@busboy
I have every copy of Audio Critic.
Wow, that’s impressive!
A complete set must be quite rare these days
I can’t think of any other magazine that I’d want to keep as a reference. The few that I do still have are there mainly for nostalgia and entertainment.
Thankfully copies of The Audio Critic are still available online.
http://www.biline.ca/audio_critic/audio_critic_down.htm
It's posssiby the only audio magazine where the copy still rings true years later.
There’s a good write up of the audio press, including The Audio Critic, from a few years back here.
http://high-endaudio.com/magaz.html
Here’s a few choice quotes:
Stereophile is now basically a commercial marketing engine for established brands, and those rare new brands which can afford an extravagant marketing (advertising) budget, meaning hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The Absolute Sound has also seriously deteriorated. Here’s one simple example: In issue # 114, they ’reviewed’ the VPI Aries Turntable with the JMW tonearm, with a total cost of $ 4,995, and the Jadis 845 triode amplifiers.
What did they compare the VPI Aries with? The Rega Planar 3 at $ 695. (Yes, I’m serious.) Guess which was better? It’s safe to say that no one (in the audio business) was upset at the result of such a comparison. More important, no prospective purchaser, of either turntable/arm combination, was enlightened about its relative audio performance and value.
"Magazines---all magazines--exist on the basis of advertising. That’s all that counts. Magazines are "sold" simply to have circulation which can then be used to sell advertising at prices commensurate with the circulation. IN FACT most magazines LOSE money on circulation. It doesn’t matter since they make their money on advertising." - Michael Fremer of Stereophile