I used to love Stereo Review, and have every issue of their "Annual Equipment Guide" going back to the late 1970's. The great thing about that Guide was that they listed EVERYTHING available in the USA, not just gear from their advertisers. When they went AV, I think they became a lot less interesting and truthful. I think it's now called Home Theater or something like that. I keep the old "Equipment Guides" because I like to buy older gear (used), and these mags give me an idea as to how sweet a deal I'm getting. Like the pair of DCM shelf speakers I got in a Goodwill for $12.99 in pristine condition (not even a nick in the grill cloths!) Or the Technics TD-1350 I got, complete with the original accessory kit, manual, and pristine dust cover, for $19 at a second-hand store in VA...
I've been a fan of $ensible Sound for years. It's not nearly as slick as the "big boys", but the writing is very good, and they cover gear that normal people can afford.
http://www.sensiblesound.com/
I'll admit that I occasionally buy Stereophile and TAS, even though they are both VERY biased toward their advertisers, and have become essentially "catalogs by subscription" for their advertisers. When Stereophile started bashing Bob Carver, they completely lost their credibility with me.
I occasionally buy some of the British hifi mags now and then, mostly for the advertisements, to see what the high-end companies are coming out with...
All that said, there is actually a pretty good review of the Slim Designs Transporter in the January 2007 issue of Stereophile. It's one of the first objective reviews of "affordable" digital gear I've seen in that rag in years...
I occasionally pick up the Rob Report Guide, to see how "the other half lives". I currently can't afford the rooms and gear in that mag, but it's nice to look at other people's systems, and dream.
Some other good magazines in our topic, though not specifically about gear (more about music) are "The Audiophile Voice" and "Gramophone". TAV is sort of like a cross between "$sensible Sound" and "The Absolute Sound", in that they DO review some super-high-end gear, but they also have some reasonable gear. They also have good record reviews.
http://www.audiophilevoice.com/
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/
Gramophone is a British mag, and primarily covers Classical recordings. They sprinkle in a few equipment reviews here and there, but it's mostly about the recordings. If you're into Classical, this is THE mag to get. Oh, and the Jan'07 issue has a very favorable 1-page review of the SlimDevices Transporter too. Oh, and the advertisements are VERY interesting--the British hi-fi scene is still VERY into vinyl, and so there are a LOT of turntable-related ads--tweeks, tonearms, cables, platters, etc...
And on a more "tweaky" note, I'd recommend that EVERYONE who is interested in tweaking their gear get a copy of the catalog (or visit the website) of a company called "American Science & Surplus":
http://www.sciplus.com/
These guys have a LOT of interesting junk, most of which , admittedly, has NO use whatsoever in the hi-fi arena, but every now and then, you'll find something that is VERY useful for a steal of a price. Stuff like Sorbothane sheeting, or ball bearings, or Chamois cloths, or cork sheeting, or all sorts ot micro-tools (loupes, screwdrivers, grabbers, etc). You get the picture. You're not going to find EXACTLY what you want in every catalog, but almost every catalog has SOMETHING in it that an audio-tweaker would just LOVE to have...
--Richard C.
I'm a phene and don't want to search the thread.
