Suggestion Box: Give Us Your Ideas for Articles in Playback

Tom Martin -- Sat, 05/24/2008 - 07:28

The editors would love to hear your ideas about themes to cover, types of media to review, artists to interview, technology to explain, trends to forecast, new products to cover, different categories of products you'd like covered, or other suggestions.

So get those creative juices flowing and post your ideas here.

Thanks.

Wolfgang -- Wed, 05/28/2008 - 23:03

Although I said something like this in response to the current bargain LCDs reviewed in this month's Playback, I think identifying the true bargains in lots of different categories and at lots of different price points would be great.

I think many of us "on the hunt" for great gear really appreciate a "heads-up" on what are the true bargains out there. Better yet, we appreciate landing a great bargain. Even if I'm not in the market for a plasma display (I have one), I'd like to know what's a great deal to recommend to friends/family/the mail carrier/anybody who will listen.

Thanks,
Wolfi

Tom Martin -- Thu, 05/29/2008 - 08:42

Sheepherder wrote:

Be very careful buying 2nd or 3rd tier LCD TVs since the ability to repair them after the warranty runs out is either non existent or very expensive.
Insignia, Vizio and others do not have the warranty that Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba do. Nor do they have the parts for any out of warranty repairs.
And you need to keep th oriignal box and the shipping charges will eat up any difference between these so called bargains and a Sony.

Maybe Playback could do an article or publish abstract of the warranty for each brand. Or maybe not since they need the ad revenue

CEO and Editorial Director, Nextscreen LLC

Wolfgang -- Thu, 05/29/2008 - 19:26

I hadn't really given the warranty/service issue much thought and I have absolutely no idea how often this stuff breaks. (With standard TVs, the power supply seemed to be the weak link)
It's certainly something to keep in mind, particularly when some of the Panny plasma panels are so close in price to some of the bargain basement plasmas.
I'm not sure who the quality leaders are among the LCD crowd (besides Sony).
Thanks!
Wolfi

sheepherder -- Sun, 06/01/2008 - 08:30

How's about an article on the demise of Playback and the reintroduction of TPV as magazine!

Sheepherder
Shenandoah Valley, VA

Syd -- Thu, 06/05/2008 - 11:39

Check out my post on headphone show in the TAS suggestion thread. It definitely has crossover appeal to Playback, or might be more suited for playback entirely.

http://forums.avguide.com/viewtopic.php?t=3878

Lear -- Fri, 07/04/2008 - 10:48

Speaking of headphones, what about more coverage of headphones (not just earphones)? In an office, headphones are the ticket because of comfort and the ease of on/off (when someone walks up to you at work you need to pull of the phones quickly and easily). Some people wear earbuds or on-ear earphones for the same reason, but the in-ear stuff that Playback seems focused on just doesn't work. Office headphone use has to be bigger than travel use.

Chris Martens -- Mon, 07/07/2008 - 13:47

Wolfgang,

Thanks for your suggestion. Starting in Playback Issue 10, there will be a new section in the magazine called "Playback Recommended" that summarizes the magazine's top recommended products across a number of product categories.

As always, Playback product recommendations are based both on outright performance and value for money. We feel the products we recommend represent legitimate "bargains" because they offer both.

Chris Martens
Editor, Avguide.com/Playback/The Perfect Vision

Wolfgang -- Sun, 07/13/2008 - 10:16

rcjlmartens wrote:Wolfgang,

Great! I just checked it out and really like the ability to link right to the reviews of recommended components.

Although I had gone thru a lot of Issue 10, without this "alert", I might have missed it. Guess I should have read your "Sounding Board" first, where the new "Playback Recommends" feature is clearly noted.

Happy Listening,
Wolfi

Chris Martens -- Wed, 07/16/2008 - 12:33

Lear,

Thank you for your suggestion. Playback plans on doing a headphone roundup later in the year. Like you, we think there are indeed listening contexts where traditional headphones (on-ear or over-the-ear types) would make a better choice than in-ear (or "ear-canal") headphones (though the in-ear models are tough to beat in terms of pocket portability, which some listeners regard as an absolute "must").

Now, let me open the floor for suggestions on specific headphone models that readers would like to see reviewed in Playback.

For logistical reasons, it's hard to review more than about 8-to-10 models at a time, so please be selective in proposing review candidates. As always with Playback reviews, we're looking to find products that represent a good marriage of outright performance and sensible (or at least semi-sensible) pricing.

We await your suggestions.

Chris Martens
Editor, Avguide.com/Playback/The Perfect Vision

Lear -- Thu, 07/17/2008 - 10:05

Sony MDR-NC500D (noise cancel)
BeyerDynamic DT 880
AKG K701
Denon AH-D5000
Grado SR-60 (cheap)
Bose QuietComfort 2 (noise cancel)
Sennheiser HD555 (mid-price)
Stax?

sheepherder -- Sun, 07/20/2008 - 11:32

Current issue was just awful. Why not usck it up admit your screwed up and bring back TPV if not in hard copy at least on the internet.

Whi is your core audience for Playback 13yo?

Sheepherder
Shenandoah Valley, VA

Lear -- Thu, 07/24/2008 - 10:06

I don't agree. I really enjoy the music and movie reviews, and I like the focus on mobile audio. And I'm not 13 by a long shot.

Why don't you actually provide some useful input?

jfm -- Thu, 07/24/2008 - 17:47

headphones -

how about a series, featuring phones bracketed around several price points. then the top phones in each bracket are reviewed against each other.

Lear -- Tue, 07/29/2008 - 15:40

I like the bracketing idea. If you start with the low priced group, the winner could be included with the next group up, right?