VOTE

My preferences!

Many have mentioned this, but just in the of illustrating its universality, a stable Sound and Vision website would be first on my wish list. I've stopped going there because it'll crash my server 100% of the time

I'd like to see more specific stories on the mid level to high level HT equipment and stories on dedicated home theaters. Shake things up and break new ground.... do some double blind tests on speakers and amps involving a group of different experts' opinions. I see it done with TV picture quality but never with Amps, wires, ancillary HT equipment, and speakers. Remember, focus on the postives so you don't scare away your sponsors..... anyway, you'll likely recruit more readers and sponsors in this type of shootout process.
In short, I'm sure there are readers of "Car and Driver" that yearn for more minivan stories but I think most like to read about BMW's, Corvettes, and Ferrari's and see them compete against each other even though we may never be lucky enough to own one. Reading about low end equipment on its own is as fun as stale bread.

Personally I think sound and visions website is not on par with what I have become fond of with the hometheater website. It does not navigate very well...long load times for articles. I hope the new combined website works as easily and smoothly as hometheatermag site does currently. As far as articles I prefer hometheater but I don't mind sound and vision.

It all really depends on managerial decisions post merger. Are you looking at reducing staff? That means a reduction of content overall. The particular staff that go will also influence where you best put to use the strengths of remaining staff.

I think it's important to take the strengths of the two brands focussing on both sound and vision. Not all aspects of vision nor all aspects of sound. Stick to high quality items ranging from low to medium to high end. Don't chase after every fad, but be discerning about new directions. Streaming of all media is important, but streaming to mobile devices is aimed at casual listeners/viewers. You'll want to cover mobile but not many in-depth reviews or a great extent. I do stream to mobile devices but I spend my real money and time selecting good gear for my stereo and home theatre systems.

Good point with managerial decisions. I think it is inevitable that there are definitely going to be staff reductions among the reviewers we have come to know. The question is who. Who will we see writing at Home Theater Review and Secrets of Home Theater & High Fidelity.

In any event, I think each issue should have a core focus(e.g. LED projectors issue, flat panel showdown issue, the a/v receiver's issue, the multichannel amps issue, the subwoofer issue, the speaker's issue, connecting your equipment issue (incorporating new HD Base-T) and what would be nice would be an issue dedicated to future products - akin to an expanded "coming attractions" section. The idea is to have a comprehensive review of what's out there - not just a buyer's guide. An example would be covering subwoofer's by Velodyne, JL Audio, SVS Sound, M&K, Paradigm, Ken Kreisel (KreiselSound), REL, RBH, Wilson Benesch (with their Torus Infrasonic Generator) and HSU - all in one issue.

Coverage of streaming devices, D/A converters, headphones may need to be included but not excessive emphasis. Music, Blu Rays and even new Vinyl album coverage would be nice as well.

A nice add would be a section showing NEW UPCOMING THEATRICAL FILM RELEASES AS WELL AS WHETHER THE FILMS WERE MASTERED IN NEW SURROUND FORMATS LIKE DOLBY ATMOS OR EXISTING FORMATS LIKE DOLBY TRUE HD, DTS MASTER AUDIO OR DATASAT DIGITAL SOUND.

One other thought would be a so called ultra high end issue dedicated to the best multichannel gear out there such as flagship speakers from Focal Utopia, MBL, Kharma, Wilson Audio, Magico, and YG acoustics, etc. - all of which have speakers dedicated for multichannel use. Imagine a review with all MBL Radialstrahler speakers powered by the company's new Corona Line equipment.

Not too much should be dedicated to stereo only as care must be taken not to encroach on Stereophile's territory.

Just a thought here, but with the demise of other AV magazines, won't this provide more opportunity to review some higher end equipment simply because there are less publications for the manufacturers to send review samples to? For example, with less publications to review the gear, companies like Krell, Lexicon, Anthem, Focal, etc., would be more willing to send out samples on a regular basis.

How about a new section in addition to the low-mid-high end sections and call it internet direct? I am sure there are many readers such as myslef who would be interested in reviews on products that have a strong following, yet are not available in the traditional stores. Perhaps some internet direct brands such as Tekton Designs, JTR, Seaton Sound. I for one would be very interested to see a professional review on a mid tier product ($1500-$3000) that is sold internet direct. I would certainly be more apt to purchase a product that has a review from a notable source such as Home Theater...

I would like to see reviews/comparison tests on speaker wire, interconnects, power cords, line conditioners, etc. from companies like Audience, AudioQuest, Cardas, Kimber, MIT, Nordost, Shunyata Research, Synergistic Research, Transparent Cable, etc. and your opinions on how much these accessories can influence the performance of a system.

Please change the poll format. How about giving the option to vote for "more" or "fewer" in each of the 17 categories instead of making us pick one out of 34 to vote for. I think you could get a better idea of what people are looking for if they could vote on each category that he/she is interested in.

...we bid thee fare well!

I want to see an old fashioned THICK magazine filled with stuff, just like we had twenty years ago. I don't care if half of them are ads, they are entertaining too. I feel part of the demise of print magazines is the thinning out of the content. I don't feel that is directly related to electronic media, I feel it is all the mergers and those controllers who gave us less to maximize their own profits. ( I need some quality toilet reading, and an IPod just doesn't do it for me. ) Want my subscription(s) back? Then give me a quality (read-hefty) product. I used to subscribe to them all, some days I got a half dozen mags in the mailbox, now, not a one. Call me old fashioned, but I like the feel of a physical magazine and newspaper in my hand. I might be a dinosaur but my generation will actually pay for content, unlike some of the youngsters I know, do not forget that. Give us something worth buying.

I hope to see more articles with recommended systems across the ages. Numerous speakers/amps have been made the same way for many years and don't ever get compared with the new stuff which always seems to be reviewed as the greatest thing ever. For video that will always be true, but audio equipment should often hold up against the latest re-design. If I'm about to spend $5k on speakers, I'd love to know the best of the best from the past 10+ years, not just the best of 2013. Those types of "shoot outs" are fun to read, especially when done blind! One of my favorite articles was the recent back and forth in Stereophile about the Totem Forrests which were reviewed and re-reviewed with differing opinions.

The magazine needs advertisements to survive and reviewing new gear surely helps motivate companies to put in an ad, but I hope there's an opportunity to do this type of work from people who get to hear it all and compare things "at will".