Home Theater :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

Solid But Not the Best

2004-04-17
HOME THEATER was once the earliest to devote themselves exclusively to home theater video gear. Unfortunately, the somewhat wacky, full-of-personality magazine was replaced with a much more boring corporate version when it was sold to a bigger publishing house.

It is a solid magazine but that may not be enough these days when TV and video systems range from a minimum of 4 figures to over 6 figures. Even if you're not planning on buying a $100k system, you want to know what is available in the highest end system so you can scale down and ultimately feel you are getting the best value for your money at your price point. (If you're not building an HD setup with surround, there's not that coverage anyway in any mag not just HOME THEATER).

You want knowledgeable testing so you know what you might be willing to trade in for buying something a few $k less ... and you want to feel confident that you've been presented all the choices and then you can decide what factors to trade off and in terms of costs.

Compared to PERFECT VISION magazine, HOME THEATER comes up way short. HOME THEATER mag does cover more topics (also published more often) so if are interested in seeing more photos and blurbs about lots of AV gear, it's a fine complement to PERFECT VISION magazine - just don't expect the depth or breadth in testing and knowledge about high-end video gear.

If you're just starting out in your decision process in HD sets and perhaps other home video electronics gear, then HOME THEATER is a solid place to start to learn the basics. Then you will want to add PERFECT VISION magazine. As I noted in that review, HOME THEATER is in the ballpark of PERFECT VISION but in the sense that PERFECT VISION is the star and HOME THEATER is a utility infielder - still useful, just not indespensible.

Fun read... and does not take itself too seriously 2003-10-07
This magazine is great if you enjoy reading about new equipment and audio/video software, in a rather tongue-in-cheek style. You will probably be disappointed if you are the type who truly enjoys the in-depth articles of The Absolute Sound or the old Stereophile, or if you are very proud of your latest 12 watt SET amplifier that "only" cost you $8.000.

If the subject was wine, this magazine would not spend half a page discussing whether the berry bouquet is actually raspberry or blackberry. Rather it would try to determine which of the 5 wines reviewed would be best for your next BBQ (and while doing this, crack a few jokes about the French).

the best home theater magazine out there 2001-10-30
Out of all the home theater and audio related magazines out there, I like this one the best. Most of the audio magazines are not suitable for home theater information because they concentrate on the audio only even though they sometimes have a few articles about HT products (e.g. Audiophile). Home Theater does not have much in the way of wacky "tweaks" like placing a quarter and a dime at the edge of your speaker either, just good solid advice and information. They cover the full range of products from inexpensive bookshelf systems to custom installs and everything in between. You are sure to find good information about whatever you are using or considering.

Eye candy 2001-10-30
For those who enjoy reading about the latest and greatest components and toys, Home Theater is the perfect magazine for you. If you are looking to narrow your search for the perfect component to your home, this will provide you a sense of what your money will buy you in terms of features and quality.

excellent magazine 2007-03-09
Great magazine for those into home electronics,big screen tv, and surround sound systems.

Not enough testing of mainstream televisions 2007-01-03
Too much time is spent on the highest priced items and not enough standard equipment

Advertising Advertising and lack of meaningful substance 2006-07-07
I've done high end audio and video (home theater) for 20+ years and am technically proficient, audiophile, and a good sense of making things work and 'value'.
This magazine is a bunch of fluff and advertising, and isn't going to address real and practical issues, and certainly not what is a good value (high performance for reasonable cost) and it doesn't address what most people ( a common every day user who's interested but doesn't want to be an expert and/or spend a fortune).

There's some great new gear out, and plenty of things that will give you 95% plus of what's to be had (almost all of it) at very reasonable prices.

There's also a lot of junk and/or things that are VERY expensive that offer very little (if any) real benefit for $$$ (and a lot of this type stuff is high $$$).

I wish I could offer information about a source that did have solid information based in fact, good understanding, and would tell you what will work, work well, and at a reasonable cost. But sadly I can't think of such a source (nor have I ever seen one that addresses this well). You'll have to do some homework, read, ask questions, etc. Wish I could offer a better answer.

However, while this (like many such magazines) is full of ads, and reviews on the latest stuff ... very little of it is useful.

I don't mind paying people to do a job or for a product, but I expect it to work and to be a good value for the hard earned money I spend.

That's my experienced opinion.

One of the better home theater mags out 2006-01-23
I have a subscription to this, Stereophile and The Perfect Vision. I would definately say I prefer Home Theater mag to the other 2. In this magazine it definately has something for everyone, full equipment reviews to DVD reviews. I definately enjoy reading this magazine. I would also have to say it is quite flexible for different budgets for different people.

This is one of the best Magazines ever, Or at least that's how they would review it. 2005-09-09
This is one of the best Magazines ever, Or at least that's how Home Theater Magazine (MAG) would review it.

MAG is a great magazine; they have an awesome editor, and great editorial columns. They have an excellent HDTV and HD-Audio section; listing all of the show being broadcasted in true HD that month, and all the new HD Video and Audio products being released. MAG Always does a great job of keeping you up to date with new technologies and FCC regs without making you read 6 [pages of politically technical information. Additionally, MAG reviews both high-end equipment, and well, all the low-end crap that we buy at Amazon for $150. I've seen reviews on $30 mp3 players, to reviews on $15,000 amplifiers. The magazine is colorful, well laid out, easy to organize, and is completely spotless of any offensive material, including the advertising pages, which flow nicely with the rest of the magazine.

SO where does MAG fall? I have yet to see something reviewed below 83%. And it isn't unlikely that everything reviewed will be 90% and higher. I suppose MAG doesn't want to loose demo equipment by shelling out bad reviews, but honestly, its hard to tell when MAG is serious about a product. The only thing they are good for is loading you with the information about the product at that point. And one last compliant is in there DVD reviews, nearly every DVD receives awesome (the highest rating) for video quality. Well, that's swell, but I'd like to see them try a little harder in that category, some movies are shot with beautiful, noticeable lighting, while others are simply; well Eucharistic in that aspect.

At any rate, MAG is a great home theater mag. Afterall it has a low subscrition cost and in the end it is enjoyable to read, so what is there to complain about? Well not much compared to the price.