Anorexic magazine
greg@rocket.net.au -- Thu, 10/29/2009 - 16:53
Anybody notice how HiFi+ is becoming HiFi-? A bigger page size and new layout are fine and dandy, but I noticed a 30% cut in the number of equipment reviews and about the same cut in music reviews. And that trend seems to be continuing. The latest Awards issue has a pathetic 9 music reviews and none of the feature articles the old mag used to have. It looks like the format change has been used to disguise some radical dieting. HiFi+, your ribs are showing.
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It's a fair analysis of some of the latest issues. And yes, I've put the magazine on a bit of a diet, in part to build up a stronger magazine in 2010. If we simply keep rolling out the same old features, the magazine stagnates. My opinion is that we have to strip the magazine back to its essentials to see what's good and what's not.
Alan Sircom
Editor, Hi-Fi Plus Magazine
London, England
editor [at] hifiplus [dot] com
I was a very happy subscriber before this diet, and I am very disappointed at the direction HIFI+ seems to be heading. I find it difficult to believe that i will be ever coming back to the thinned out articles in the latest issues. Doesn't HIFI+ have any other writers than A.S. nowadays?
I have to agreee fully with Greg's concerns and would like to see more meat going back into the magazine, especially as it relates to the music reviews. Hi-Fi Plus has become my main sources of information as it relates to new music purchases and I have been quite disappointed lately. TAS used to have great music reviews but over the last 6 months they have gone to reviewing mostly Indie artists that I have never heard of or do not have broad appeal, so I am counting on you guys to keep introducing me to new/old artists and their latest work.
Cheers
Jerry
I was at Barnes and noble to check out a copy of your magazine. While it was $11 for one issue, and surely a little less information then other magazines, but the paper material quality and photographs in perticular were spectacular in your magazine. I bought one just for that. When I went back home and picked up the stereophile I started laughing. I guess what matters is the contents but still the amazing photographs of the components really exposes you to the product even better. Great Job!
I have subscribed to Hi FI + for several years at a premium here in NA. I feel the magazine has taken a significant turn for the worse over the last several issues culminating with the terrible new layout. This was the finest Audio publication on the market. The writing, the photography, the equipments and recording reviews were superior. With the last couple issues we are now dealing with the resizing the pages to match the other UK publications, equipment photos that show on portions of the product, uneven column widths, and about 12 of 50 pages where the right hand page isn't advertising. In addition to the concerns I have noted above, there seem to be fewer reviews and those reviews are not as comprehensive at before.
I have all HIFI+ issues from number 10 onwards and have always felt that it was the last of the "real" magazines available, sort of reminding me of a newer version of Absolute Sound and Stereophile in the eighties, although not quite as esoteric as Absolute Sound was then. What we are seeing, i hope not, is a thinning and dumming down, similar to what these two have gone through over the past 15 or so years. Unless quality and quantity of writing improves, I have bought my last issue.
I've always like Hifi+ very original, I liked the format, the quality of the writing, the music reviews, etc..
Now I thinking about cancelling my subscription, the changes are pretty much a disaster, I almost thought about counting the number of pages of ad vs real articles, I don't mind on a magazine like Tone Audio which electronic and free, I do on one that I buy!
Another EXTREMELY annoying fact was the review of JM Lab Grande Utopia III EM, published also in TAS, that was too much, being under the same umbrella doesn't mean publishing the same thing! if it happens again, I will cancel Hifi+ because I'm a subscriber to TAS and Stereophile.
AS please get back to previous ways, it was great. Don't put ad money before content otherwise soon there will be no ads because there won't be any readers....
I usually read from the french press: PAV, Haute Fidelite, NRDS, Image et Sons.
From Italy: Audio Review and Fedelta Del Suono
From the US: TAS and Stereophile.
For me Hifi+ was a reference in Europe (head and shoulders above most of the others cited above) it is such a shame really.
FB
I have to disagree about the JM Lab review appearing in both TAS and HiFi+. As a U.S. subscriber to HiFi+, I understand that I'm getting a British publication. TAS is a U.S. publication. The audiences are intended to be different. So, I can understand the publishers sharing material. In this case, TAS subscribers wouldn't have seen the JM Lab Grande Utopia review if this hadn't happened. I can live with that, and I can see that TAS readers would have wanted to read that review.
I would add that in difficult economic times, many magazines get thinner (most of the ones I get have gone through this). In very difficult economic times, some magazines go under (there are many recent examples). In these circumstances I'd like to voice my support for audio magazines. I appreciate what they do. If they are struggling with the same issues I see at work, more power to them for finding a way to continue.
Thanks, and your appraisal of the state of audio magazine industry is wholly accurate. We've had to do some assessing and some storm-proofing, and that reflects in the look and the size of the magazine. Hopefully 2010 will be better all round.
