hi-fi mags and reviews

gregory

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I like what hi fi, but what is your favourite review from old mags. I remember Audiophile, what a great mag. They did a dealer review and if they didn't like them they knew about it, but they gave the dealer a chance to reply to criticism.so come on what is the the best review you have seen in a magazine. and if i rememeber rightly, didn't the good people of what hi fi do a dealer review many years ago.
 

John Duncan

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Hm, doesn't ring a bell. My favourite was from a rather upmarket magazine on nice-smelling thick paper that may or may not end in the word 'Plus', who reviewed the CA 640c v2. "Most budget CD players occupy waters marked 'Here Be Dragons' - this sails into those waters like Ferdinand Magellan". Genius.

I stole it for a presentation once, placing an expletive between 'Ferdinand' and 'Magellan' and shouting a bit. it got a round of applause.
 

Anton90125

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hifi choice when they were small books and only reviewed on set/type of equipment. ie one month it was Amps,next cassette decks. It also had Martin Colloms

I do have a copy of what Hifi from the early 1980 when they reviewed some cassette decks-ah the nostalgia!
 

fatboyslimfast

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I used to read HiFi review back in the late 80s, the then editor painted himself as such a yuppie with comments like "the speakers filled up all the luggage space and back seats of my XR4i"...and the subscription freebie was a carphone (yep, the one with a curly cord attaching the handset to the car)!

And thinking back, there was a columnist who every month went on about his successes with Peter Belt's "electromagnetic smog" treatments...

All of a sudden, I'm rather happy to be in 2008 not 1989!
 
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Anonymous

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I sometimes buy hifi choice as it's a dedicated hifi mag with lot's of articles about hifi and former classic prouducts, dont get me wrong what hifi is great its just not hifi anymore, there are only few mentions of new hifi prouducts at the front of the mag and the odd super test, oh and while im at it almost every front cover is tv or hi def related, obviuoly the market has changed considerbly hence the sound vision add on of some years ago, its still my number one mag though, i trust its reviews and opions, id just wish reading the hifi bits in the mag took longer than 10 minutes to read.
 

Clare Newsome

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[quote user="jimm"]I id just wish reading the hifi bits in the mag took longer than 10 minutes to read.[/quote]

Blimey, you should come and work as one of our proof readers - takes me a lot longer than that to read that amount of copy every month
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But seriously, we review more mainstream hi-fi than any mag on the market - there just isn't as much kit as there used to be, though there are welcome signs of a renaissance (which is why we've been covering more two-channel products lately).

Hope you've also enjoyed our current, Ultimate Guide to Hi-fi special edition, which will be joined in the summer by an Ultimate Guide to High-End. By then we'll also have hundreds of hi-fi reviews to read here online....
 
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Anonymous

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thank's for the reply clare, i just felt like haveing a moan..
 
T

the record spot

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Must admit I rate Hi Fi World very highly; not all of their articles apply to my needs such as the speaker design and building series they've had (but neither does WHFS&V to be honest - I don't need to spend £6k on a big telly for one thing!), but this month's issue hits all the right buttons for the most part.

I think the difference between the two is that WHFS&V will give me an idea of what's available in the marketplace with (all but) a bullet pointed brief review and the material HFW puts out gives me more depth in an individual review. It makes for a good balance.
 

Andy Clough

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Ah, now you're just boasting Andrew! But seriously folks, one of the joys of the web is it allows us to run much longer, more in-depth reviews as space is less of a constraint than in the magazine. So we'll be bringing you lots more reviews online in the coming months, and if Mr Everard keeps this up, he'll be writing 3000 words each before long!
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drummerman

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I take the vulture approach and home-in on whats lying around motionless at my regular dealer friends outlet rather than reading any title with clockwork precision. They all have their virtues and a few flaws but if pressed hard I have to admit to liking Hifi World simply because it manages a good balance of old/new with some interesting topics thrown in that go further than just how a product sounds. Hifi News & RR is better than it used to be, perhaps due to some new editorial contributions which seem to give a new twist to things. Hifi Choice is ok too, Hifi + can be a bit eliteist but I have read some very interesting articles/reviews there and this mag is fine as well with the caveit of not enough HiFi but it does have a lot of reviews even so compared to another couple of titles and The Ultimate Guide is a work of genius and surely all many people need to get basic info on products to shortlist.
 

drummerman

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... but with regards to the best review ... tricky one. However, the most interesting (i did'nt say accurate) reviewer by a mile is Ken Kessler, if you dont mind his egomaniac/controversial approach but it does make for fun reading even though, as I said before, you normally know the outcome once you know which product he's reviewing.
 

drummerman

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... and thanks to this title for letting this thread run its course. It proves an open minded aptitude. In any case, WH has a secure place within the industry and will no doubt continue to do so for a long time to come.
 
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the record spot

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[quote user="Andrew Everard"]
[quote user="Andy Clough"]if Mr Everard keeps this up, he'll be writing 3000 words each before long![/quote]

I sense a stitch-up in the offing!

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[/quote]

Hoisted by your own petard Mr E!

Mind you, at least you're not the one who's looking after shifting 85 years worth of Gramophone reviews to an online library (Guardian, May 2nd); how many words in them thar hills I wonder?!? @:)
 

Andrew Everard

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[quote user="the record spot"]
Mind you, at least you're not the one who's looking after shifting 85 years worth of Gramophone reviews to an online library[/quote]

Nope, keeping well clear of that one, but hoping as they are going to put all of every issue online, the Gramo Audio pages will go up too.
 

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