Fremer lays an Ostrich egg...

"i am a twisted psychopath who goes around short-circuiting SET amplifiers for kicks."

Now this was funny!

Do keep in mind not everyone that read hifi magazines are experienced hobbyists like most of you are. When one buys a wrong amp based on a review, it is not entertainment. Believe it or not, some of us don't know better so we turn to hifi magazines for advice, after all it's not too out of the line to assume that that's what they are for. People tend to forget how overwhelming it can be for an inexperienced person to start build a system. For god's sake, majority in our population do not have an idea what a phono stage means.

It's just not as simple as "entertainment". People do pay for the magazines and they are entitled to a little "help" or "review" they seek to make an informed decision.

Sorry, Syntax but you are wrong, WRONG, W-R-O-N-G!!! All reviews are subjective, opinion pieces. Be it hardware, software, print, film, video, music, painting, theater, sculpture, whatever. By definition. The only facts that you find in the reviews are the prices, dimensions, running time, cast, color, dates, etc. Then there are the measurements that for example JA prints in the sidebars. Those are objective within the limits of the equipment and techniques he uses but there are other ways to make some of those measurements. When you get to the discussions of the sonic character of a piece of hi-fi gear or the writing of a novel or the performance of an actor or musician it is ALL OPINION. Unless of course the reviewer (and you, apparently) has/have a direct line to the TRUTH.

So I say buck up, OP. If you like it that's all that matters. And I say good on MF for piping up!!! That's what makes this forum so interesting. You get manufacturers, designers, dealers, reviewers and users all able to interact on an equal basis. And to Kzhtoo- I understand your dilemma; it used to be easier when bricks and mortar stores were more prevalent. Not sure what the answer to your problem is; unfortunately as a society we are addicted to the lowest price, no matter what the other costs are.

I am SOOO pleased that His Master's Voice has chipped in with his Very Talented View of my comments (and others). Let me say from the outset that anyone who helps people optimize the workings of a modern high-tech record player with that teensie needle supposedly transferring music from the vinyl micro-bumps to a pair of speakers deserves a great deal of credit. records sound good and they are an important catagory in high-end audio, and are likely to remain so for quite some time (IMO). I used to be proficient at setting up a Thorens since it came with all the tools i needed anyway. but i would not be
that comfortable handling a $1000+ cartridge and a Triplanar arm, on some table that
looks like the Starship Enterprise, so hats off to Mr. Fremer for his expert guidance.
(and for Elusive Disc for that matter as well.)
OKAY, SO I keep TRYING to explain why i opened up this discussion, NOT to tell everyone what sounds good or bad or "i don't know". but Hell, in 2011 Stereophile reviewed the new M.Levinson 532H stereo amplifier and found it to be wonderful and said it was unequivocally a Class A product. this amp costs 1/5 as much ($8500) as the Reference 53 amplifiers, a piece i have owned now for over 6 months. my previous amps were ML-33H's, a well respected amp for many years now, and i felt the 53's represented a significant improvement. prior to the 33H's i had a pair of ROWLAND monoblocks, and the 33H's were so much more dynamic and alive in their presentation it was a real eye-opener. but i never lost my love for the Rowlands just the same, although they are admittedly quite different sounding.
I won't bore anyone further with the many other amps i have had in my system for years and learned how noise/distortion becomes less and less of a problem with better designs and better parts. With the 53's they have a very vivid, dynamic, and open presentation, very clean, and IMHO no discernable artifacts, grain, or other distractions.
I do find that better recordings become enticingly close to reality, and as i have found some outstanding performances as well the whole system perks up nicely and gets out of the way that much more. But even if you don't happen to like them or the guts inside that
has "inherent limitations", that doesn't make them that much better or worse than doezens of other excellent-sounding solid state amplifiers that are ALSO trying to walk the line between sounding mechanical on one extreme vs tubey on the other. If Sterophile found the 33H's were hard to review because they "didn't have a sound of their own", the LEAST you could say, and SHOULD SAY, is that the 53's were an attempt by Levinson to keep to that theme while lowering the noise floor even more, and getting rid of the anvil-like weight of the 33's and delivering even MORE power to speakers requiring it. If you feel they are too dry for your tastes, that's fine.
but the gist of the review would completely discourage anyone from wanting to go hear them, and seocondly leave the readers wondering if the entire design is faulty in some way.
Harmon states emphatically that they conducted numerous exhaustive listening tests until they felt that they had acheived the best product they could make. this amplifier wasn't just designed on a piece of paper, and then built according to some theoretical goal. I can clearly hear that they made a better amplifier. So If the #532H sounds so good, why didn't they just stop there? i am sorry, but when 1 + 3 = -2 then i have to weigh in and offer an alternative view.
I have subscribed to Stereophile for a long time now, and i find it very entertaining and it does introduce me to what's out there. i am a computer-audio dunce (still) and would like to put hi-rez files into my system somehow, but i feel it should be just as easy as playing a record or a cd. but Stereophle can make some really dumb remarks, come up with some less-than-believable contents, and i don't even look at Recommended Components anymore, which makes two issues a year mostly a waste of time and paper.
And i wish they would hand over reviews of the "best of the best" components to someone else for a change, and also someone who has a REALLY GREAT ROOM to review them in. and Mr. Fremer, if you are reading this, unless a component represents a threat to the health and safety of the owner, END EVERY REVIEW with "go audition this product for yourself to see if its performance appeals to you." The dismissive remarks you made about the ML- 53's make me wonder if you were suffering from a severe head cold (ah chooo!).

Understanding And Enjoying Audio Reviews

We'll be the first to admit that reading audio reviews can be a daunting task. Do you find yourself wondering, "What are they talking about?" or "I never heard THAT --- am I missing something?"

I'll explain them to you in plain English, and in no time at all, YOU'LL be an expert as well.

When they say...
(They mean ...)

In spite of the measurement anomalies, this speaker is clearly a state-of-the-art product.
( It didn't SOUND broken when we gave it our top rating )

It was definitely borderline Class A.
( It isn't that good, but it's sooo expensive, and they're letting me keep it --- G-d I feel So cheap! )

Better than amps costing three times as much.
( I have no idea what I'm talking about, but I like the amp )

Light years ahead of the competition
( The competition won't give us a review sample )

Despite it's slight problems at the extremes, the products strong point was it's rendition of the all-important midrange.
( This thing has no bass and treble that actually hurts! )

We hire only the best writers.
( We'll hire any audiophile who recognizes a pencil two out of three tries )

This is an incomplete but promising design from a talented young designer.
( The product sucks but he has some money left in his advertising budget )

This product had me pulling one record after another from my collection.
( I listened to all five of my records )

The images in the soundstage had that elusive and seductive sense of palatable presence
( I haven't had sex since my wife left me and I'm starting to hallucinate )

This product lacks some of the subtle refinements we've come expect from a designer of this caliber.
( The product stinks but we don't want to piss off this famous manufacturer )

Better than amps costing three times as much
( I have no idea what I'm talking about, but I like the amp )

This preamp is the new reference
( We aint giving it back, and we aint paying' for it either )