John Atkinson
John Atkinson's picture
Offline
Last seen: 40 min 6 sec ago
Joined: Nov 7 2010 - 3:31pm
Sound+Vision magazine
Poor Audiophile
Poor Audiophile's picture
Offline
Last seen: 3 months 3 weeks ago
Joined: Feb 14 2006 - 7:35pm

Sure hope the big bosses don't combine 'Phile & S&V!crying

Reed
Reed's picture
Offline
Last seen: 9 years 2 months ago
Joined: Sep 6 2005 - 5:37am

I also hope they remain seperate publications.

However....I have a home theater in the basement with acoustic panels.  Basically, everything needed for 2 channel listening as well.  I struggled for the longest time trying to have a "common" front end that accomodates both home theater and 2 channel listening.  I ended up with essentially 2 systems and switch the speaker cables for the front speakers.  

What I found was Stereo publications rightfully focus efforts on 2 channel (with some attention to "music in the round"), while any publication that has any "vision" aspect focuses mainly on the video side.  There is a gap in helping to "marry" the 2. 

I sure do wish more manufacturers of 2 channel preamps had a home theater bypass input.  That would go a long way towards being able to blend the two.

Kal Rubinson
Kal Rubinson's picture
Offline
Last seen: 2 days 16 hours ago
Joined: Sep 1 2005 - 9:34am

Yeah, some people have trouble with that "vision" thing.  smiley

JRT
JRT's picture
Offline
Last seen: 3 days 18 hours ago
Joined: Jul 12 2007 - 12:36pm
Reed wrote:

   I struggled for the longest time trying to have a "common" front end that accomodates both home theater and 2 channel listening.  I ended up with essentially 2 systems and switch the speaker cables for the front speakers... sure do wish more manufacturers of 2 channel preamps had a home theater bypass input.  That would go a long way towards being able to blend the two.    

 

The bypass feature seems uncommon among new preamplifiers, but the feature can be found if you look for it.

Parasound's Halo JC 2 BP is a variant of that very good two channel stereo preampifier  that includes a home theater bypass function. 

Kal Rubinson described the JC 2 BP in his column #47 in 2011.

http://www.stereophile.com/content/music-round-47-page-3     

John Atkinson reviewed the JC 2 (not JC 2 BP) in 2008. 

http://www.stereophile.com/content/parasound-halo-jc-2-line-preamplifier

For a lot less money... Adcom's GFP-750 two channel stereo preamplifier also has a home theater bypass. It received a very favorable review by Wes Phillips and John Atkinson in 1999 with good marks all around for sound quality, for performance measurements, for build quality, and for perceived value. It is not difficult to find a used example in fine condition at prices that are a small fraction of the original MSRP.  

http://www.stereophile.com/solidpreamps/133/index.html   

edit (18-Nov-2013): Here is another that might be worth further investigation... Yesterday I received an email from a large online/mailorder audio retailer promoting Parasound's new Halo P5 preamplifier for ~$1100. Their marketing info mentioned, "...a high-quality DAC with digital inputs, subwoofer outputs with analog bass management, home theater bypass, an MM/MC phono stage...lets you select the ideal impedance for your phono cartridge. Options include 47Ω for moving magnets (MM) phono cartridges, 47Ω for moving coils (MC), and 100Ω for certain esoteric moving coils... a precision motorized volume control... RCA inputs and outputs...XLR balanced inputs and outputs, including an XLR balanced subwoofer output, allows you to integrate audiophile stereo speakers with a home theater surround system... includes switchable and adjustable low-pass and high-pass crossovers. Infinitely variable rear-panel controls let you set both crossover points exactly where you want them...separate subwoofer output control that allows you to adjust the frequency of the signal supplied to the subwoofer from 20 to 140 Hz...there’s also a crossover trim for the main speakers... to limit the frequencies going to your satellite or tower speakers."

absolutepitch
absolutepitch's picture
Offline
Last seen: 2 months 4 weeks ago
Joined: Jul 9 2006 - 8:58pm

I tried to post, but it apparently didn't work. Here it is again.

I have not received either Stereophile (from March issue onward) or Sound & Vision (the April/May issue onward). Anyone else have this problem?

nomag
nomag's picture
Offline
Last seen: 10 months 1 day ago
Joined: May 31 2023 - 12:05pm

Subscribed to both. Received two issues of each. Then nothing since February. No help from customer service.

I have subscribed on and off since the 1980s. Never had a problem such as this.

absolutepitch
absolutepitch's picture
Offline
Last seen: 2 months 4 weeks ago
Joined: Jul 9 2006 - 8:58pm

Yes, I emailed the customer service of both mags. Standard reply with recommendation to contact Post Office (PO). The PO form is for finding lost mail I sent, not those sent to me. I filled it out anyway for magazines I didn't get. I get other magazines just fine.

Stereophile sent me replacement for three of the missing issues, with a fourth still missing. S&V has not sent any replacement issues, yet.

Log in or register to post comments
-->
  • X