What happened to AV Max?

Shahrukh,
Truth of the matter is that 2 channel music is a small and diminishing market.The last AV Max show was all about Video/HT and all most no audio.To survive I'm sure that they are forced to focus on the more lucrative segment, which unfortunately is the boom and tizz lovers

That's the way the cookie crumbles here I'm afraid.

Cheers
Krishnan

Dear Shahrukh,

I believe Mehul has left av max quite some time ago.
Dont be too dissapointed for WHAT HIFI(from UK) is in India.
I think their first issue is expected soon.
Hopefully they should better than avmax in terms of product
coverage and reviews. They are far more experienced.

Happy reading.....

cheers
jay

yeah, but full page multiple reviews on personal mp3 players ? To be honest I think they are running out of staff and people to give them quality items to review...would love to read reviews of good HT systems as well but somehow the quality and quantity of material in the mag has hit an all time low IMHO.

BTW there was talk of a western mag coming to Indian shores....whatever happened to that ?

Manek.

I too was dissapointed after reading their last issue about 21" tv's, the magazine is called AVMAX so i would assume that it was about "Maximum" AV stuff!!! my interpretation would be high quality Audio Video equipment reviews and tips/articles about how to setup your own system. After reading the magazine for the last few months I feel that it does not do justice to its name.
All it carries are a few reviews of random equipment and a bunch of press releases from various companies in the fringe of the audio world. They do not even research the prices of the equipement for their articles.
I would be happy if they actually researched the worldwide prices (over the web) of the equipment that they review and tell the users how some of the unscrupulous vendors are taking the indian customers for a ride. Its not funny how people like onkyo, denon and others price their equipment here (generally Rs.100 = $1US).
I hope that they improve otherwise they are going to lose another regular reader.

chandrasekhar

i am a newbie not much knowledge as yours, but few days back i see a programme called tech show on cnbc tv 18, on it came a senior guy from av max recommending a reference system composing of yamaha RXV 657 and Wharfedale diamond 9 series as value for money with good inputs, so i don't think all is dead in AV max as looking at that guy.

Yeah, even reviews on quality HT stuff is worth a read. I remember they used to have this little box with complete specs and that was always so informative. I still have every Mag from the last 2 yrs as reference material but why would I keep a mag with reviews on the "Yepp" personal digital player?

There's so much out there that they haven't reviewed.

Wharf Diamond 9 series, Sonodyne's new series (yes they had an aricle about it last month but no review), new stuff from B&W, NAD Masterline, PSB... Marantz keeps coming up with a new line of receivers...

You can't say there's nothing to review...

sidhu schrieb:

a senior guy from av max recommending a reference system composing of yamaha RXV 657 and Wharfedale diamond 9 series as value for money with good inputs

A guy from AV Max said that's a reference system?? Sniff... Sniff... My AV Max? ...Boooooo Hooooooo!

SNV schrieb:

Dear Shahrukh, I believe Mehul has left av max quite some time ago. Dont be too dissapointed for WHAT HIFI(from UK) is in India. I think their first issue is expected soon. Hopefully they should better than avmax in terms of product coverage and reviews. They are far more experienced.

This I'm waiting for. Although I take a lot of WHAT HIFI's reviews with a pinch of salt, it's always a good read.

Thanks SNV that's good news!

sorry for writing it as a reference system, He was saying it as a good entry level system, My mistake !!!!!!!!

How authentic and unbiased are the reviews in AV Max or other similar magazine?

Are there any editorial reviews which one could trust blindfolded?

I think AV Max is now turning to mass market stuff for obvious reasons.

Regarding the future of stereo music. There is certainly the possibility of increase in number of channels i.e. the music becoming 4 channel or 5.1 or 6.1 or 7.1 ro may be 7.2 - but it seems unlikely that video could replace music altogether. Because sound alone and sound with visuals are two totally different species. I'm sure that most of us dim out the lights while enjoying music.

Regards

Dr. Sanjay Dhawan

That's a toughie doc. No one can ever prove that the reviews are unbiased. Though I kinda agree with some stereophile reviews tho. What HiFi tends to sensationalize its reviews a bit.

