What Rags carry the most review weight???


What magazines, for review purposes, do you follow? Reason I ask is that for example, "Stereophile" gave a wonderous review of Creek 5350SE but "What Hi*Fi?" says it is "likable" and has a "not-quite 800 pound sterling feel". Do our mates across the ocean have different tastes than us US'ers? Reason I ask all of this is that I am trying to decide on an integrated amp. Right now, I think I am down to the 5350SE, Arcam Diva 85, Music Fidelity A3, Bryston B60. Want a new piece, I will be building a system so will be adding speakers, cd, etc to this but want to start with amp. I will be trying to audition these prior to purchase. Any thoughts? Thnx in advance!!
mattybumpkin

Showing 1 response by seandtaylor99

Use all mags to draw up a shortlist, then audition as many as possible, in as similar conditions as possible, preferably using your speakers and CD player.
No mag. should be used as a blind (should that be deaf) purchase decision.
Also since amps and speakers must be matched a particular "great" amp might not work for you.
Personally I hate What HiFi ... I think they're paid off by some of the bigger names like Marantz. That said, they're product guide page is a good starter place to draw up a list.
Like a previous reviewer said US audio people spend soooo much money on gear it's hard to find out about reasonably priced stuff.