[macrojack]

Astrological sign of the reviewer is all you really need. It will tell you how to evaluate him/her, which in turn enables you to evaluate the review.

[Russell Dawkins]

Apparently dogs have great hearing, too, and live healthier lifestyles. Now if only they could communicate with us we'd be getting somewhere, especially if they could support their opinions with hard numbers.

[Rclark]

Im just saying, maybe a little blurb in the front of the mag, for the sake of honesty. Hey, reviewer such and such has perfect pitch, hears to such and such level, and suffers no tinnitus or other ailments.

I forget sometimes that most people here are "of a certain age" and will simply bash me and the idea.

[Mitsuman]

Im just saying, maybe a little blurb in the front of the mag, for the sake of honesty. Hey, reviewer such and such has perfect pitch, hears to such and such level, and suffers no tinnitus or other ailments.

I forget sometimes that most people here are "of a certain age" and will simply bash me and the idea.

quid pro quo? 

[TONEPUB]

.

[Rclark]

I'm sure I deserve some of it.

[Freo-1]

I actually have less of an issue with the age of the reviewers than I do the lack of engineering background from a reviewer.

In the “good old days” when magazines like Audio were around, the reviewers understood how things worked, so they were able to take measurements and be able to explain how they might correlate to the sound.  They also explained topology, crossover networks, etc.  You do not get much of that today. 

As I keep moving gear in and out, I am coming to realize just how difficult it can be to write a review of a product.  There are so many variables involved with reviewing gear (the system and the room the target gear is being used in), that it can be difficult to ascertain how something may sound with your system.  Case in point:  Was using a 40 WPC integrated amp with Source Technologies 277SE speakers.  These are 90db @1 watt at 5 ohms, so fairly efficient.  They sound very nice with tube amp at low to moderate listening levels.  As luck would have it, my Threshold 400A restoration was just completed recently.  This was a total restoration (all caps, output devices, wiring, rectifier, all resistors on driver boards, binding posts, RCA jacks, pretty much a new amp).  So, connected the Threshold to the 277SE to see how it would now sound.

WOW!  Could not believe it was the same speaker.  The Threshold made the speakers sound entirely different.  MUCH more larger sounding speakers, different soundstage (depth, height, width), tonal character, you name it.  If I had reviewed the speakers with just the tube amp, would rate it strengths and limitations quite differently than with the Threshold.  Even the CD player seemed to sound different with the Threshold setup (PS: Preamp is a Electrocompainet EC4.5).  Now, this is all in the same room, and when the system is moved to a different room, performance changes (Get the picture?).  The above is why I’ve always been suspect of the low powered SET amp reviews that are not used with very high efficient speakers.

So, when I read a well written review, I can appreciate the work involved to write it.  Even then, one has to take the review in stride, and be able to recognize what it does and does not cover.

[TONEPUB]

I still see the amount of variables involved as the major stumbling block.

I've never seen four audiophiles agree on anything.  People tend to like what the've spent their hard earned money on.  That's why forum opinions are of limited use.  The guy that owns magnepans says that's the speaker to buy and the guy that owns a pair of martinlogans will argue to the end of the earth THAT's the best speaker to buy. The SET, high efficiency speaker guy likes that approach and so on...

The problem with most forum opinions is that they are based on very limited experience, and for that matter quite a few reviewers fall in the same category. If you haven't heard a wide range of gear, it's really tough to make suggestions to someone else.  And before you all get bent out of shape, how much gear have you actually listened to in the last year?

Where so many magazines have lost their way, is in trying to be the grand pubahs of audio, when what's needed is some guidance for people spending their hard earned money on an audio system.

In the end it's tough for anyone that doesn't do this FULL TIME to be a terribly good resource and unfortunately, reviewing hifi gear doesn't pay all that well.  Other than myself, there are probably only a small handful of people (Michael Fremer, Ken Kessler, John Aktinson, Robert Harley, Harry Pearson and perhaps a couple others) that can actually devote 40-60 hours a week to nothing but evaluating audio components.  And the minute anyone, God forbid, takes on advertising to pay the bills, you all start screaming conspiracy theory.

So my advice is to read everything you can, and listen to as much as you can before you plunk down your hard earned cash.  After talking to our readers all over the world, I find that too many of them don't have enough faith in their own tastes and instincts.

Buy the system that really makes you happy and allows you to enjoy your music to the fullest.  If we've had a part in that, then we've done our jobs.

[cujobob]

Anyone can review in audio. There's no standard.

[cujobob]

No.  At the end of the day, you the consumer should be doing everything possible to listen to the product yourself and shouldn't be buying soley based on reviews.  The review is intended to be a guide for where you maybe should look NOT actually purchase.  Basically giving you more products to consider.

There are plenty of people who can review. A paid reviewer should have credentials, one would think. People can do whatever they want with reviews...ignore them, use them as a guide, follow them religiously...that's their choice.

[Æ]

If one asked if black people should be banned from music reviews because of they're propensity to gravitate toward rap, I think we'd all be suitably appalled. . .

