All the old issues of Stereo Review are online!!


And available here:   https://www.americanradiohistory.com/HiFI-Stereo-Review.htm

The infamous Clark amplifier test is January, 1987, if anyone wants to re-live that.  I remember reading that when it came out (I was just out of college, but, having worked at an audio shop when I was 14, was already well into the hobby).  That was when I began to be aware of how I might be suckered by appearances.

Lots of things to love or hate, but oh, the advertisements!
ahofer
@geoffkait  yes, he was more right than wrong, but I'm happy to review any evidence I may have missed.  And one look at the internal wiring of speakers and amps will unveil what economists call "revealed preferences" about wire.  If anything, the vendors of kilobuck cables have done far, far more to damage the growth of the hobby with their ridiculous prices and "emperors new clothes" exclusivity.
OMG! DO NOT read the Pop music reviews if you have high blood pressure! I don't know who these clowns were but they didn't like rock music! Example: Reviewing the "Yes" Album: "Yes is a no-no"... and many more.
Now, how about Audio Magazine? It straddled the line between objective and subjective. Bascom King (who now designs electronics at PS Audio) did amplifier reviews. Edward Canby, one of the last of the original WWII-generation audiophiles, had a great musings column. Tony Cordesman (formerly at TAS) was doing his typical gushing reviews at the end.
We had Julian Hirsch at one of our audio club meetings in LaGrange, New York back in the '70's.  Now I admit that I don't agree with his opinions, but I think they were borne of a connection to the typical Stereo Review reader, not an Audio Magazine reader.  Anyway, the audio snobs in the club let him have it with both barrels.  It was uncomfortable at best.