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New updated looks. Crap I still like the old pamphlets so I'm out of the loop.
Follow Ups:
Finally got the latest Stereophile. Excellent new layouts. Good to have lines separating all columns. The previous single line separating the first and second column was irritating. Overall looks cleaner and clearer than before. The pictures from the rear of speakers and amps are good too. Couple of faintly printed pages gave me a jolt of nostalgia with memories of old audio newsletters with faint letters and black and white pictures of Hafler amp and Dynaco speakers. Even the ADs look better now.
Good show.
Happy New Year to all
Bill the K
In my copy, the paper seemed to have a cream or very light tan tinge to it, combined with a light font density. Net effect is to reduce contrast and thus readability. Issue of font color density has been addressed, but should the paper have a non white color ?
Overall the font edges seemed slightly cleaner to my eye.
Non justified right edge is nice.
Smaller measurement graphs are not an issue to me. Point about more space for photographs is interesting....will more photos be included at the expense of text content ?
Was iPad / Tablet display a motivation for the redesign ?
Signature blurbs describing the authors are unnecessary.
Best,
Ross
;D
You're a riot, Alice! That was FUNNY!
I don't get the hate! It's a nice enough redesign. Sometimes redesign negatively impact readability of the magazine, but this one was a smooth transition for me. I like the increased number of pictures on the reviews.
Looks like Stereophile is in the fast lane on addressing many wishes and criticisms of its readers. Way to go guys!!
Now, you just need to add a 3 page centerfold with the playmate of the month. Just please, no Photoshopping :)
I'm not quite a fan of the new design direction, but it's not my magazine. The thing that I noticed most was that the issue I received had poor printing quality, including bad color registration and typography. I'm going to assume that such magazines are printed cheaper these days, probably in an on-demand type situation.
Several pages with low density text, just about to the point of illegibility, and occurring randomly across individual pages throughout the magazine.As for the new design, I rather like it, as long as they stay away from the earlier bummer of printing text on background colors that rendered it impossible to read.
(Edited to insert missing word)
Edits: 12/21/11
I don't like change but enjoy the magazine and will continue reading but find it is a bit more difficult to read.
Edits: 12/21/11
amid the praises and criticisms, you and I are the only ones who have posted on this. Stereophile needs to examine the print run before defending the new print style.
Whose favorite color is that ugly orange hue? And those graphics over every column will become old fast. The little vignettes following the signature of the columnists are just too cute. At least are not included in the equipment reviews. Personally, I was perfectly happy with the previous design.
I think it's important to visually seperate content from ad space in order to avoid confusion.
All in all, though, that ad was 25 carat gold.
...someone's attention.
LOL!
The piece could have been just as easily been written by Tellig, there was so little "reviewing" to it.
In a "Follow-up" later in the same issue, a different reviewer disussed the Audience power conditioner with the Teflon cap upgrade and also spoke in superlatives.
Where were the comparisons?
If you follow the link on the front page of Shunyata's website to the promotional "interview" at Audio Beat, you will find the same 'review' we saw in Stereophile this month....only in the linked article, the Analog Corner 'review' is given by the manufacturer instead of by the Stereophile author.
Was this simply a case of synchronicity?
The review in Stereophile also started off with a very agenda driven tone....promoting a technology or product was the premise of the review. It smacked of a personal agenda, to me.
Puff pieces are fine, if identified, a la Sam Tellig as being part of how he was charmed by the owner of the Opera factory and Venice is a city of artists, blah blah blah, or something like that, but hitting the reader with a stick right from the start trying to pre-validate a product is a bit much.
The 'review' basically used the manufacturer's pre-existing statements and simply "unquoted them;" offering them up as though they were the result of some sort of journalistic "investigation" on the author's part - it didn't strike me as a review, really.
Then, basically acting as though a promotional piece disguised as a review was the result of any personal investigation, independent research (which should appear, at least a little teeny bit, as though the author had considered some things for himself,) or at all objective struck me as though not much independent thinking went into that piece.
Add together the Shunyata website's front page "Interview" from "Audio Beat," the manufacturer's thoughts being presented as the reviewer's, the oddly defensive/hostile preamble, the images that appear on the Shunyata website and in the Audio Beat "article" and in the Sterophile column, and you have a column that was obviously unoriginal.
If Audio Beat had gone to press before Stereophile with their material, then they should go after Stereophile for plagiarism!
The "interviewer" from the Audio Beat piece basically cut and pasted a previous "interview," mashed it together with some promotional literature and images from Shunyata, and then presented it as an original column for Stereophile.
