Posted by Mr Vinyl [ 68.212.179.24 ] on August 22, 2006 at 08:56:14:
Hi All,
I received my back copies of the Audio Critic a couple of days ago. I've had time to only skim through most of the issues. Before I get into what I think about Peter Aczel and the magazine let me start off by saying that so far it's been entertaining and worth the $30. If you're interested in reading a different opinion than the norm then this fits the bill. Was it the best $30 I've spent in audio? Probably not. That honor would go to certain albums I have purchased at one time or another.
So what do I think? There is much in the magazine that can be debated and I'm sure would make for some very interesting threads. Way too much to put into one post. I'll try to summarize some of my thoughts below.
1) If $30 is too much for you to spend ("risk") on the magazine go to the link below and read Peter Aczel's "Ten Biggest Lies in Audio". Basically the magazine is these same points drilled in over and over again. This will give you a good idea what to expect.
2) As colinhester says below, the guy is harsh. He even goes so far as to list the people in the industry that he thinks are good people (white hats) and the people he thinks are bad (black hats). This I think goes a little too far. Basically Peter Aczel's attitude is "in your face". Normally this doesn't bother me but I do think Audio should be fun. The constant bashing of other magazines and industry personal gets tiring. Of course several of the people he lists as good people advertise in the magazine.
3) If all preamps and amplifiers sound the same then why bother to review them?
4) I was disappointed to see that there were advertisements in the magazine. I don't know why but I thought it was ad free. IMO as soon as a magazine takes advertising money any reviews contained in the magazine are all suspect.
5) The magazine does get you to re-think many things audio. This is the magazine's biggest positive. I don't agree with all he says but he is thought provoking.
So that's about all I have time for today. Overall I liked the magazine and thank Akhilesh for pointing it out to me. I am sure there are many hours of interesting reading yet to come.
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