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To tell you the truth, I really like to look at the ads. It's also a very special day when Stereophile arrives with a DVD or CD with the issue.

They just tell me what brands are available. I read reviews or find some other source to verify what I want before buying anything.

Ads are about American business. As a member of the business/music community, I frequently advertise and see nothing wrong with manufacturers advertising their wares whether it be in Stereophile or in any other periodical. Ads promote business. Business is good for America, and good businesses are beneficial to the American populus in that it affords them the opportunity to browse, buy, and even dream of those products that they might lust over, if not need. What's wrong with that?

I think that the real question is "How can a periodical stay afloat without ads?"

if they really want to sell me something, then the adds had best be very useful because I can tell the difference between useful and useless and I spend my money on the former, not the later ... if you follow my drift

I must admit, I am a pig. I do look for the "perfect pair" vacuum tube ad every month. Sometimes the color of the swimsuit changes!

The whole magazine is an ad, isn't it?

Are there ads in audio magazines? I long ago trained myself to read publications of all types while completely ignoring the ads. It became so automatic that I often don't even notice them. Once or twice a year I make a point of focusing on the ads in my audio mags to see what's new that didn't make the reviewer's threshholds, and occasionally find something that interests me enough to check deeper.

Sometimes they are informative. Sometimes they are entertaining. Sometimes they are both (rarely). Sometimes they are stupid (and borderline offensive) such as the ones featuring boobs and tubes and others of that ilk.

Ads are almost never useful—in any magazine—at least not to the reader!

they can be the only means of knowing about a product. they are helpful when i'm in the hunt, when not i look past them.

I am glad to see high-end retailers with websites. They can't always ship to me because of territorial restrictions, though. I also find interesting the small retailers in the back who I might not hear about otherwise. Magazines like Stereophile are all about what to buy and the ads are just one more bit of that information.

Where else would I be able to see attractive women leave naked LPs on the floor while pretending to listen?

I don't BUY new.

I find many of them fascinating and informative of new products and directions. Sure the hype is there but some are entertaining and useful.

Keeps me up to date on new products. I read those darn adds, 98% of them.

Except the Gilmore audio ads: the most tastless I've ever seen. Couldn't their product stand on it's own merits without being buoyed up (pun intended) by some siliconed honey in a g-string? I think it casts considerable doubt on the worth of their product.