After 53 years of publication, Audio magazine, owned and operated by Hachette Filipacchi Magazines, is closing its doors this week. Often rumored to be on the ropes, the magazine had recently attempted a new editorial direction and artistic facelift.

In a brief statement, group publisher Tony Catalano hinted that the magazine's demise was actually a result of problems in the high-end sector of the audio business. Catalano comments that, "faced with ongoing difficulties in the market sector now served by Audio, we have had to reconsider publication of a magazine dedicated only to high-performance audio products. With this in mind, Audio's February issue will be its last."

Hachette also publishes Sound & Vision magazine (formerly Stereo Review); Catalano says that "the decision to discontinue a magazine as venerable as Audio is a difficult one. However, we have concluded that we and our marketing partners would be better served in the long run by focusing our resources on the growth markets served by our other publications."

Several of Audio's writers have begun looking for work elsewhere in the industry, and will no doubt pop up in new places shortly.