Product Description

STEREOPHILE is devoted to high-end audio and features equipment reports describing how hi-fi components actually sound, regardless of their specifications. Each issue also includes articles on audio and recorded music, interviews with audio engineers and musicians, news on the developments in sound reproduction, and scholarly and entertaining record reviews. Regular departments cover building a collection of classical recordings, manufacturers commenting on the reviews of their products, and a controversial "Letters to the Editor" column.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #830 in Magazine Subscriptions
• Formats: Magazine Subscription, Print

Customer Reviews

inexpensive but subjectivist
This magazine is interesting because of the design aspects. I enjoy seeing what the high-end is doing as far as construction, cases, etc. I am more of a DIY or mid-fi type than high-end. This magazine is as fun as Stereo Review used to be, but take the reviews with a grain of salt.

Stereophile isn't for you
There are some big problems with Stereophile that make it worse than useless unless you already know a lot about audio (so that you can separate the useful parts from the stuff they make up):

- There's a lot of misinformation, bias, opinion and pure fantasy mixed in to the articles. Unless you already know quite a bit about audio, it may be hard to separate the useful information from the rubbish.

The writers and the editors are simply not interested in really getting the facts right and testing what they know against reality - that's hard work and it's inconvenient, after all. And facing reality would get in the way of the real reason this magazine is published, which is ....

- Like most magazines, Stereophile is a vehicle for selling advertising. Though they like to believe otherwise, Stereophile is no different from GQ or Maxim or Elle magazines. (That shouldn't surprise you, even though it might.) Stereophile's main purpose is to help sell you more stuff, just like almost every other magazine.

And, like GQ or Elle, encouraging fashion trends is a key part of Stereophile trying to get you to spend more money. That, for example, is why they are so excited about the return of vinyl. It's not because vinyl actually sounds better (!?). It's because after years of stasis, it's a huge opportunity to sell more advertising to try to sell you more stuff. The fact that they moved all the turntables, etc, to the front of their recommended list of equipment helps prove the point. Fashion trends are a magazine's best friend, whether it's GQ or Stereophile.

By the way, I'm not suggesting that the writers are consciously slanting the articles. In a way, it's far more insidious than that: they actually believe what they write. There's an implicit selection process - the only way to get hired to or stay on the staff at Stereophile is to drink the Kool Aid. Over time the primary goal has become making money, so Stereophile has inevitably been shaped into a vehicle for selling advertising.

So keep in mind that Stereophile isn't published for you, it's published for the advertisers and the owners. That might help guide you through the quagmire that is Stereophile magazine. You're simply the "target" demographic. Hold on to your wallet, and decide what to buy with your ears, not your eyes.

Techie porn
The reviews of $10,000 speakers by reviewers who seem to think themselves immune to all bias are as ridiculous as ever. Still, they do review a lot of cheaper stuff, and it's cheaper to subscribe than to buy the Buyer's Guides retail.