RicP

I've known this for quite sometime, but occasionally they make it so easy that it's laughable.

I acquired a subscription to Home Theater free as part of a promotion and I can hardly wait until April for it to run out.

This magazine is doubtlessly the worst drivel in the marketplace and Stereophile Guide to Home Theater outclasses it in virtually every aspect.

The March 2002 issue though hammers the point home that Home Theater magazine thinks its readers are morons.

If you have access to the March 2002 issue, read the first two letters to the editor and Mike Wood's thoroughly ridiculous answers.

In the first one, his answer as to why DVDs all have a wide dynamic range is "Recording engineers and film directors are mostly deaf"

In the second one, a reader asks why Home Theater magazine never prints a bad review -- which is true -- and Mike Wood's evasive answer actually contains the truth -- if you read between the lines.

Mr. Wood spouts some nonsense about how they only review 4% of all released equipment so therefore it is statistically possible for them to never review a bad piece -- which is complete bunk.

But the truth is revealed when Mr. Wood tries to be slick and state that they actually do print bad reviews -- funny Mike, I've never seen one.

Mike Wood says, "We do, of course, [print bad reviews] and I have a list of angry manufacturers who no longer advertise with us to prove it."

So right there in black & white, Mike Wood admits that Home Theater magazine writes reviews to cater to their advertisers and not in the interest of informing their readers -- who they apparently think are as dumb as the gear they review.

Here's hoping they go out of business soon and spare the Home Theater world more of their worthless drivel.

JSPEC

THen what is a good amgazine to subsgribe too. Ive been wondering about this for a while. But all the H.T. magazines I see at tower dont seem to be that good or intresting..

JLB

Since cancelling my subscription a ways back to Sound and Vision, I have fully believed in that I can get more complete and informative information right here in this forum.....

jinhopark

I subscribe to Sound & Vision, Home Theater & SGHT and Stereophile.

I have to say I agree with RicP with his opinions on Home Theater, and I also put Sound & Vision in the same calibre. Although SGHT is far superior to either of those 2 choices, it still lags far behind it's sister publication (Stereophile) in thoroughness. To me I feel it's too dummied down in many situations...

For me I would love to have a more in-depth home theater magazine, much more written like AUDIO (when they were around). I feel the authors in Audio magazine were thorough, but not too watered down... but in the end they too lost advertisers through NEGATIVE reviews. Lost advertisers = Lost revenue = NO MAGAZINE.

dgc

, what an idiot. Instead of avoiding the obvious. He inadvertantly admits that his magazine caters to manufacturers.

The only reason I browse the mag at the news stand is to drool over the colorful, million dollar interiors. That's all that mag is good for.

Joe R

What about the Perfect Vision?

ToriAmos

Have you noticed that all of their reviewers are new? They used to print negative reports, but since last year, it seems like everything they test scores above 90. Maybe that's why they keep changing publishers. They used to be published by Petersons, then it was eMap and now it's Primedia.

I have one more complaint. They are a "Home Theatre" magazine, but the ratio of audio hardware (especially expensive speakers) to video is much higher. I can't find a single DVD comparison.

Ali