Alan Sircom
Editor, Hi-Fi Plus Magazine
London, England
editor [at] hifiplus [dot] com
Hey - nice write-up. Personally, I have recently become a fan of the Primal Blueprint. It's natural and how what we're most adapted to follow. Read up on it when you have a chance and email me what you think. Anyhow... nice site... I'm subscribed to your RSS feed now so I'll be checking in regularly!
The magazine is not only anorexic, it seems to be missing in action. I am still waiting on issue 70 to be delivered. Talk about late.
The magazine should be in the stores now. If it's not, there's someone in an office in London who's going to find a horse's head on his desk Monday morning.
Are you a subscriber, or do you buy the magazine in stores?
Alan Sircom
Editor, Hi-Fi Plus Magazine
London, England
editor [at] hifiplus [dot] com
I have been a subscriber for about 6 years.
That's very strange. The issue 70 hold-up was newsstand only. Please email our subscriptions office and they'll put you right!
Alan Sircom
Editor, Hi-Fi Plus Magazine
London, England
editor [at] hifiplus [dot] com
I also have not received an issue 70 or 71.
When I had this problem about 6 months ago, I was told that the magazine was going to be mailed from the United States instaed of Canada and that should eliminate alot of the delivery problems. Evidently that is not the case.
Whether it is Mr. Sircom as editor, or whoever is in charge of mailing to U.S. subscribers, please assist us!
quadlover
The situation is no better with electronic copies of HiFi+. I still haven't received Issue 71, which was released on March 11. Many e-mails to the staff produced several promises to fix the problem, but it hasn't happened. My last message directed the staff to cancel my subscription and refund the balance. I expect that message will also be ignored. I think HiFi+ has folded and no one told Mr. Sircom.
Vade Forrester
We evidently have a bigger problem with getting the magazine in the US than I first thought. It's my publisher who does the shouting on this one, and it seems like he has to shout louder.
I'm sorry for any inconvenience this might have caused and I hope it can be resolved soon and with maximum bloodshed.
Alan Sircom
Editor, Hi-Fi Plus Magazine
London, England
editor [at] hifiplus [dot] com
I thought I would pass on that I received 2 emails this morning, One from Denise Boswell in the U.S. and one from Pete Trewin in the U.K. According to Ms. Boswell, issues 70 & 71 have been mailed this week and should be received within a week or two. I urge anyone having a problem to contact either of these people as they both seem anxious to satisfy the readership.
I am happy to announce that I received issue 71 today and while I have only read a little, I glanced through it all. It is one of the best issues of HiFi Plus in the 2 years that I have been a subscriber.
I was wondering if HiFi Plus is still distributed in Canada. Despite regularly looking for it, I couldn't find the last two issues...
I just received issue 70 on Saturday 4/24/10. Still no sign of issue 71.
Hi-Fi Plus is a UK-based magazine. Although it is sold internationally, it is intrinsically linked to the shape of the UK audio market, and - by extension - the UK economy. And the best thing we can say about the UK economy at the moment is "Hey, at least we aren't Greece!"
The reality is, the redesign in 2009 helped weatherproof the magazine. We just didn't expect this much weather!
That being said, I like the look of the magazine in its new guise and I'm not alone as we are bucking the trend seen in some UK audio magazines by not losing one-fifth of our readers last year. I would like for there to be more magazine to read every issue, but we still have hurricane season to get through.
Alan Sircom
Editor, Hi-Fi Plus Magazine
London, England
editor [at] hifiplus [dot] com
I'm a USA electronic subscriber. I downloaded issue 70 1/15/2010 and issue 71 2/27/2010. When is the electronic edition of issue 72 going to become available?
Len
Still no news of Issue 72 f HIFi Plus since February. As an electronic subscriber, I hope avguide will fulfill its obligation to its customers.
The electronic edition of issue 72 should have been available from 20 May, I believe. That was the date the UK newsstand edition should have gone to the shops. I say should because one of the main independent distributors in the UK has gone into administration; its replacement is striving to get the magazine in UK newsstands right about now.
Alan Sircom
Editor, Hi-Fi Plus Magazine
London, England
editor [at] hifiplus [dot] com
Please check the Nextnewsstand website. As of this time, issue 72 is not available for download.
I'm also worried about the state and direction of the magazine, but sofar I will give it the benefit of the doubt.
It was however a great pleasure to find out that issue 72 will have a review of the Audio Research REF Phono 2.
One of the best phone stages of today, it reflects everything why I'm reading the magazine starting from issue 2.
For those of you that want to read the review, while waiting for the magazine to appear in the news stands check out the absolutesounds website at:
http://www.absolutesounds.com/index.php?page=press_view&article_id=381