I would think that a good AV magazine should dedicate a section to explaining the terms that are used to describe the quality of sound produced by equipment. The reviewers use all these terms "Tight bass", "clarity", "openness" etc...
If you look for definitions of these things you find several things over the web, if a reviewer was writing an article about speakers it would be better if he explained somewhere the meaning of the terms used.
This would apply to all magazines and not just AVMAX, but, avmax is guilty of this too.
Maybe this is just a newbie crib, but, i think that its pretty valid for all levels of readers until they get familier with a particular reviewer/editor.

regards,
chandrasekhar

I think AV Max has a section where they explain Audiophile lingo. It's in the back pages.

The signs that AV Max will NEVER be a true audiophile mag was always there right from the beginning.

Years back i had written them a letter asking WHY should a mag like AV Max review hindi film music / remix stuff when there are UMPTEEN magazines already doing that.
They never replied / printed. Obviously they didn't like it.


You wait for years for a magazine like AV Max to read hifi reviews and finally when you get one, you find stuff that should be in FILMFARE.

XandY schrieb:

The signs that AV Max will NEVER be a true audiophile mag was always there right from the beginning. Years back i had written them a letter asking WHY should a mag like AV Max review hindi film music / remix stuff when there are UMPTEEN magazines already doing that. They never replied / printed. Obviously they didn't like it. You wait for years for a magazine like AV Max to read hifi reviews and finally when you get one, you find stuff that should be in FILMFARE. :?

That is just right. Completely agree with you on this one Xandy.

SDhawan schrieb:

Regarding the future of stereo music. There is certainly the possibility of increase in number of channels i.e. the music becoming 4 channel or 5.1 or 6.1 or 7.1 ro may be 7.2

Getting 2 speakers to setup is not easy..imagine having to do with 5 AND a sub

Multichannel music was hyped about a lot last year but it appears to have died down quite a bit now.. no matter how many speakers you put in, in the end you only have 2 ears

Interesting discussion on the same lines below

http://www.hydrogena...ndex.php/t31817.html

XandY schrieb:

The signs that AV Max will NEVER be a true audiophile mag was always there right from the beginning. Years back i had written them a letter asking WHY should a mag like AV Max review hindi film music / remix stuff when there are UMPTEEN magazines already doing that. They never replied / printed. Obviously they didn't like it. You wait for years for a magazine like AV Max to read hifi reviews and finally when you get one, you find stuff that should be in FILMFARE. :?

Considering that audiophiles are a rarity in this country,
1. Who would buy it if it was specialised ?
2. Who would write reviews in it ? -> bigger problem

My take is that we would have a problem of both Supply AND demand ! hence any such venture might not be really commercially viable. hence the need to go Populistic

There have been a lot of magazines, even in the US (which has the biggest market for stereo), which have closed down (Listener, POsitive Feedback....) or have moved to internet based content.

I subscribe to Stereophile (For just $25 you can get an annual digital copy subscription)..not that they have either affordable stuff OR have unbiased reviews..but they have been reducing in size/Content and from what i understand (They perhaps along with Absolute sound/Hifi Choice/ Hifi Plus and What HI Fi seem to be managing to do OK)

In case you a re really interested, there is a Canadian Magazine called UHF Mag. perhaps one of the more unbiased magazines around these days...

Well its good that an international magazine is arriving. Look at Top Gear. Its probably made the other magazines to relook at their srategies. They wont be the last just as What HIFI wont be the last and that is good for us, the trade and everyone interested in all things hifi.

true.. international mag means maybe Corporate subscriptions, Hotel subscriptions and perhaps even Institutions would subscribe to it thus buiding a larger base

Arj schrieb:

