2. amps-preamps
  3. 182511-106

The Impossible Has Happened

If you've been visiting this forum for very long you know that many people consider professional audio reviews, the ones in the print (Stereophile, TAS, etc.) and online magazines, at best to be paid promotion and more likely outright lies in an attempt to scam you out of your money.

Here is a quote from a recent thread that was about reviews, not about their honesty or value, but got a number of posts about those attributes anyway.

Just once I would like to read a review of a pricey piece of equipment that said that the reviewer couldn’t hear any difference between that and something far less expensive . . .

Well believe it or not that has just happened in TAS, considered by many to be the worst abuser of the truth. The situation is not exactly as in the quote above, the less expensive gear is being reviewed in this example, but it is the same in essence, IMHO.

Alan Taffel wrote a review of the T+A Series 200 components.  In it he says 

"I happen to own a wonderful-sounding modular integrated amp: the CH Precision I1.  Comparing it to the Series 200 was natural but a bit unfair.  The CH unit costs more than double the price of the Series 200 stack.  Nonetheless, I was glad I embarked on this comparison, because otherwise I never would have known that the two systems sounded almost identical."

 

The CH I1 starts at $38,000.  Fully loaded it costs over $50,000..

The Series 200 stack, consisting of a transport/streamer, a DAC and an integrated amp in 3 separate boxes, costs $18,475.

So I'm not saying you should believe everything you read in professional reviews or even any of it, but here is an example where a reviewer stated that a system costing less than half a more expensive system sounded "almost identical" to the more expensive system. 

And CH Precision has a full page ad in that issue of TAS, February 2023, while T+A has none.  Just thought you might like to know.

128x128tomcy6

Showing 2 responses by tomcy6

tomcy6's avatar
tomcy6 OP
2,540 posts
 

I agree with @8th-note - There is so much good gear around today, why would anyone spend months listening to some piece of junk so that they can write a bad review about it? Wouldn’t a reviewer’s time be better spent finding and telling readers about some of the better gear available? I don’t think gear gets reviewed unless someone at the magazine has heard it and recommends it for a review.

The audio magazines are not an evil conspiracy, and we are not their target audience. They are trying to reach people who buy new gear. That means that there will be a dealer and an audition involved. The magazines regularly remind readers not to buy gear without hearing it first, preferably in your own system.

They are not as pure as the driven snow either. They are a commercial enterprise and they do not stay in business if they completely ignore commercial considerations.  People our age should understand that about anyone offering almost free advice.

 

tomcy6's avatar
tomcy6 OP
2,540 posts
 

More FYI

In the March 2023 Stereophile the Zesto Bia 200 Select tube amp is reviewed. It gets a very nice review but in the Measurements conclusion John Atkinson says:

"I was disappointed by the Zesto Bia 200 Select’s measured performance."

He then goes on to enumerate the measurements that caused his disappointment and ends with:

"...the very high source impedances at all three output transformer taps means this amplifier will sound different with every loudspeaker it is used with."

The manufacturer says that the bad measurements are the result of well used power tubes and will not affect the sound quality of the amp, a statement which Ken Micallef’s positive review supports.

So again, take the review and measurements for whatever you think they’re worth, but here’s another instance where negative things were said about a product under review when the manufacturer had advertised in that same issue of the magazine. Zesto had a half page ad for the Bia 200 Select amp in this issue of Stereophile..

More to discover