TAS new look-the end is near?

It all seems inevitable with the high end mags. You can no longer expect a three year subsciption to be fulfilled because either they go under, downsize, or change in such a way that you really have nothing to read about. Home theater has been a big culprit of the demise in a sense that people have to spend the same amount on 5 or 6 speakers as we use to spend on two thus our 2 channel mags become Stereo Review at best and even that couldn't survive. If Ultimate Audio merged with Stereophile and TAS we would have a great mag once again. Dealers and companies cannot afford to advertise in several mags and hang on. We thus have less advertising or they go off to the HT mags for more exposure and we find Denon and Sony as the mainstays of our mags instead of some of the higher end companies.

I bet that JA is happy that Harley left Stereophile for more than one reason now : ) Sean
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Ljqj - I must be the ultimate example of what you're saying about gambling on subscriptions. When I had picked up a few issues of FI and liked it well enough to bite, I bought a two year subscription, looking foward to a welcome break from Stereophile's hegemony. They then promptly went under, and I never received an issue - or my money back! A thought: With Audio just a memory, and a technically competent new editor at the helm, TAS might do well to become the other high-end rag that performs test measurements (maybe they could even employ a former Audio tester or two). I haven't seen the new issue, but I can understand the need to scrap the "journal" image. I had let my subscription run out last year before the editorial shake-up, but I think it's time for me to check 'em out again. Don't get me wrong, I didn't dislike TAS v.2 (or actually enjoy Audio, for that matter, or feel overly charitable toward Stereophile), but HP was spinning out of control for sure, and a few of the others also needed bringing down out of the ether. (Now if I can only get some of those ex-FI'ers around TAS to belatedly honor that bum subscription I paid them for....)

I agree about putting some of the folks from Audio to work. I liked some of the features of that mag ( Auricle and the testing procedures ) but also thought that it had deteriorated to a shell of what it formerly was. Sean
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Can't speak for anyone else, but audio and the related magazines is, for me, entertainment and enjoyment. What was it about Fi Magazine? It was fun and entertaining. Certainly ones hopes for a modicum of accuracy and objectivity in a magazine, but as mentioned above a little reading between the lines can go a long way. I read these rags for a rough draft of what's out there and what 1 person (reviewer) thinks about said product at a given time with given associated equipment. It would be naive to purchase a product based solely on a review. It may function as springboard for further investigation of a product or adjuvant info for decision making. But technical measurements notwithstanding, this is a very subjective hobby as far as what one hears, reviewers inclusive. So I read them to gain some information and the enjoyment. If I want a cerebral workout and objective science I'll read Nature or Science, far pricier than any audio mag, but as is so often the case, you get what you pay for. And I'll read S'phile, TAS etc for the sheer enjoyment and entertainment, knowing full well I'll most likely get out of it what I put in it, in dollars and sense.