XandY schrieb: The signs that AV Max will NEVER be a true audiophile mag was always there right from the beginning. Years back i had written them a letter asking WHY should a mag like AV Max review hindi film music / remix stuff when there are UMPTEEN magazines already doing that. They never replied / printed. Obviously they didn't like it. You wait for years for a magazine like AV Max to read hifi reviews and finally when you get one, you find stuff that should be in FILMFARE. :? Considering that audiophiles are a rarity in this country, 1. Who would buy it if it was specialised ? 2. Who would write reviews in it ? -> bigger problem My take is that we would have a problem of both Supply AND demand ! hence any such venture might not be really commercially viable. hence the need to go Populistic

AV Max, as far as content goes was meant for the audio enthusiast. Not the audiophile. So their reviews were OK. (I used to like Mehul Mepani's take). But then again maybe the whole Audiophile Vs. Audio Enthusiast is nitpicking on my part.

The fact is that AV Max as a source of info for us guys (most of us on this forum) has degraded, in quality, in content and also their release date... I got this month's issue on the 17th...geez!

I WANT MY OLD AV MAX BACK!

(I know I'm screaming, but it's really upsetting me.)

Dear Shahrukh,

I do have a feelinh than your crying may be all in vain. There was a time I liked reading that magazine and am happy that they gave me a philips head phone after publishing one of my letters :). They have reached a point of no return because the person at the helm doesnt know the difference between Hz and dB.!!!!

I think the issue before the last one had reviews of projectors and I couldn't help but notice that all the reviews looked the same. In the end of each review they diplomatically concluded that the projector in question was a good buy.

I was really surprised by their review of 21" TVs, though I recommended it to someone who was planning to buy one. Maybe he liked it. But 21" TVs??

And this month's issue is not in stalls yet!

Just stumbled on this site.

Jeez....AVMax....LOL

Would sell more if they marketed their rag as toilet paper....

It's really sad to think that I actually applied for a job there. The only useful thing about Avmax is that they provide a lot of raw info on various products. This could be useful to find out what's in the market.

They don't seem to have any clear reviewing criteria. No mention of what exactly they are measuring and the weights assigned to each variable. The mag's certainly not VFM. I usually buy old copies at a raddiwala for 10 bucks. At that price, it's worth it

I have also checked out audio reviews in mags like Digit. They seem to check out volume at various Hz : 30, 50 etc. But they don't seem to mention as to how they interpret the data. No correction mentioned for things like room resonance. No analysis of flatness of response etc.

Life is really hard on an audiophile. I have given up caring for mags and do the research myself and post it on the forum. At least, I know what I do is unbiased and thorough. (Avmax for example, always has Onkyo on its rear cover and the ads somehow always prominently mention awards from Avmax).

What's your take on the current / recent past writers at Avmax? Which guys have given us better reviews in the past? I have noticed that Nishant usually mentions audiophile considerations in a tiny para. Most of Avmax is full of unedited press realeases. 60% of a review's space just rehashes the company's press release. (I am an ex-journalist and I know all about those sickening but all-to-common crutches for the lazy journalist).

Neutral schrieb:

Which guys have given us better reviews in the past? .

As mentioned earlier I used to like Mehul Mepani's reviews. Didn't always agree with them - they were an interesting read though.

Ya. It's sad that Mehul's left. I had wanted to meet him, but not never got the chance. I have met Nishant though, but he's rather busy. Have any of you guys heard about Behringer studio monitors? They were recommended in Chip magazine by Marco. I have always wanted to audition an actual studio monitor.

I've heard of em' but never really heard em'.
As far as studio monitors are concerned, the only ones I've seriously auditioned (in a studio) are the Genelecs. Quite liked em'.

IF you guys are looking for a studio monior, then do consider Tannoy.
One of the best studio monitors in the world.
Their latest series is phenomenol.
For a fact more than 50% of the studios in the world use Tannoy monitors.

How about Harbeth Monitor Speakers ??
They seem to get a lot good reviews around the world.

Harbeths are butt ugly to look at (especially the Monitor 30/40) but when they play they play true to sound !

Very neutral but enjoyable speakers..somehow could never justify the Looks Vs cost, although they would fare well on the Sound Vs Cost.

Alan Shaw the designer and head honcho apparently voices his spekers using his daughters voice..hence could be called a true product of love

BBC still uses Harbeths for sound monitoring..

