[Viewpoint] The first 30 years of TNT-Audio!

It's not easy to pinpoint the exact birth of this magazine, because in its earliest days - around 1995 - it was still in its infancy, with only a handful of articles and reviews, and without the structure it has today. However, the name, approach, and underlying philosophy were already there. The first official editorial dates back to September 1996. Technically, that would make this our thirty-first year, but to be fair, the current structure - with its various sections and a small team of contributors - really took shape in 1996.

So this year, we feel like celebrating our true 30th year of structured activity. For a website, that's no small achievement: when we began, very few newspapers (and I mean actual newspapers) even had a web page. HiFi magazines arrived online much later, YouTube was founded a full decade after us, and Wikipedia in 2001. You could say we watched all the web giants being born while we were already alive and kicking. Thinking about it now, it's quite striking, because in 30 years life has thrown many challenges our way - sometimes very serious ones - yet we've pushed through them all with the same stubborn weekly punctuality that defines us, along with our complete independence from the market, from government subsidies (which we don't receive), and from advertising. We could have earned a bit of money, it's true, but we preferred to remain unique.

By a curious coincidence, on the 30th anniversary of our Facebook page - created fairly recently - we surpassed 10,000 followers. And I'm talking about real followers, not user bundles bought in India or China to make yourself look more popular. To be blunt, it takes only €1,500 to buy a package of 100,000 followers. The difference, of course, is obvious to anyone paying attention: just look at how many comments and interactions from real people appear under the posts. One of our recent posts reached around 200,000 views, over 2,000 reactions, 184 comments, and 20 external shares. Numbers like these simply can't be achieved with fake follower packages. Some industry sites have resorted to this petty trick, but the likes on each of their posts can be counted on the fingers of an old carpenter's hand - often just from the author's and a few friends'.

Incidentally, a historic magazine in our field, Suono, is also celebrating its 600th print issue with the upcoming February release. At one issue per month, that would make it 50 years old, but in reality - due to some merged issues - it has been around for 55 years, which is truly impressive. So we extend our best wishes to our competitor as well, who continues their original mission with the same stubborn dedication, despite the enormous challenges facing print media 😓

How do we plan to celebrate? Since last year (late August), we've been working on the new website we promised - more modern, compatible with multi‑platform browsing (mobile, tablet, PC, etc.), more inclusive, easier to read, and more user‑friendly. Nothing revolutionary, because we like (and you like) simplicity, but everything will be new, including the graphics. None of the work from these 30 years will be lost: all the old articles will remain online exactly as they are now. It's a truly boundless library of HiFi knowledge, including reviews, general articles, and DIY projects.

To make all this possible, we've relied on your voluntary donations via PayPal, the progress of which I'll report on in another editorial.

The new website is now in Phase 1 - I'd say completed, though not yet visible - and we're working on the more complex Phase 2. The image you see above (no real girls were involved; it's all artificial intelligence) uses one of the ideas for our new logo. It probably won't be the final version, but it's just to let you know that the magazine's logo and header will also be changing (though not the name or address).

In short, it's a lot of work, but the enthusiasm remains unchanged. So we extend our heartfelt thanks to all of you who follow and support us - some of you since day one (!!!). A special thank‑you goes to those who have believed, and continue to believe, in truly independent publishing, supporting it in recent years with a concrete gesture! 💝 💝 💝

DISCLAIMER. TNT-Audio is neither a shop, nor a HiFi company or a repair labouratory for HiFi components. We don't sell anything. It is a 100% independent magazine that neither accepts advertising from companies nor requires readers to register or pay for subscriptions. If you wish, you can support our independent reviews via a PayPal donation. After publication of reviews, the authors do not retain samples other than on long-term loan for further evaluation or comparison with later-received gear. Hence, all contents are written free of any “editorial” or “advertising” influence, and all reviews in this publication, positive or negative, reflect the independent opinions of their respective authors. TNT-Audio will publish all manufacturer responses, subject to the reviewer's right to reply in turn.

January 2026 Editorial

30 years together!