Think of any late late night infomercial format and you will have predicted the format of this month's Analog Corner "review," sans the faux applause and gasps from the faux studio audience. It crossed into parody for me.
The author in question will now think I don't love him, but I do. I read his work every month, and also enjoy his other reviews. (Except for the cables that don't conduct signal, the love of the broken CD player, and the misunderstanding of 'magentized' vinyl notwithstanding, but I digress.) My not worshipping this month's column has garnered me an invitation to quit reading him at all and te author adroitly tried to turn the criticism into an indictment of reviewing as a whole - this not the case.
It's because of my high regard of the author that I felt let down by this month's seemingly phoned in review.
Look, you've done nothing here but prove what a poor reader you are.
I did not review the Triton for The Audio Beat. PERIOD.
Nor is what I wrote there taken from their website. Were that the case I wouldn't have shlepped to across the country for a day and a half visit. I just would have copied stuff from their website.
I went to visit them. I wanted to see what kind of company they ran and see the DTCD actually operating. I wanted a cogent explanation from the designer. I wanted to gauge his sincerity face to face and I got all of that.
Fortunately most of the responses I've gotten have been extremely positive both for the factory tour and for the Stereophile column where I did actually review the Triton and compare it to previous Shunyata conditioners.
The Audio Beat piece was a factory visit story very much like a hundred or so you can find in magazines and online. So why you feel the need to heap sh..t on me for doing such a story is something you'll have to reconcile with yourself. I really don't care about your "reasoning."
Every review in Stereophile or any audio magazine is a combination of telling the manufacturer's story as they see fit with (hopefully) caveats that let readers know this is the manufacturer's claim and not the writer's conclusion, and then an assessment of the product's performance, sonically, and in the case of Stereophile in terms of measurements.
So this B.S. about my story being some kind of "advertisement" really pisses me off. It's nothing of the sort.
In this case, the company has made claims and attempted to back them up with measurements. If you don't understand them or don't agree with the, well that's fine.
As far as I'm concerned this is a very important story because finally there are measurements to back up claims about power cords and conditioners.
As famed designer John Curl once said:
First they deny there are any differences.
Then when with measurements you can prove there are differences, they say "well those measurements can't possibly make an audible difference."
Then they say, they thought of them first.
So you can make snide comments about these stories being "advertisements" but they are not. I suspect that real issue here is that proof is being thrown in your face about power cable and conditioner differences and you really don't like hearing about it because it goes against your long held belief system.
If I didn't already like the product or "believe" in such things, then why would I have noticed the similarity between your piece and Shunyata's own material, Sherlock.
You can cut the dumbass digression into the realm of golden ear bullshit hearing what us rabble can't, thank you. How did you even come up with that? Knee jerk cut and paste to misdirect attention from the topic?
Power generation, conditioning, proper grounding - all great. Not thinking a review was original is not an indictment of the product....but nice try.
"Belief system. " Good one. Nothing at all to do with the initial criticism, though.
nt
My only quibble is that aside from making an asswipe comment, you provide no backing for your assertion that it's an "infomercial." Please clarify because on that basis every review is an "infomercial." And if that's what you think, don't bother reading what I write.
You forgot "Delivery" in yer description of the acronym DTCD.
RE: "The grid's goal is to maintain 117V..."
That's an odd number. The current standard is 120V, +/- 5%. It has gone up over time; most of us recall the old 110VAC nominal level. IIRC, there was also an intermediate 115V level.
The statements below would have been easier to accept if JA had done independent measurements to back them up (but that may not be possible). That in no way means that you did not hear meaningful improvements with the Triton. Most of us are smart enough to know we have to audition a power conditioner before buying. Anyway, here are issues:
1. You have full reviews placed in the main body of the magazine, yet this is plopped in Analog Corner and takes the entire column.
2. As mentioned, no independent verification by JA or otherwise. Perhaps this is impossible (?).
3. "...ringing...is now imperceptible, essentially disappearing..." Defining imperceptible and essentially is difficult. You could be way below what matters, or way above. The Weiss DAC202 reviewed in the same issue has superb measurements, but the review makes clear it is not perfect sonically. One may not guarantee the other (and again, I am not suggesting the Triton does not sound great).
4. "The Triton doesn't limit current and can handle the biggest amps in the world..." I don't know, but you mention voltage drops, though it may be irrelevant. What are the biggest amplifiers in the world? Do you mean most powerful? How do you know that? I suppose this is a direct comment on the MBLs. Perhaps your kWs as well.
5. "Filtering ...doesn't leave any kind of residue, sonic or measured." How can this be supported?
