Stereophile - that didn't take long... :(
- Thread starter Jim Smith
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sleepysurf
Member
A sad sign of the times. The continued demise of brick and mortar audio salons, decline of physical media (CD's, SACD's), Oppo throwing in the towel, and now cutbacks at S'phile... does not bode well for the future of this hobby.
Will be interesting to hear the "buzz" on all this at Axpona!
Will be interesting to hear the "buzz" on all this at Axpona!
It’s not all doom and gloom. The headphone business (a great avenue to introducing two channel I’m finding) is a $10 Billion a year industry and growing. All around the world (just visit Munich), hi end audio is growing. Younger generations are embracing it. The issues here in America are a little different.
AJ Soundfield
Well-known member
Well, entirely predictable from my perspective. Darwinism at its finest.
Do note that the Axpona exhibitor list is a country mile long! Looks like a pretty strong showing despite any perceived gloom.
Includes a Stereophile "Room", which I don't ever recall seeing before http://www.axpona.com/exhibitorsearch.asp?maploc=210
Have fun!
cheers,
AJ
Oppo has moved on to augmented reality. As Mike noted, it is all not doom and gloom, markets evolve over time. I must say I am pretty happy with the evolution, some great systems and solutions available now that didn't exist 10 years ago. IMHO.
Does anyone even read magazines at all? I think it has been 3 years since I last bought any magazine. I live in the Netherlands and I never see any audio magazines in the stores. I used to sometimes buy the Hifi+, Stereophile and I think there was one more. But finding a recent one that has interesting articles is/was rare.
CPP
Active member
I just read them online.
Everest Audio
Member
Apparently Jana will now become the editor of AudioStream.
I still get Stereophile Mag. I like the feel and prefer reading paper. I guess I am dinosaur.
CPP
Active member
I might go back to paper if ZINIO ( provides Stereophile on-line mag) can't speed up their server. Its so darn slow at times.
steinkrieg
Member
Zinio is great, and really cheap... I get Stereophile, What Hi-FI?, and Hi-Fi News... I think I paid under $40 total for all 3 subscriptions for a year. They all put out most of the same articles on the website in the month or so following the release of each issue. It's great iPad reading while casually listening to music.
Mr Peabody
Well-known member
I was reading Stereophile reviews on the AURALIC Altair and Aurender A10, I found it really interesting that in both the reviewers had technical issues and the comments on sound quality were opposite or more negative than other reviews on the same units. TAS reviewed the A10.
So I wonder if a prejudice against that type of new digital or are they the only truthful reviewers. Set up could be questionable as they had set up issues. I don't know, I just thought it noteworthy. I've read so many revews lately on that type of item, however, if memory serves I believe Aurender is Korean where AURALIC is Chinese, so I wouldn't think an issue with imports but I'd have to read more reviews from those specific writers to form anopinion.
Just wondered if anyone noticed Stereophile reviews being different than others on same units or thoughts on my comment?
I mean we don't want every reviewer to think exactly the same and we hardly have the same opinions on gear, it's just those couple of reviews were quite different.
So I wonder if a prejudice against that type of new digital or are they the only truthful reviewers. Set up could be questionable as they had set up issues. I don't know, I just thought it noteworthy. I've read so many revews lately on that type of item, however, if memory serves I believe Aurender is Korean where AURALIC is Chinese, so I wouldn't think an issue with imports but I'd have to read more reviews from those specific writers to form anopinion.
Just wondered if anyone noticed Stereophile reviews being different than others on same units or thoughts on my comment?
I mean we don't want every reviewer to think exactly the same and we hardly have the same opinions on gear, it's just those couple of reviews were quite different.
I think biases set in with anything. I believe it was JVS who reviewed the A10. He’s normally quite good and funny as heck if you get to know him. His comments on Raidho speakers made me bust a gut laughing:
https://www.stereophile.com/content/jasons-discoveries-axponas-end
But JA is my favorite reviewer by far.
But honestly, it’s no different than with cars. I’ve seen Car and Driver love a car that Road and Track doesn’t care for.
Always try to judge for yourself or work with a dealer you trust.
As a side, as I’m looking to bring in a couple of new products, I do my own research and trust the experienced members of this site more than a review (especially ones translated!)
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Kuoppis
New member
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Stereophile - that didn't take long... 
I’m a bit torn with Stereophile reviews. In general most reviews are nice and well written. But sometimes they feature some odd elements, which are difficult to justify and raise the question of political motivations. Just like the negativity you mentioned.
And if a reviewer today cannot grasp simple SW logic, it’s probably not the gear to fault. There’s going to be a lots more of that sort of thing in the future. I just remember an Ayre review where the writer struggled with a SW menu operated by two (!) large mechanical controls turning left and right, with one having a push functionality to confirm, along with a display to show where you are at. Components used to have a lots of tiny HW buttons for every functionality, but those are long gone.
Further the recommended components line-ups appear to be a mishmash of partly dated stuff with little overall quality control or market insight. It’s somewhat difficult to follow the logic of e.g. LS class A components covering a range from a couple of K$ stand-mount to a tens of K$$ floor-stander in the same category, like T&F Sun for 3,5K to Rockport Avior II for 38K.
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I’m a bit torn with Stereophile reviews. In general most reviews are nice and well written. But sometimes they feature some odd elements, which are difficult to justify and raise the question of political motivations. Just like the negativity you mentioned.
And if a reviewer today cannot grasp simple SW logic, it’s probably not the gear to fault. There’s going to be a lots more of that sort of thing in the future. I just remember an Ayre review where the writer struggled with a SW menu operated by two (!) large mechanical controls turning left and right, with one having a push functionality to confirm, along with a display to show where you are at. Components used to have a lots of tiny HW buttons for every functionality, but those are long gone.
Further the recommended components line-ups appear to be a mishmash of partly dated stuff with little overall quality control or market insight. It’s somewhat difficult to follow the logic of e.g. LS class A components covering a range from a couple of K$ stand-mount to a tens of K$$ floor-stander in the same category, like T&F Sun for 3,5K to Rockport Avior II for 38K.
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AJ Soundfield
Well-known member
Great advice. Trust that you will be the best judge of what sounds good to you!
True, but audiophiles these days are often in a pickle. They can't audition stuff before purchase. I had no problem buying the Schiit Yggdrasil DAC unheard because it was quite affordable and had a two week return guarantee. I also had no problem buying my new expensive monitors unheard because I already knew what to expect after owning a cheaper monitor from the same company. It all worked out great.
But buying my new amp unheard? No way in hell. Fortunately I got it for repeated home audition from my dealer, Goodwin's High End. Decision was then easy.
Very true. I encourage people to spend the $500 on a trip to hear what they are interated in. Florida is an easy sell. [emoji6]. Buy with impunity.
The key is to find a knowledgeable dealer. How many actually attend all the shows, try lots of different gear and know what stuff really sounds like? Frankly, not many.
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The key is to find a knowledgeable dealer. How many actually attend all the shows, try lots of different gear and know what stuff really sounds like? Frankly, not many.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk