Thanks so much, Doug. We have to thank our tireless and dedicated graphic designers, Natalie Baca and Pip Tannenbaum. Not only did they get us through the redesign, they also made for a smooth transition into an entirely new workflow. Awesome, awesome work.

I like the new look, too.  Especially the cover.  I never did like the dark border.  It reminded me of my counterfeit copy of "Introducing The Beatles."  But I do have one complaint.  The graphs in John's measurement sections are now too small.  Can someone find the undo key for just that one change?  If not, no big deal, I'll buy a magnifying glass.  Thanks to Natalie, Pip, and the entire staff.

bertdw wrote:

I like the new look, too.  Especially the cover.  I never did like the dark border.  It reminded me of my counterfeit copy of "Introducing The Beatles."  But I do have one complaint.  The graphs in John's measurement sections are now too small.  Can someone find the undo key for just that one change?  If not, no big deal, I'll buy a magnifying glass.

We made the graphs in the measurements sections smaller in order to free up space for more photos of the components being reviewed. I felt this a justifiable trade-off as the graphs can still be viewed at full size in our Web review reprints

Quote:

Thanks to Natalie, Pip, and the entire staff.

Our thanks to those who liked Stereophile's new look.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

This might sound silly, but the print and pictures seem to be more washed out...With my old eyes the shift from clear black in the print to more a gray is not an improvement and the colors in the pictures also seem a bit washed out...Let me rephrase that. It is as though there are two standards. The adds are clear and crisp and the colors as expected. The print and photo's of the magizines actual content seem pale and washed out in comparison...If you familiar with photoshop, think of the effect if one desatures a picture and then returns perhaps 80% of the color using 'fade desaturate'...

For example...go to page 18 and compare the color or print with the ad on page 19...

A minor quibble but perhaps the printing simply needs to be tweaked a bit. It is as though someone was trying to save ink by reducing the printed product to 80% of its potential.

Hi JIMV, I checked my copy after reading your post.  The pictures on page 18 do look less vivid than the ad on page 19, but I think that's because they're snapshots from a show instead of a professionally photographed advertisement.  The print on page 18 is as black as ever in my copy.  JA discusses some of the variability of printing in this thread at Audio Asylum:

http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/vt.mpl?f=critics&m=61544

I hate to be a naysayer, but I don't really like the new magazine design. The cover is OK.

However, the repeating motif on the inside seems to be of waves, clearly a reference to sound waves in air. To me this is sort of a technical aspect of stereo reproduction. The physics of sound is not what draws me to be interested in music, interested in stereos, or interested in reading Stereophile.

I remember in the late '90s there were illustrations at the start of Sam's Space and "Astor Place." At the start of the former there was a man holding  a glass of wine (cognac?) sitting in a big padded chair.  At the start of the latter there was an old fashioned street lamp. Both seemed to convey something about the spirit of the writing and made the columns more inviting.

To me putting sound waves in many parts of the design is cold and a mild turn-off.

Robert

I've been waiting for the new issue for several days, only to find it today it in a stack of older mail.  After looking through it, the changes make it look fresher, less formal, and more accessible.  I especially like the record reviews each having their own column(s).

Just wanted to say that I like the lighter, more modern and airy look of the redesign. Thanks for finally following in HiFi+ footsteps :-) by applying a columnar view of the music section - much more readable.  The bigger pictures and the more consistent 2-column lay-out are also an improvement. 

I will however cancel my subscription.  The print one that is.  As a new year's resolution I decided to stop buying physical magazines altogether.  The iPad is fine for reading and it's better for the environment.  In recently gave away what looked like a pile of 10 years of Stereophiles to an auction for the benefit of animals. It was tough to part with them - the power of physical media. I kept specific issues like the first SACD issue for example.

I hope you will continue to improve the design on ZINIO. Perhaps we will see a dedicated iPad version of Stereophile some time in the future...I would be very happy to pay a premium for this.  I really like what The Economist has done for example..

Kind regards

Jw