I just got my quarterly HIFICritic magazine, and it looks like it’s going to be my last. They are stopping printed issues. It’s a shame, I enjoy the read.
Those who also subscribe, what are you going to get now? I need ideas and a new subscription!
Thanks,
Rich
I gave up buying HiFi magazines, decades ago - saving the money to spend on HiFi… 
I’ve still got HFN and Stereophile. I will miss Hi-Fi Critic though. Always an interesting and informative read, especially in the Malcolm Steward years.
An odd one for me. The cost was ludicrous but perhaps reflective of the issues the industry now faces. On the other hand the content was rarely unique and once you’ve read 5 reviews of certain products you probably don’t need the 6th so, for me, whilst the writing itself was never less than interesting, it didn’t really occupy a unique space.
But it will continue as a pdf??
You could always print out your own copy.
I thought the website and forum will continue but that’s it ?
Hi James,
That’s why I put the question marks. An entry I read elsewhere indicated that is just the print edition that is stopping.
M
Just had another quick read of the editorial and no mention of a pdf version. It looks like there will still be a blog along with the website and forum. The editorial is on the latest issue excerpt downloads if you’ve not seen it.
Thx James,
That is a loss.
M
I Hope it will be online, like all the others magazines as Stereophile, Absolute Sound, Hifi News……
Fingers crossed !
I think I will go for HiFi News for a year. I did like HiFiCritic though. I like a paper copy, glass of wine and some music 
Low number of comments kinda speaks louder than anything we might say. I always thought it was a product looking for a market. A number of superstar authors looking to trade on their elite status and not quite understanding that it’s the products people are interested in rather than them. As they constantly reviewed stuff reviewed elsewhere the future was writ large from the off really.
For all the people who moan about the price of products in things like Stereophile or HiFi Plus the reality is that they still exist precisely because you can read about a range of things you don’t necessarily get to read about elsewhere. Hi-Fi World demise was a tad more complex but again accelerated by the gradual shift to reviewing the same small group of manufacturers.
I stopped my subscription a few years ago as my copy would repeatedly go missing on the journey between them and my door! I switched to having it sent to the office, but then Covid happened and admin would bin it as they thought it was just another trade mag. To be fair they began to get mountains of un distributed post!
I liked the Stan Curtis articles on his view of the HiFi industry from the inside, also the reports on interesting developments by the likes of B&O etc, but less so the reviews of exotic kit, that seemed to become less relevant to me as time went on.
I was quite saddened when our only local newsagent closed shop just before Christmas, I miss, being able to walk down to town to look for an interesting read, I felt as thought I was helping by supporting my local high street, but it seems that my efforts were not sufficient. I have tried downloads on an iPad, but they are just not the same as physical media for me.
I guess its a sign of the times, printed media is in serious decline. :0(
For balance, I have saved some money and I contribute slightly less clutter about the house.
I spend roughly the equivalent of a magazine subscription on donations to PFM, more if I can. Better value, and interactive.
Certainly entertaining at times!
Hi James,
Reached out to a friend of mine who knows Martin. The mag was killed by a combination of enforced price rises and VAT imposed on mags in Europe; caused many cancelled subscriptions.
I do wonder of there is a way forward that doesn’t include printing …but I understand the attraction of quality.
M
There is an alternative, my company produces digital magazines for publishers (and companies). They’re a fraction of the cost of print and there’s no postage.
For me, Hificritic has always been the best one, and Martin Colloms the best Hifi writer ever. Subscriptions were admittedly a bit expensive - but the magazine was completely ad-free, had the best writers, and especially MC spent so much time and effort on working to get the best out of gear before he completed an article - some of his reviews were almost like mini scientific research projects! I can imagine it became even harder when editor Paul Messenger retired, and then came these Brexit matters, which made foreign subscriptions more complicated/expensive.
16 years was a good run for this type independent high-end audio mag - congrats to Martin, Andrew and the whole Hificritic gang! Let’s hope we can soon again find their writing on online venues!
May be too downmarket for some but can recommend HiFi Choice, good subscription offers I just did 6 issues for £ 20