The Quiet Death Of HiFi Magazines?

Are hi-fi magazines dying? Circulation has fallen year after year, and the titles no longer publish the figures. So we put the question to the test, starting with our new sales manager Lee professionally sniffing Hi-Fi News, Hi-Fi+ and Hi-Fi Choice and ranking them in order of smell. It sounds daft, and it is good fun, but there is a serious point underneath it. When I was younger I loved everything about a hi-fi magazine, the texture of the pages and yes, the smell, and Hi-Fi+ was always my favourite to hold. The physical object mattered. The question for 2026 is whether it still does, and what audiophiles actually buy these magazines for any more: the reviews, the technical articles, the latest news, or simply the pleasure of the thing in your hands. In this video I make the case for the real editorial skill still living inside these titles, in particular Paul Miller, editor of Hi-Fi News, who builds his own test equipment and is one of only a tiny handful of people anywhere with the kit to measure hi-fi to that standard. That is genuinely hard to replace. And then I ask you to do one thing: go and buy a magazine this month, and let us start a proper discussion in the comments below. From now on, every Elite Audio video opens with a different member of the team taking the magazine sniff test. You have been warned. 📰 THE MAGAZINES IN THIS VIDEO Hi-Fi News - published since 1956, edited by Paul Miller, renowned for its lab measurement work Hi-Fi Choice - published since 1975 Hi-Fi+ - the high-end audiophile title (and my own favourite to hold) 📊 THE EDITORIAL SKILL THAT IS HARD TO REPLACE Independent lab measurement done to a professional standard is expensive and rare. Paul Miller designs and builds his own test equipment, a genuine parallel career alongside editing. A trusted editor curating what matters still has real value in an age of infinite online noise. The considered long-read, and the collectible object itself, are things a web page cannot fully give you. 🗣 GO BUY A MAGAZINE, AND LET US TALK Pick up Hi-Fi News, Hi-Fi+, Hi-Fi Choice or What Hi-Fi? this month, then tell me below: do you still buy them, which one, and what for? Reviews, technical articles, the latest kit, or the simple pleasure of the read? I will be reading and replying. 🎯 BOOK YOUR FREE HI-FI HEALTH CHECK Before you upgrade a single component, find out what your system actually needs. Our Hi-Fi Health Check is a free, no-obligation consultation that looks at your whole setup: room, source, electronics, speakers, cables and infrastructure, and tells you honestly where the bottleneck is. Most people are surprised by the answer. https://www.eliteaudiouk.com/healthcheck 📍 ELITE AUDIO Unit 10, Comielaw Farm Pittenweem, Anstruther KY10 2RE Phone: 01334 570666 Email: [email protected] Web: https://www.eliteaudiouk.com UK distributor for Audio Physic, Aqua Acoustic Quality, Revival Audio, Electrocompaniet, Octave Audio, Modwright, Audio Solutions, LessLoss, SOtM, Lindemann, HiDiamond, XACT. #HiFi #HiFiMagazines #Audiophile #HiFiUK #EliteAudio #HiFiNews #HiFiChoice #WhatHiFi #HiFiPlus #PrintMedia