From: smee@bristol.ac.uk (Paul Smee)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: Please suggest Audio magazines!
Date: 5 Jan 93 16:37:09 GMT
Reply-To: P.Smee@bristol.ac.uk (Paul Smee)
Organization: University of Bristol

From: mike@banana.fedex.com (Mike Bearden)
Subject: Re: Please suggest Audio magazines!
Date: 31 Dec 92 00:14:17 GMT
Organization: Federal Express Corp.

In <1992Dec31.001417.11978@banana.fedex.com> mike@banana.fedex.com (Mike Bearden) writes:
> norman, would you or could somebody else characterize some of the
> non-US, particularly the british magazines in the same manner?
> i see these at the bookstore, and never know which ones more closely
> resemble stereophile and tas as opposed to the mass market publications.

Well, I'm not Norman, and I'm not familiar with the US mags so don't
know how the British ones compare, but -- the British mags.  First
important thing to note is that all of them DO cover the full range of
hifi equipment, from fairly low-priced 'midi' (or 'combo') systems up
to the sort of stuff that has price tags too large to comprehend at a
single glance.  However, they concentrate in different areas, as
follows:

Hi-Fi World:  Friendly, cheerful sort of mag.  Aimed largely at the
lower end of the mid-fi market.  (I get the feeling that they are
specifically targeting the younger, maybe student, audience, who
generally don't have as much money to throw around.)  They seem to be a
semi-rebirth of 'HiFi Review', which went bankrupt last year.  Pretty
good introductory-level 'how things work' articles.  Not much
controversial.  Most suggested tweaks are cheap, or 'free, using only
things you're likely to have lying around the house'.  Many reviews are
'single product'.

What Hi-Fi?:  Slightly more upmarket, i.e. mostly solidly mid-fi.  Most
reviews are comparative reviews of similarly-priced similar products --
e.g. 6 CD players under 200 pounds.  These are usually pretty good,
though they tend to be written largely in subjective terms.  Very
useful 'Buying Guide' section in the back, listing a large number of
available (in the UK) products with capsule descriptions.  'What HiFi'
'Recommended' and 'Best Buy' ratings feature strongly in makers' and
shops' advertisements.  Begin to see mentions of questionable tweaks.
I usually recommend either this, or HiFi Choice (next) for people
looking for their first hifi mag, moving on either to Audiophile or to
HiFi World depending on whether you find this not complicated enough,
or too much so.

Hi-Fi Choice:  Similar market position to What HiFi?, maybe a tiny bit
higher but still definitely mid-fi.  Again concentrate on comparative
reviews.  HiFi Choice is fond of graphs and tables, though, in addition
to subjective commentary; and, they throw in a page or two explaining
what all the graphs and tables mean.  Also have a wide-ranging 'Buying
Guide' section; I have a slight preference for What HiFi?'s layout.
Again, questionable tweaks begin to be discussed.

Hi-Fi News and Record Review:  Sort of odd one out.  Probably mid-fi
again.  Their equipment reviews aren't (IMHO) as good as the two
above.  Their strong point is the 'record review' part.  Half of the
mag is devoted to reviews of newly-issued recordings.  Very useful.
(And, you can order any of the recordings they've reviewed through them
-- handy since often their reviews come out before the recordings hit
any but the London shops, specially in the case of classical.)

Audiophile:  Pretensions towards high-end.  Also have a 'Buying Guide',
but listing only a very limited range of equipment -- most of which I
can't afford.  They (alone) make a point, though, of making sure to
tell you that their reviews are done blind (and, usually, by 2 or 3
reviewers); that is, the reviewers write comparing items A and B, some
flunky keeps track of which real boxes A and B correspond to, and the
editor plugs in the product names after the article has been submitted.  
Occasionally leads to surprises.  They also show the reviews to the
companies involved before publication, and the companies are given
space to respond to the reviews in the same issue that the review
appears in -- fun if they haven't liked the product.  Some of their
writers also believe in some seriously weird tweak products.  And where
else could you find a writer to tell you that it IS sensible to use a
4000 pound power lead on a 400 pound amplifier?

The first 4 seem to push for 'consistency of belief'.  That is, all
their writers seem to have the same sorts of feelings about the world.
Audiophile doesn't seem to keep as tight a rein on their writers, and
it's not uncommon to find two columns in the same issue (by different
folk) taking opposite sides on some tweaky question.  Again, can be fun;
or, confusing.

-- 
Paul Smee, Computing Service, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1UD, UK
 P.Smee@bristol.ac.uk - ..!uunet!uknet!bsmail!p.smee - Tel +44 272 303132
Newsgroups: rec.audio