I suppose it would be nice if JA could measure these things somehow. Maybe that isn't possible. Despite any points I make above, you are clearly hearing a superior conditioner compared to prior Shunyatas. I find this provocative, and if truly superior it is a bargain relative to the $10K Audience (though that does have four more outlets).
Please understand this is not a personal attack. I am trying to point out the sort of language that readers are cautious about accepting. But at the end of the day, your last sentence tells the reader to listen for himself. And that is wise advice indeed. You can only point the way.
Thanks, Steve
Ouch. My only "quibble", which seems to be the word of the week, was that I thought using a $3500 Shunyata power cord on the $4200 tube amp was a bit silly, and added nothing to the review. I would have used a cord commensurate with the the cost of the amp.
Otherwise, I am quibbleless.
I haven't noticed much difference, I guess I'm to busy reading the contents. Maybe others should spend more time reading and less time complaining.
I like it seems cleaner and easier to read for me.
It looks quite clean and modern. The record reviews in columns are easier to read as well. Good job Mr. Atkinson.
On an unrelated note, Peter Comeau's manufacturer's comment is a model of the genre. He makes his points without whining and tooth gnashing. Vince Brucezze should take note.
Mr. Comeau is a long-time audio writer/reviewer, so he knows how.
Kal
nt
My speaker building site
One of my cycle mags changed their layout. Micro print, black ink on dark blue background, stuff like that. The mag did look artsy and beautiful but it was too hard to read. The new Stereophile still has readable print on white pages, no problem there.
...usually negative because I don't like change.
I didn't like the last time Stereophile changed their graphics but I got used to it.
I suspect I will eventually get used to this as well.
I think it looks great. My only real gripe is that you still have to read deep into the columnists' reviews (Tellig, Fremer, Dudley, etc.) to discover the price of (and hence your level of interest in) the gear under review.
I suppose the real benefit of the rag-right style will come with the recommended components issues, where the old justified style sometimes made a single line look like one long word!
Thanks, John.
-Bob
I wonder if that's do to the technology or paper grade?
"You don't need to be a Weatherman to know which way the wind blows"
> I wonder if that's do to the technology or paper grade?
The paper doesn't help :-(
Because paper is so expensive (and increasingly so) there is a publishing
aphorism that goes "the higher the circulation, the lower the paper quality."
Stereophile has a circulation 3x that of its nearest competitor in the US, so
I will leave it to inmates to draw their own conclusions. :-)
And there are inevitable inconsistencies in ink density over a print run.
But what happens is that if there is a "signature" (a single sheet of 8, 16, or 32
pages) that has one or more ads on it that is excessively dark, the printer will
reduce the contrast on the side of the signature with the ad to prevent it from
being over-inked. Printers do try to achieve overall a good balance, but
sometimes the rest of the pages on that side of the sheet suffer as a result.
John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile
I loved the January edition. Excellent coverage of products.
each title page looks like ad copy. i had thought about starting this thread so i am glad someone else prodded me into comment.
oh, the digest days were fun but i like the larger one. i liked rod and custom in the smaller format in the 50s too but time goes on. new graphics dont always bring improvement which is illustrated (hows that for a pun?) by pop science' new off putting flash.
lets look like we mean business in the audio hobby. if you want to improve things, provide more detailed pics and diagrams and explanations of the products. nobody really went into how rollerballs work or were supposed to be used for instance.
thanks for the push.
...regards...tr
And I also still miss the old digest format after all these years.
Joe
I find the new stereophile much more difficult to read. It seems the print is smaller and the color combonations don't help either. Of course I am now 70 years old so my vision is not as good as it used to be
Alan
> I find the new stereophile much more difficult to read. It seems the print is
> smaller...
This comment has been made by others - it puzzles me as the type face and
size are the same as they were before. It should even be a little easier to
read, as the change to a "ragged right" column eliminates the cramped
kerning (word and letter space) issues that a justified column occasionally
produces.
What we have made smaller are the graphs in the measurements sections in
order to free up space for more more photos of the components being
reviewed. I felt this a justifiable trade-off as the graphs can still be viewed at
full size in our Web review reprints. But if the type were larger, this would
force us to publish less photos, which we felt a step in the wrong direction..
My thanks to those who expressed posiive comments about the new look
for Stereophile.
John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile
I like it... and I LOVE Erick Lichte!
JS
Yes, on the first, a definite No on the second.
> What we have made smaller are the graphs in the measurements sections in
> order to free up space for more more photos of the components being
> reviewed.
The measurement section and graphs are Stereophile's defining characteristics, that differentiates you from the rest of the pack. Why would you go reduce the size of the graphs??!!
