subscribe to stereophile?

I subscribed to Stereophile for many years. Still have them all, a couple rows of "digest size" editions, and a heaping pile of the larger-size volumes. There was a lot to like, especially (for me) in the late-'80's and '90's. The first few years, I think the subscription price was $35/year at a time when mainstream magazines were selling for $15/year, and I was making less than $200/week.

I'd be THRILLED to pay $35/year for a magazine I actually wanted to read.

I quit subscribing when everything they reviewed in my budget was Communist Chinese. I can go to Wal-mart and buy Chinese crap. I don't need some "expert" and a full review to tell me that the Communists can build cheaper products than the First World. $7/year subscription is now over-priced.

God Bless eBay and craigslist so that used, quality equipment is searchable and available without retailer mark-up.

I still visit the Stereophile web site; most of the time it's quicker--and it is always easier--to find an old article on the web site than to dig through the magazines in the basement. (Assuming that the article I'm looking for has been put on their web site.)
 
pdm4606 said:
I have learned more from Stereophile than any audio mag. I have ever had. I have been subscribing to audio mags, way before there was any interest in audio. My first was Hi-Fi Stereo Review way back in the 70's. Then it was High Fidelity(or maybe it was first, I don't remember)
Paul
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Ditto! me too and then there were also british mags "Hifi-News" & "Hi-Fi World"

Those were the days......
 
I took the plunge and re-subscribed yesterday. $18 for a two-year subscription is only 75 cents an issue, and the offer includes a set of earbuds with the Stereophile logo (which my teenage son will probably claim as soon as he sees them). If I decide that the mag isn't even worth six bits an issue after reading three or four issues, I can always invoke the satisfaction guarantee, cancel the subscription early, and get a partial refund.
 
I just re-upped for two years at $7/year plus the earbuds. I had let the scrip run out and rejected many of the previous offers ($13/1 year) to re-up.

It hasn't taken me more than a 1/2 hour or 45 minutes to go through a Stereophile in years. I used to enjoy $ensible Sound quite a bit.
 
I let my subscription lapse, but renewed it later when they made me an offer I couldn't refuse. It's cheap enough, and I use their website sometimes to check out old reviews, so I like to support that.

However, now that I've read it long enough, there is a sameness to it all that is a bit dull. Maybe it is a dull industry these days. But reading Roy Hall's response to equipment reviews is always entertaining.
 
Since you are active on the forums/internet, I think you can access useful/technical information without Stereophile. My personal experience is that the useful/informative articles in Stereophile are few and far between. After subscribing for a number of years, I now refuse to read it, for one main reason, the reviews of audio equipment are (IMO), more often than not, cheap fiction rather than an assessment of tangibles.

Avoid at any cost IMO
 
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Got my most recent issue yesterday. Other than a page one unscientific comparison of concert halls, through page 35 I haven't found one really useful, meaningful sentence. What they like is probably really good. But better than what at what price point. Who is their audience?
 
Infinitoid said:
Got my most recent issue yesterday. Other than a page one unscientific comparison of concert halls, through page 35 I haven't found one really useful, meaningful sentence. What they like is probably really good. But better than what at what price point. Who is their audience?
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Their audience is fans of audio. People looking to improve their current systems or ones who just like reading about the latest gear. Pretty well the same as any other hobbiest magazine.
 
Funny, I was just reading the July issue an hour ago. Made me want to go hear the new LFD V. Sam was pretty well right on the money in regarding the sound of the last two generations of this wonderful amp.
 
Infinitoid said:
Got my most recent issue yesterday. Other than a page one unscientific comparison of concert halls, through page 35 I haven't found one really useful, meaningful sentence. What they like is probably really good. But better than what at what price point. Who is their audience?
Click to expand...

I am their audience. I renewed my subscription recently. For the price of admission, not a bad buy.
 
I don't understand why they would run a promo giving away a pair of chintzy
$2 earbuds? I mean really? that's their "gift with purchase" to hook new subscribers? throwaway earbuds?

The price for the subscription seemed like a fair enough deal, the headphones just seems like a gimmick that doesn't fit , given that the magazine is actually supposed to be about good sounding gear. I'd love to see their review of those ear buds. :)

In fairness , I haven't heard them myself, I'm blindly poking fun at the concept though.
 
Art K. said:
I am their audience. I renewed my subscription recently. For the price of admission, not a bad buy.
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I think that Art is far closer to their target demographic than I :) but I agree 100% with his last sentence.

I -- ahem have a pair of those Stereophile earbuds in a drawer somewhere... if I can find 'em, I can do a review sometime if anyone's interested. I could, I guess, compare them to the other pair of earbuds I reviewed a while back...

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=292855&highlight=monster
 
mhardy6647 said:
I think that Art is far closer to their target demographic than I :) but I agree 100% with his last sentence.

I -- ahem have a pair of those Stereophile earbuds in a drawer somewhere... if I can find 'em, I can do a review sometime if anyone's interested. I could, I guess, compare them to the other pair of earbuds I reviewed a while back...

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=292855&highlight=monster
Click to expand...

I think your pocketbook is closer to their target demographic and my lack of impulse control is closer...:D
 
I have digital subscriptions to Stereophile, TAS, HFN&RR, and a couple of others. I also read Popular Science and Popular Mechanics, to keep up my nerd status.

I want to know what's new and what direction things are heading in, even if I won't ever buy much of it. The tech in the highest priced products that are proven to be genuine advances by time, eventually winds up in more cost-efficient production. Just look at oversampling DACs, moving coil cartridges, etc. To see that in action, there's this:

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/buyers_guides/23/

So, no apologies necessary for keeping the subscriptions going. IMHO, you don't have to get them on some super-cheap deal to make them worthwhile... but it sure feels good!
 
I've subscribed to Stereophile for almost 30 years, and while I don't find everything in it worth reading, I continue to enjoy it. Reviews in Stereophile have helped me make some buying decisions over the years, too.
 
Oh, I enjoy it somewhat. But it's not a "hobbyist" rag in the sense that "Car & Driver" is. 95% of it is pure high end with little regard to the audio fans who may be a bit short of cash (cheap AJ Pioneer speakers excepted). Nor does it ever employ humor (except that Mr. Fremer makes me laugh sometimes). This is where they fail. Recruiting new fans/subscribers should IMHO be important to them, but I don't think it is. I've been a "hobbyist" for 50 years, and only one item I currently own has ever been mentioned. There exists no magazine (don't mention S&V) and few internet addresses that I have found that speaks to the financially stressed up and coming audiophile. Forums such as this seem to be the only way out for them. Certainly the demise of local equipment outlets has led to a dearth of listening/purchasing experiences. But I still distrust their avoidance of blind testing. I wish them well.
 
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