I'm glad you said it and not me, being politically correct and all that. But I'm sure there are some of us who DO feel that way. Not all of us would be, are appalled.
Anyway, I almost never read music reviews, so racial bias really doesn't matter to me in this context. Also, I absolutely never listen to rap, except for when the guy in the car next to me has his volume turned up too loud and I have no choice but to suffer.

[Freo-1]

I still see the amount of variables involved as the major stumbling block.

I've never seen four audiophiles agree on anything.  People tend to like what the've spent their hard earned money on.  That's why forum opinions are of limited use.  The guy that owns magnepans says that's the speaker to buy and the guy that owns a pair of martinlogans will argue to the end of the earth THAT's the best speaker to buy. The SET, high efficiency speaker guy likes that approach and so on...

The problem with most forum opinions is that they are based on very limited experience, and for that matter quite a few reviewers fall in the same category. If you haven't heard a wide range of gear, it's really tough to make suggestions to someone else.  And before you all get bent out of shape, how much gear have you actually listened to in the last year?

Where so many magazines have lost their way, is in trying to be the grand pubahs of audio, when what's needed is some guidance for people spending their hard earned money on an audio system.

In the end it's tough for anyone that doesn't do this FULL TIME to be a terribly good resource and unfortunately, reviewing hifi gear doesn't pay all that well.  Other than myself, there are probably only a small handful of people (Michael Fremer, Ken Kessler, John Aktinson, Robert Harley, Harry Pearson and perhaps a couple others) that can actually devote 40-60 hours a week to nothing but evaluating audio components.  And the minute anyone, God forbid, takes on advertising to pay the bills, you all start screaming conspiracy theory.

So my advice is to read everything you can, and listen to as much as you can before you plunk down your hard earned cash.  After talking to our readers all over the world, I find that too many of them don't have enough faith in their own tastes and instincts.

Buy the system that really makes you happy and allows you to enjoy your music to the fullest.  If we've had a part in that, then we've done our jobs.

Good post.  The comment about varibility was one of the issues I was trying to make.

Some of us lean towards DIY/restoration/modification projects, so one needs to believe in their ability to evaluate in order to do that successfully. 

[*Scotty*]

Rclark, what use do you have for the opinions expressed in equipment reviews that requires the reviewer to have a certain demonstrated level hearing acuity?
Scotty

[Rclark]

Well, if the system is capable of playing into the stratosphere, even though I might personally not hear it, I want to be aware of the capability, I want a reviewer capable of describing what it sounds like. A guy who can barely hear past ten can't be much a reviewer of high performance gear. They might be able to extrapolate, but it's not the same. Just the huge difference in how a younger ear years sounds more clearly and loudly as well.

I'll use the example I just came up with because I rather like it. On the show Top Gear, they review cars, and they reserve the real test for their racing driver. same idea here.

[Zero]

RClark,

Well..  for what it's worth...  I'm still in my 20's.  Maybe I should take it upon myself to shepherd hapless gray&white-haired audiophiles and lead them to towards the promised land of hi-fi nirvana.  'After all, T'would be criminal to allow those poor old bastards to rely on their own decrepit listening organs 

[Freo-1]

Well, if the system is capable of playing into the stratosphere, even though I might personally not hear it, I want to be aware of the capability, I want a reviewer capable of describing what it sounds like. A guy who can barely hear past ten can't be much a reviewer of high performance gear. They might be able to extrapolate, but it's not the same. Just the huge difference in how a younger ear years sounds more clearly and loudly as well.

I'll use the example I just came up with because I rather like it. On the show Top Gear, they review cars, and they reserve the real test for their racing driver. same idea here.

You are missing some of the most basic points.  Even old guys can tell you if a singer sounds like a human voice, if a trumpet sounds like one, etc.  If a given component screws up the midrange, who cares if if can reproduce frequencies only dogs can hear?

[Zero]

Hey John,

Seriously though, I've seen it suggested that people who post positive impressions or evaluation of gear on forums should be more candid about revealing what their room is actually like

The funny (and somewhat sad) thing is that user reviews hold just as much, if not even more weight in the market than a full bore review published in </-insert webzene’s name here </.   I was going to expand on this a bit further, but TONEPUB’s last post summed everything up quite well.  Having said that – I agree that a bit of transparency (such as a picture) goes a long way towards validating someone’s assessment – regardless of who they are or where their review happens to be published.

It surprises me that you wouldn't care what the room was (wrt the example reviewer you mentioned) - I'd be curious to know why you think it would make no difference.

Heh. I certainly never said (or meant to imply) that a reviewers room would have zero influence over what they hear. That would make no sense!  However, I do believe that finding a reviewer whose opinion happens to continually parallel your own is more important than finding a reviewer who owns a bad ass room and a laundry list of bad ass gear.  Colour me as the kinda guy who is curious about the means, but is more concerned about the results.

[jimdgoulding]

 

[jimdgoulding]

Zero, given that's what we listen with, what good would a younger person's hearing ability do us?  There is no such thing as hi-fi nirvana.  I think you must mean music nirvana.

[Mitsuman]

I remember when I had young ears. Looking back, I didn't know squat about what sounded good...........but I sure thought I did.