The massage shapes the message.
Jeff - I didn't name anyone in my comments and I didn't give you a thought. Your response was quite intense given those facts. Did I make you uncomfortable in some way?
No, not really, but some days the flak is heavier than others...
In my (know it all) opinion, you cannot consider amateur opinions in the same way you consider the opinions of those who are being paid. And why the hell do I need the benefit of someone whose listening skills are better than mine. Are they going to come over and listen for me every day?
Again, I don't think you really NEED them, but again, hopefully we can help.
Think about this: If the whole damn audio industry shut down while I'm typing this, how bad would that be? Could you live happily ever after with the system you have now? Would that cause unbearable suffering? Would other aspects of your life suffer? Would you just redirect your obsession? Would you seek the help you need?
I'd just make TONEAudio an all music magazine. We're only 40% hifi gear now, so it wouldn't be tough to make the switch. I could live very happily with the system I have now, it's quite spectacular. I'd probably sell system 2 and 3 because if I wasn't doing it for a living I wouldn't need those other pieces of gear as reference components any more. Audio and music has always been a huge part of my life, so nothing would really change. I'd keep buying as much music as I do now, but could stop buying gear tomorrow. I could buy a nice used Porsche though with the dough from the other systems I wouldn't need or maybe go on a vacation, that would be fun!
Every time I read a thread here or on Audiogon, there are warnings, admonishments, and advice stating that you should not trust hearing the gear in a showroom or at a show -- you must hear it in your own system and your own room. If that is true, how the hell does reading about how it sounds in a stranger's room on his ever-changing system benefit a shopper or move the process along. There are way too many unexamined assumptions being ridden to the bank in this silly game.
I understand that perspective. However, where I think we can shed some insight is to features and functionality of a piece and if in some cases how well it works with other products. Much like what was mentioned earlier on this thread, when we get a set of speakers in for review, it gets tried with at least the eight different amplifiers I own as reference components and often we'll have a second or even sometimes a third opinion on how something sounds. Often this depends on how big and heavy the piece is. Always great to get a component in a different system with someone having different musical taste, because again that helps the reader. We do the same thing with amplifiers, we'll try them with everything from Magenepans and MartinLogans (which are both notoriously hard to drive), the other reference speakers here and a combination of whatever else is in for review. If we find out that speaker X doesn't really match up well with tubes, we let you know. If we find out that amplifier Y, even though it's rated 400 watts per channel, just won't push a pair of Magnepans, we let you know that too.
I'd say that speakers are much more critical to hear in your room than anything else. And unfortunately, you can't take a cartridge home and that's become a very important and expensive part of your system.
One of the things that we do that is fundamentally different from Stereophile and TAS (at least in my opinion) is that I feel those guys are still standing on their soapbox trying to tell you who makes the best power ranger. I really don't care about that. I have an excellent reference system and I own all my gear, so I'm not dependent on sending the stuff back every three months. Which again makes it hard to evaluate anything if your system changes all the time... I've also demanded that all of my reviewers own at least the core of their system and they do.
Next time you bump into your favorite reviewer at a show, ask them how much of their system they OWN. Love him or hate him, I know Mikey Fremer owns his stuff and there are a couple of others but not many. But I really feel it's critical so that you can make somewhat of an objective call on a piece of gear.
My goal will always be to help my readers find the gear they want. Hopefully we can at least help you narrow down the short list of what you are shopping for. And if we can't, hopefully we turned you on to a good record to buy, or worst case, the cartoon made you laugh. I can't do any more than that, but we always keep trying....
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