“The Sensible Sound” magazine the ASR forum of pre-internet days?

[jim1274]

In my defense for the members here and also over on the Omni thread, I did not refer to ASR before buying the Duevels, but that was before I found the forum. That said, had I read the forum take on Omnis, I might never have thrown the dice and bought an Omni at all. Jury still out here on whether that would be good or bad thing.

 

[jim1274]

Think I actually first found ASR when looking for reviews of the Eversolo DMP-A6. I read a few glowing more subjective reviews that sounded too good to be true, finding the ASR review confirmed its quality and value before pulling the trigger. I buy nothing without checking ASR first now.

 

[Chrispy]

I found this to look at some TSS examples https://www.enjoythemusic.com/sensiblesound/0107/

 

[jim1274]

I found this to look at some TSS examples https://www.enjoythemusic.com/sensiblesound/0107/

That appears to only be table of contents for issues from 2000 to when they ended publishing.

My system was the same for years and don’t recall ever buying much gear other until the surround sound era arrived other than a CD player in about 1985

 

[Chrispy]

The review archives still work. Whole section on idiotic wires.

 

[jim1274]

That appears to only be table of contents for issues from 2000 to when they ended publishing.

My system was the same for years and don’t recall ever buying much gear other until the surround sound era arrived other than a CD player in about 1985

Hit send accidentally…

I used TSS mostly in the early days of publication. They panned a lot of gear too. When something got a glowing review and they said things like to get more, you had had to pay twice as much. I tried to focus on things like that to pursue.

 

[Chrispy]

Hit send accidentally…

I used TSS mostly in the early days of publication. They panned a lot of gear too. When something got a glowing review and they said things like to get more, you had had to pay twice as much. I tried to focus on things like that to pursue.

Was just reading a review of a silly cable (from one of the worst of the charlatans ever, Synergistic Research), it was from 2022 by some deluded guy named Rick Becker. LOL you pursued such statements out of amusement?

 

[jim1274]

The review archives still work. Whole section on idiotic wires.

Uh oh…I don’t recall them giving some big $ wires a buy, not that even then I would have done it.

Ok—those review archives are post-2000 Enjoy the Music, not TSS.

I panicked there for a minute…

 

[Chrispy]

Uh oh…I don’t recall them giving some big $ wires a buy, not that even then I would have done it.

Ok—those review archives are post-2000 Enjoy the Music, not TSS.

I panicked there for a minute…

Yes, it is a Enjoy the Music review now that I look at the top of the page Linked to it thru the "ramblings" in a particular issue and didn't notice the transition. So maybe not so easy to get but a flavor from covers and lists of gear "reviewed" rather than a TSS review, darn . But if Enjoy the Music is hosting it, would it be a lot different? Did TSS exist only 2000-2006? Or?

 

[jhaider]

I recall being surprised when I found out Anthony Cordesman was an analyst on the Middle East for ABC News

Anthony Cordesman - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

There are a few NatSec folks also writing about music and audio. Fred Kaplan is another who comes to mind.

I had a ritual as a kid (mid 1990s) of going to Barnes & Noble once a month to leaf through the audio and British classic car magazines and decide which one to pick up. On the audio side they typically had Stereophile, TAS, T$S, and TAC (often the same issue for months). T$S had a run that was substantively pretty good. If memory serves Dr. David Rich edited it for a while.

 

[Redbeard65]

I subscribed to T$S for several years.
Their review of Paradigm's Studio 60 speakers convinced me to go listen and ultimately buy them. They are still on my primary system and I haven't heard anything enough better to convince me to replace them, at least at a reasonable price

 

[suttondesign]

I don't think many would agree on your take of Audio. At least many of their reviewers were very competent. Richard Heyser I think was a reviewer. They tested mainstream items, but did thorough objective testing as was available at the time. They tested things like cassette decks which always stretched claims and provided real measured results for them. Amps and everything else. Maybe if you read only the last couple of years when they were faltering it seemed different.

i learned the technical details of digital audio from excellent, in-depth articles in audio.

 

[Ron Texas]

There was a world before the internet? Must have been everything was wiped out by an asteroid before Al Gore invented the internet.

 

[pinger]

Yeah Stereophile is still going strong. I "read" it every month or really just flip through it. I like to see what new components are coming out. Lots of snake oil which is amusing and they love to wax romantically about the 5 figure amps and such that all sound the same anyway LOL!

 

[Jagamov]

FYI

back issues of Stereo Review scanned for viewing

STEREO REVIEW: Consumer audio and music magazine beginning in 1958

Stereo Review was an American magazine first published in 1958 by Ziff-Davis with the title HiFi and Music Review. It was one of a small group of magazines then available for the individual interested in high fidelity (the other major ones being Audio and High Fidelity) It featured a blend of...

www.worldradiohistory.com

Thanks! Wow....that's nostalgic for sure. I subscribed back then (80's/90's)...

Such a great time to be an "audiophile". Sure wish I had known then what I know now.... But who doesn't.

 

[Power Pop 23]

Thanks! Wow....that's nostalgic for sure. I subscribed back then (80's/90's)...

Such a great time to be an "audiophile". Sure wish I had known then what I know now.... But who doesn't.

I agree and you are welcome. I had forgotten how much gear I had purchased directly or indirectly because of testing by Stereo Review. I preserved the sound of my vinyl collection with a Sony TC-K555ES 3-head cassette deck because of a positive review.

 

[Jagamov]

I agree and you are welcome. I had forgotten how much gear I had purchased directly or indirectly because of testing by Stereo Review. I preserved the sound of my vinyl collection with a Sony TC-K555ES 3-head cassette deck because of a positive review.

That ES was nice stuff.

I had an unhealthy obsession with all things Krell.... Luckily, I was too broke to afford most of it.

I will say this, my friend has a Krell preamp and an Aragon 4004 than have been powered on continuously for over 25+ or more years. Still going strong.

 

[DSJR]

Oh Gawd - I go back to 1967 when I was ten years old and buying Hi Fi Sound magazine every month with my pocket money! This mag had a good mix of proper tech based reviews with subjective comments on speakers mainly unless the amps under test had audible distortions or tuners/tape machines too much hiss, adjacent channel interference (on FM) or response issues that affected reproduction.

I kept them all until the mag was absorbed into a sibling publication and all the tech side gradually evaporated, but they were stored in a damp loft and were terminally damaged and dirty when I went to extract them. Looking back, I wonder if I could have separated and cleaned them as I really need these reviews to make sense of now very vintage gear that was reviewed. HiFi News was a bit high-brow for my young tastes and the UK audio future was assured when 'HiFi Answers, Practical HiFi' and others came along, pandering increasingly to the new-age subjectivists. By the late 70's it was all over sadly...

 

[warnerwh]

I read for years, did Julian ever dislike any equipment that crossed his path ??

Julian stated in at least one issue that any products that they received were tested and performed poorly were simply returned to the manufacturer rather than waste space in the magazine.

 

[Sal1950]

Back in the day (1970-80s) I was receiving about 7 or 8 HiFi mags a month.
My fav's of which were Audio, Stereo Review, Audio Critic, with JGH fronted Stereophile being a close runner up.
I still find it extremely sad how I watched the audiophool cult run this audio passion totally off the rails as the years passed.
Peter still says it best for me in my signature.