If I want pretty pictures, I read ToneAudio magazine.
I've only done a quick perusal . . . I really like the new layout for music reviews. I'm not fond, however, of the new look for reviews. The associated equipment panels are especially poor. With the dark background, the letters are blurred and difficult to read.
> The associated equipment panels are especially poor. With the dark
> background, the letters are blurred and difficult to read.
It seems to vary from review to review, which suggests that the printer is
having difficulty holding registration on our paper. (It looks fine on the
iPad.) We are looking at ways to make the sidebar text more robust in this
respect.
John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile
spent more time . . . the problem with "associated equipment" is just with the Wiess review in my copy (also the specs). Other reviews it looks better. Overall, IMO, the new layout is a bit better. But those black backgrounds are tricky for your printer.
I any of the staff at Stereophile has inspected a copy, it is very easy to see that a significant no of pages has fuzzy or lighter print than the 'good' pages. You won't be surprised if you have acyually inspected a copy.
But no speling misteaks. ;-)
because it was delivered soaking wet !!! I suspect my mailwoman used my copy to keep the deluge of rain we had on Thursday off of her. The first 10 pages and the last 4 are all "damaged" ! I am seriously thinking of buying a newstand copy to replace this wet "rag"...
...and I have only perused the new issue which arrived yesterday, is the spec boxes below the reviews with their black backgrounds and whitish letters.
Seems like the letters don't print or show up well on the black so they are very hard to read.
its because we are all getting older and need reading glasses as we age. it only SEEMS like the print is getting smaller.
...regards...tr
Dear Sir:
I found the new layout refreshing. The only thing constant is change.
Stagnation kills. I applaud the risk taking in the new form factor.
FMF
I FIND THE TYPE HARDER TO READ,,,I HATE IT WHEN THE ZEENZ GET ARTSY FARTSY
> I FIND THE TYPE HARDER TO READAs I posted yesterday, the type face and size have not changed.All I can think
of is that some copies might be under-inked, which would reduce contrast.
John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile
Edits: 12/17/11
This exact problem is very noticeable in my issue. It's readable ( I don't need another copy ) but irritating just the same.
My only bitch, the size of graphics in the measurements sections, is addressed by your comments (but I STILL think they're too small.
Nice to see that fmak still hates you. The more things change, etc. :-)
"My thanks to those who expressed posiive comments about the new look
for Stereophile"It seems that Stereophile only responds to praise and not readers' problems or preferences.
I don't have a problem as I refused to email or fax my personal details and address for renewal.
Now I just read it in shops!
Edits: 12/17/11
> Now I just read it in shops!
But you still read it it, fmak, and ultimately that's what matters.
John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile
Yes. But does he pay for it or just skim through the store copy? Since subscriptions are generally much cheaper than purchasing individual copies at the newsstand, why would any regular reader do that?
Maggies, because you can never be too thin!
Mark
> Yes. But does he pay for it or just skim through the store copy?
From what he says, he just skims through without buying it. But he still
becomes part of the magazine's "mind share," which is what I feel to be
of primary importance.
John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile
I think that called stealing unless its a library copy. While he may resent your ads, or your marketing tactics, or editorials, he has a chance to protest by not purchasing and reading your product. To criticize it and continue to read it without paying for it is just plain wrong.
Maggies, because you can never be too thin!
Mark
Advertisers please note.
Even if you don't actually read those pesky ads, they are still working their evil wiles on you subliminally. Just seeing them builds brand recognition, among other things well known to marketing experts and repeated frequently by advertising agency account executives (a.k.a. salesmen).
Tony Lauck
"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar
Me, not ikely. Marlborough ads never had any effect.
You prefer Player's or Gallagher's? Or unfiltered Gauloise, perhaps? :-)
Tony Lauck
"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar
I once referred to this in a marketing seminar and the response was that such ads only affected a certain portion of recipents.
This business of sub-conscious (sublimal?) advertising is a bit like subjective response to SQ!
If the cost per 1000 is low enough then the effect may be profitable even if only a small fraction of customers are affected.
Your comment about subliminal effects is right on. In general the purveyors of advertising have more belief in this effect than the manufacturers planning their marketing budget.
Tony Lauck
"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar
No one experienced in advertising expects a buying response by more than a small percentage of the ad's readership or listener/viewership. And the stuff about "subliminal" advertising is a hoot (I was in the ad/marketing/pr business for 40+ years). I do hope that fmak wasn't leading that seminar.
I'm sure they're hanging on your every word.
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