Bottlehead Forum
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: 4krow on August 31, 2013, 09:38:00 AM
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Many years ago, before there was dirt, an audiophile magazine was being printed in a very dark basement, maybe somewhere in New Mexico. They called it Stereophile, and it was small. I mean the format, geez. If you were astute enough, you caught wind of it and enjoyed the honest feelings of those who were not impressed by advertisers. In spite of the fact it, and others exist, I beg the question-'what rag do you read now, and why?' No, you can't use BH as an answer, that's too obvious.
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I just let my subscriptions to Stereophile & TAS lapse. 6 Moons is a little too far out there, PFO only occasionally, ditto Tone Audio. I just don't feel that next thing jones anymore.
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I just let my subscription to Stereophile lapse, or it will in December. I have subscribed since some time in the early 80s.
I was a charter (first year) subscriber to The Absolute Sound. Some of the reviews made me drunk, the wine references. I let that lapse when HP started writing sentences that were paragraphs. Anyone that impressed with himself need not be read.
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None any more. I like to look at the photos of the Japanese rag Stereo Sound but can't read a word of it....
The happier I am with my system, the less I look for new products ;)
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I still read Stereophile mostly for the Letters, Art Dudley, Stephan Meijas, and Mike Fremer. Sometimes it takes me a while to read an issue and sometimes I can read it in one sitting. It really has no bearing on my system anymore since I mostly DIY and I'm pretty happy with what I have.
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Very interesting all. I am the same way. I haven't had a subscription for quite awhile, and during the last year of TAS, I found less interest in it except that I thought that some of the articles were well written. I did like to see the awards for component of the year and such, but mostly out of curiosity. It seems that now, I get about 90% of what I want here, and look on the web for the remainder. I really do enjoy some of the blogs/articles that are recommended by you all(yah, I said you all).
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Down here you would say "All y'all".
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I used to religiously buy all the major British mags... Now, I just take a gander at every review site the net has to offer as well as have a couple reviewer friends that I chat with on occasion as well as a couple of designer friends to chat with...All that and the Bottlehead site and I am quite happy, I havent missed the magazines actually... I still hope they live long and prosper though...
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Chris, I know what you mean man. When I was in high school, I read Stereo Review and believed every word. I would re-read the articles to try and get more from them. Back then, living in Wyoming, it was the only hope that I had of getting ANY info about stereo. Occasionally, I would take a trip to Billings Montana, population maybe 70,000. It actually had more options than you might think, despite it's size. I would go to shops there and listen to the wisdom of the salesmen. Eventually, I was able to pick out the idiots.
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I just signed up for 2 years of Stereophile. Think the Mapleshade guys gave them my name. Less than 50 cents an issue.
I just look at the pretty pictures and the 5 digit price tags and throw it in the trash.
Kinda like Playboy, you ain't gettin' non of that either.
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LOL Yes, hope can be sold to the crowds at a price, but not given.
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I enjoy reading Bound For Sound (boundforsound.com (http://boundforsound.com)). They come out on regular paper sent to you in an envelop. Their on-line presence adds photos and things. I don't think they take it all too seriously except their joy of music and the equipment that makes it beautiful in our homes. They don't even have a regular publishing schedule...just when they have enough to fill an issue, however long that takes. Refreshing...
Best,
John
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John,
Thanks for the idea. maybe I will look into sometime soon.
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I check http://www.dailyaudiophile.com well, daily.
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Hey, I like that resource, thanks for the link.
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I used to regularly buy the german magazines Audio and Stereoplay, when I was young. Read them front to back and back to front. These days I only buy an audio mag when I am on vacation and do not have access to the web and bored out of my brains. On the web I mostly read Bottlehead, diyaudio.com and the Dynaco forum and occansioanlly 6moons and it's partner fairaudio. I find the language used in most of the commercial reviews these days just hideous and i am not willing to spend my hard earned oney on the sales lingo.....
Best
Michael
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Since we are reaching into the past, for two decades I subscribed to Hi-Fidelity and Stereo Review (later known as Stereo Review) and Audio. The better, for me, was Audio. One of the better parts of that magazine was Audio ETC (Edward Tatnall Canby). Those were the hey days of audio gear and the dark days of the birth of "high end" audio. They were particularly dark because the hot gear changed with every new publication of a "High End" magazine and I was a salesman.
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Yeah, I was "teethed" on Stereo Review and Audio, Audio was great, I agree.. Man, DAMN good memories of those days..
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"I just look at the pretty pictures and the 5 digit price tags and throw it in the trash.
Kinda like Playboy, you ain't gettin' non of that either."... THAT is one of the funnier things i have read in awhile...haha.... But, I agree, for 50 cents an issue, you surely can't go wrong...
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I obviously don't subscribe to any print mags and don't religiously read any of the online blogs, mags or such, nowadays it's mostly this forum and diyaudio on occasion, such as the last couple moonths as I have been working on a pair of aleph J monoblocks. I do however lament the loss of Valve and Sound Practices.
Now if there is a piece of gear that I may be interessted in, I'll read any and all online reviews and comments I can find and try to make up my mind if it is something I think is worth a try. Most recently, in search of a super efficient, single driver, full range speaker I gobbled up all I could on the Rethm Trishnas and now a pair is on their way from India to me for my trial period. No telling what will happen, but I did have to have some time with these as they just looked too much like what I want for my listening room. And no, this is not to say there is anything wrong with the Orcas or Nagas -- still love them, but I do want the extra efficiency and am simply not willing to give up my 45s and 2a3s for an 845, 6c33c or the like just to have the power reserve for the dynamic scale I want to reach in my referrence setup.
As for online mags I will look at on a semi regular basis, PFO is one I go to often. I'd probably look at some of the others too but they are too hyperactive with respect to my screen reader and I can never read more than a line or two before I find myself at the top or bottom of the page.
I like it here at BH and even though some of us have some wildly different tastes in music, sound, etc., it's all good. Dan has really and truly built an online community of substance and integrity like no other I've seen anywhere.
-- Jim
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Jim,
Single driver speaker designs have caught my attention for some time now. Like you, I read all that I could bear on the subject, but there was no getting better than buying a pair seeing what was up. I had to try a couple more to find my taste, but consider the experience wonderful as I enjoy that part of the hobby as much as the rest. Trying to find a good read is the same thing, as so many of them are guided by advertisers, opinions, arrogance, and a few other prejudices. This BH forum is by far the best thing I have found, but wish that there was more. I was reading comments on another site yesterday that quickly came to be a can of worms. Not the kind of thing that I'm looking for. Here, the moderation is just right when things get out of whack. Thanks to all who contribute here, as I find this to be an oasis for the few of us.
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I check http://www.dailyaudiophile.com well, daily.
2+ - thats a great site. A quick gander on whats new. Especially with my iPhone.
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I have built 2 pair of single driver speaks. Both pair sound great and both are driven by class A tube amps.
You guys are all into building amps, why not build up some speaks?
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I just went to The Daily Audiophile, it reminded me of Dagogo. We had a Bottlehead who wrote for them. IIRC, he was the one who turned me on to the Black Obbligato Polypropylene film and oil caps. Still can't come up with the moniker or name. But I have wanted to credit him many, many times.
I don't have many original ideas. I steal, er, borrow from others more often.
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Grainger, When I was a young lad, I thought that it would be cool to see a boat use skiis....then I saw one. There is nothing new under the sun.