what makes audio equipment tick, nor do I particularly care, so I don't care for that aspect in the review. Years back I had a two year subscription to Stereophile, I basically looked at the pictures. Their reviews are 55 pages long and in jibberish that makes no sense to me nor that I cared about; I would read the Conclusion sections. About a month ago I picked up a issue of The Absolute Sound, it was the first time I actually enjoyed a Audio magazine. I felt the reviews were short and to the point. I did notice that TAS would mention things they didn't like, S'phile is so political it is sickning, they have always been that way. I recently aquired a issue of S'phile from Jan. '84, they tested three cassette decks, do you think they could come out plainly and pick a winner, not a chance! I wouldn't mind trying a issue of The Listener.