BTW...BBC had released an article that they have now canged over to Dynaudio as their official monitor speaker. Though, they may still have the harbeths but as I remember all new purchases would be dyns

Manek.

Manek schrieb:

BTW...BBC had released an article that they have now canged over to Dynaudio as their official monitor speaker.

Yeah! I read that too. In AV MAX!!

I read this somewhere else....not AV max.....I think one of the online sites but wonder f its completely true or just Dynaudio PR hype ?

Manek.

Maybe..But I remember reading a mail from Alan Shaw to a forum very recently where he was personally involved in setting up a system at BBCs involving a Monitor40s


Anyway harbeth is these days focussing on the far east..They sell much more in China and Japan where focus is on vocal music

AV MAX Audio Show in 2006 - Hyderabad.

Hi !

The AV AMX audio SHow has been announced for Hyderabad.

This is to happen in 2006 - Jan

A new team is in place.

The cheif Editor is still Nishant Padiar - Thank God !!!

They have got in a few more reviewers - Yohan Contractor & one more guy [I forget his name]. They have a long way to go..........

I wonder if after next months Times AV Show Show - will Hi Fi Magazine start its publication in India ?

Time will tell....

BHAGWAN69

When is the Times AV show?

I have heard only one studio monitor - the Tannoy Reveal (red coloured bookshelf) at Oranges & Lemons. I liked it and wanted to purchase it but was stopped by two things:
1. the price (Rs 25,000 was outside my budget)
2. no grills (exposed drivers would be suicide in a home)

Can anyone tell me where I can audition the Harbeth. Any suggestions for Tannoy studio monitors will grills?

[quote="Neutral"]When is the Times AV show?

I have heard only one studio monitor - the Tannoy Reveal (red coloured bookshelf) at Oranges & Lemons. I liked it and wanted to purchase it but was stopped by two things:
1. the price (Rs 25,000 was outside my budget)
2. no grills (exposed drivers would be suicide in a home)

Can anyone tell me where I can audition the Harbeth. Any suggestions for Tannoy studio monitors will grills?[/quote]

Hi !

The Times AV Revolution SHow in in Bombay [Mumbai] on 11.11.2005 @ Hyatt Hotel [Grand]

It will last for 3 days - Friday to Saturday.

If you are from Bombay - Do visit !

Tannoy is sold by Sunny Chibber in New Delhi.

His number is 9810072060 - M.

Regards,

BHAGWAN69

Dear All,

What hifi sound & vision, the mag should be in stores in
about a week or so. Im looking forward to it. Lets hope its
much better than the one we have been reading for years now.

Cheers

Wonder if they'll review only stuff in the Indian market. Or will it be the Eurpean market?

Dear Shahrukh,

The reviewers are the guys based in UK. The products that
will be featured in the magazine will be restricted to only
the ones available in India.

Cheers

Now that is the most refreshing piece of news I have heard in a long while.....

manek.

Hi,

Any information available on What HiFi-India: availability,distributor,subscription,contact address etc.?

Aniruddha.

Dear Aniruddha,

You shall have all the info in a week once the magazine is
out in the stores. If its really urgent then here is a contact

Mr. Siddharth - 9821331539

regards
jay

SNV,

once the mag hits the stores please do let us know.

manek.

Yes sir, most definitely i will.

Regards
Jay

AV Max is going to be history soon ! Just picked up the first copy Indian edition of “what hi-fi”………………it’s rockin !

Where's it available?

Finally the magazine is out, What HIFI sound & vision, the Indian edition.
Looks good, excellent coverage on products. Good reviews.
The one thing they need to improve on is the print quality.
Anyways, it their very first issue. Im sure they'll work on it.
All i can say now, avmax beware, you have some serious competition.
Shahrukh, you could find it in local book stores.

regards

Just went hunting for it (huff...puff..) They don't seem to have it. In fact, they didn't even know what I was talking about. Guess I'll just have to look around a bit more. What's the cover like? What stuff have they reviewed this month? What's it costing? Lemme know guys!