The "how many reviews it got" rule

I’m not sure it works like that for the most part. Big distribution budgets and magazine advertising play a role in visibility. Ever notice how almost every review is a good one?

My take on this is that most equipment is pretty good these days BUT it's the synergy that is more important. Also as my dealer always tells me the room plays more into the sound than one thinks or wants to admit.

I'm not sure the "review business" is the same as it was in the 1980's.  Back then I worked in the high-end audio business and met some reviewers who told me that the way this game works is, the reviewer is shipped an item and if they were favorable in their reviews, were asked not to ship the item back, but to "purchase" it for a tiny fraction of the retail value.  One of the reviewers I met back then said he made a "pretty penny" flipping equipment he'd reviewed.

In many of todays reviews the reviewer talks about keeping (purchasing) the equipment so it's probably exactly the same.

No one with a lick of sense publishes a bad review. Or gets themselves into a situation where a bad review might result, due to the product not being up to snuff.

Good review sites and such look into the gear quite carefully before the review is even committed to.

If one is trying to start or has a review site, magazine or whatnot, bad reviews are the kiss of death. Think it through. Use logic and your head.

That is the simple and logical reason that there are no bad reviews out there. No conspiracies, just simple open logic that reviewers and rags openly admit to in print. They’re not hiding anything.

Additionally, some, like Stereophile, consistently go out of their way to say that if a thing is not reviewed, it means nothing. Not good not bad, just not reviewed. Nor does a review say the gear is right for you. They report, you decide. This is emotions and people and their individual wiring tied to such... and has squat to do with linear thinking math/facts. The products and devices may be built with such... but this is all on and about the indeterminate 'constant state of change' squishy fleshy bits we call people.

As for long term loaners, those are good for keeping the products in play and being talked about. Eg, a reviewer lists their equipment used in reviews, and it might include our products. that’s a good thing for us.

Reviewers get the opportunity to buy at dealer costs, in most cases. Same price a dealer might pay to have the product in a store. Nothing weird about that.

The odd long term reviewer might make mention of a closet full of cables or whatnot. (Micheal Fremer did that once, or it might have been Art Dudley, can’t quite remember...) Those are the long term loaners that the manufacturer does not care to get back, not worth the trouble, economically. Deceased models, used, etc. a $500 cable 10 years ago is worth pretty well squat today, especially to the maker of the cable, and the reviewer can’t sell it, so it is stuck in ’closet limbo’.

Many audio companies do not want to get involved with (have products reviewed at) outfits/websites/ individuals/etc that demand or pressure for free stuff and then sell it off, or have reviewers who do such things. It looks bad for all... when, in reality, it is just a few...

There is no secret information reveled in this post, it is openly known stuff ...and I mention it again, in order to snuff out wild and woolly speculation that will try it’s best to glad hand itself into being factual. It may not snuff it out, but it can at least be present to counter speculation that tries to ping pong itself into being facts.