What HI*FI, more Hifi please!

[luckylion100]

I'm sure this has been touched upon many times previously for that I apologise in advance. But with no working search function here (and being unwilling to exit the site to use an external search engine) I'm afraid I couldn't be bothered to research... so here goes anyway.

Maybe it's just me, the years slowly ticking by, my listening, reading habits and the passion for my hobby continually evolving and becomng ever more selective but sadly What HI*FI has lost me as a reader. On the odd occasion you'll still find me thumbing my way through the magazine in a highstreet newsagent, glancing at a review or two that's caught my eye but seldom will it now become a purchase at the till.

The seemingly constant need for this magazine to cover almost every conceivable base means for me it now has no true identity. Little difference between this and the likes of Stuff (another mag I wouldn't touch unless in search for some eye candy) I'm sure It will remain the easy, first choice for your average Joe Blogs consumer interested in the latest one box, do everything convenience system, the Ultra High Def mega television you just have to have or mobile phone! The all out, guns blazing, unashamed, trumpets from the parapet announcement of the latest aPPle model made me realise today that it really is time to move on. Just looking at the rapidly growing collection of rival 'hifi' magazines I already own seems to point to the fact that the move may have begun a while ago.

I need something to stimulate the odd brain cell, opinion, blimey even the odd article would be a blessng but no, not to be found here. Maybe I should have realised this a while ago, perhaps I've been slow on the uptake but other publications now have my hifi orientated affections.

The one truly redeeming feature though, and I am thankful for this, is all the fine contributions to this forum from fellow members. This is where I fnd the debate (hilarious at times), tips, music recommendations and just pure enjoyment reading how this hobby of ours gives such pleasure and deeply divides opinion. I may not post too often but rarely does a day go by when I'm not thoroughly entertained by this forums. Thanks to all.

Edited for typos and terrible smelling! ;-)

 

[tino]

I agree ... sometimes I want to buy the mag, but 99% of occasions I usually end up not doing so. The product reviews are sometimes quite late and sparse, there are too many gadgets (phones and tablets), and then there is the half magazine width devoted to a star rated buyers section which I find completely redundant. The web forum and web news section keeps me here and I find them interesting.

 

[Leeps]

Agreed. I find Hifi Choice magazine is spot-on for my taste. The reviews are generally longer and more detailed for each product and the whole mag is more music-centric. But that's my taste. I'm sure WHF have done their research and reach their target audience.

I had a look at the current issue today in the shop. The 2 pages I was interested in (the review of Bluesound streamers) wasn't sufficient to make me part with a fiver.

 

[audioaddict]

I agree also. When I first started buying the mag way back in the early 80s ( am I really that old?) it was purely a hifi mag. ( blimey I am tha old as the main source then was a turntable or tape deck) As previously been stated by two fellow hifi nuts, the mag now seems to have drifted into all things electronic. Maybe the guys at whathifi have missed a trick here as they could have published a separate mag all on its own that covers all the aforementioned gadgets and kept the hifi mag as it was. A very interesting point has been brought up in this thread, many thanks.

 

[nopiano]

I too would like more music and hifi because I never really embraced home cinema and film in the same way. But I do find enough to interest me in a subscription, which works out far cheaper than the cover price. I also find the reviews of streaming services, compact systems, and phones all quite interesting, and the telly reviews often useful if friends or relatives ask what the latest is.

It wouldn't be my only magazine for hifi, but there is some good writing, the photography is stunning, and the adverts and buyer's guide very useful. All in all, well worth it.

 

[tinkywinkydipsylalapo]

Maybe the guys at whathifi have missed a trick here as they could have published a separate mag all on its own that covers all the aforementioned gadgets

What, like this, you mean?

 

[chebby]

I embrace most modern tech covered in the mag. I use Airplay and iPhone / iPad / Mac Mini with an all-in-one Marantz unit also playing from Blu-ray, TV and PVR via optical digital into it's DAC.

I have no particular objection to the technology covered by the magazine but I object strongly to what a 'thin' read it is now. (Basically a cut-and-paste job from manufacturer's blurb mostly and absolutely no individual style in the reviews and articles.)

It's not the publisher's fault. There is no point in employing talented writers to engage and absorb the reader in an age when the reader hasn't got the will (or even the ability) or the time to immerse themselves in good writing.

 

[acha]

Hi,

Just to add some useful info that really works great to me and could be useful attending the first paragraph of the topic.

In google:

topic to search site:www.whathifi.com/forum

Cheers

 

[gowiththeflow]

I bought the latest printed edition last week. This is the first printed copy of WHF I've purchased this year and to be perfectly honest, it was a waste of money.

Tests of TV's and small portable wireless speakers, plus news items on BluRay players and yet another monster AV Receiver are really not my cup of tea in a supposidly HiFi mag.

The Buyers Guide is also heavily padded out with kit that is long out of production and availability. There are some glaring omissions too, including some items that I'm sure WHF have reviewed already.

Not only are there other good quality printed magazines covering 2-channel HiFi audio, there are some very good free web based alternatives too, with reviews that are very comprehensive, often containing measured results (I'm not really interested in that aspect though).

There are some very good HiFi forums out there too.

.

 

[Neptune_Twilight]

The ‘temptations' section annoys me, it's nice look at gear you can't afford (or I wouldn’t buy if I can) but a couple of months back there were as I remember 3 different units in this which seems to me the magazine is getting like 'Top Gear', fun to watch but not really that relevant if you are carting grandchildren around which is why I don't subscribe to What Hi-Fi anymore but do buy the odd mag from the newsagent but don't find it anything like as good as 10 years+ ago.

I recently subscribed to a rival which frankly isn't much better as I do disagree that £25 spent on a fuse no matter how good is crazy with bells on for example. I still buy mags as I'm still interested in upgrading & like to know what's happening in the Hi-Fi world but not really interested in AV as most of the material we watch on TV was made years ago & would qualify as ELD (extra low definition) so I still use only 2 channels.

What I did enjoy is buying a heap of old mags locally off Ebay for a few pounds that are around 10 years old, had some enjoyment seeing how things have changed but more often how they really haven’t which IMO is the biggest problem with Hi-Fi, the stuff I gave away to other family members isn’t much worse than what’s in my lounge at the moment esp. in speakers & amps.