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TONE Audio - worst audio mag out there? - Page 2

post #16 of 26
2/7/06 at 6:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Todd R
I'm sure if you ask nice they will refund your subscription
I second that. This mag is free and for this I am glad this head-fier shared it with us. If you dont like it then my suggestion would be to ignore it.
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post #17 of 26
2/7/06 at 9:14pm
I really don't mind positive reviews since a negative review is more or less a waste of time for the reviewer. But neither I would I mind if the mags could also include some DIY and more pro audio equipment into their reports, i.e. real values for the consumer. The Benchmark DAC1 was a rare and welcoming sight in the Stereophile recommended components list. They could easily review a Mackie HR624 studio monitor, which doesn't even need a fancy amp since it already has one included, but that'd probably be bad business for the audiophile competition. Sorry for the cynical remark.

Edit: The TONE magazine actually seems pretty good to me. They are reviewing a Bottlehead product, which is not usual for a magazine because it's a DIY kit, they have an actual DIY section, the Ipod Nano gets a mention, and they have a very good headphone column.
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post #18 of 26
2/7/06 at 9:23pm
TONE, and all other audio magazines, need to do direct head-to-head comparisons of equipment of equal age and price point. Its responsible for most any advancement in the automotive field. And you cannot be seriosu when you say there aren't enough XXX audio products for YYY dollars, the market is swimming with gear.
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post #19 of 26
2/7/06 at 9:38pm
I think it's a rather good rag myself. I've enjoyed the first two editions and bought a Jacqui Naylor 2 disc set as a result. I think the coverage is quite varied, with discussions about vintage gear, lots of interesting perspectives on music, a feature interview, the momogomous audiophile column, and of course headphones! All that, plus the traditional reviews of 2 channel gear and outstanding photography and page layouts throughout. Not bad for free.
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post #20 of 26
2/7/06 at 9:51pm
It's far better than any of the rags you have to pay for...
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post #21 of 26
2/8/06 at 12:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by markl
Sometimes I wonder what people expect from an audio magazine. Of what use is a dozen reviews of equipment the reviewer disliked? Now I've spent 2 hours of my life reading about things I shouldn't buy? Useless information. I'd rather be alerted to the things I should be looking at and researching and contemplating.

I have no idea what the editorial policy of Tone is, or what the ethical situation is or is not there, but most of these magazines do have a policy of only reviewing the gear they liked.

As someone who occasionally gets sent stuff to review for this site, I really don't feel like spending the hours necessary to throroughly audition a piece I didn't like, then have to expend all the energy of writing up a thoughtful review on something that didn't work for me in my system. It's depressing and how many paragraphs should you spend enumerating all the ways you don't like it? After a very short amount of time, that sounds like mean-spirited nastiness, and what purpose does it serve? Speaking for myself, I'd rather use my energy to let my friends know about something that really rang my bells.



Also, let's say a magazine is in cahoots with company X. Company Y is Company X's big competitor. Now you get a really nasty review of Company Y's latest product in the pages of the magazine. Does that tell you they are impartial, or could it be they are bad-mouthing the competitor to boost sales of Company X's products?

All very valid points, but I still think there's a great deal of value in learning exactly what a reviewer found to be flawed in a given system. Clearly spending two hours reading would not be the goal, but a list of all the equipment looked at by a magazine and an explanation as to why it was not reviewed in depth would certainly be helpful. Useless information? Hardly. Even agreeing that there's little point in spending hours and effort reviewing a product you don't like, that's still no reason for not revealing the fact that you tried it and you chose not to review it for whatever reasons. Telling people what they shouldn't be looking at can save a lot of time - although, of course, no single opinion should ever be taken definitively.
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post #22 of 26
1/1/11 at 11:30am

Tone Audio has gotten better over the past several years. I am happy that it is still publishing and it is still free. It gets it right in terms of striking a balance between music and audio equipment reviews. The writing is clear and fun to read. Features are covered in depth with careful attention to accuracy and details. There are snippets about products and services that are not related to high fidelity that enrich my life almost as much as listening to music on my reference system. They feature a column on headphones and sundry accessories which is something worth reading at every publication release. Again, Tone Audio is the most fun magazine that I read period. They do not take themselves too seriously yet their reviews are always professional and seemingly impartial. I always make it a point to check their website for the latest download and it is a lot of fun to collect the high resolution copies for free on my hard drives.

 

Thank you Jeff Dorgay and your team for producing Tone Audio.

 

As a result, I canceled my subscriptions to Stereophile and The Absolute Sound because I wanted to read something that was different and irreverent yet it catered to my musical tastes or it lead to new discoveries in music genres that I would not have otherwise considered for purchases. That is the true purpose of a music and high fidelity magazine which others have seemed to forget over the years.

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post #23 of 26
1/1/11 at 11:33am

Here is my list of audio magazines that I stopped reading or subscribing to over the past years:

 

Stereophile

The Absolute Sound

6 Moons

Play Magazine

The Rolling Stone

British high fidelity magazines

 

They all copy one another's formulas and it all seems the same.

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post #24 of 26
1/1/11 at 12:11pm

99% of magazines about any subject are just advertising tools. I rarely take much stock in anything print within the pages. I do still enjoy reading them though...I just accept them for what they are and keep my expectations low. Really the only mags I even read anyways are mountain biking rags.

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post #25 of 26
1/1/11 at 12:30pm

I am downloading all of the archived issues of Tone Audio magazine right now including the high resolution versions. Thank goodness that I have Verizon FiOS Quadruple Play including fiber optic Internet!

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post #26 of 26
6/5/11 at 8:23am

Tone Audio is the worst audio "magazine I have ever read. In fact, I am embarrassed to admit I have even read it. Why? For one if you look at Jeff Dorgay's advertisers, you will then read glowing reviews of those advertisers. Jeff Dorgay is nothing short of being a whore. He accepts products from the same company he reviews, and they also pay to fly him to their manufacturing plants. I do like the glossy pictures though.

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