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The "how many reviews it got" rule

This is my rule of thump when I purchase components online
without having heard them first.  If a component received a
lot of reviews, chances are the component is very good.
I mean the component has to be good to attract a lot of
reviewers. Most reviewers probably wouldn’t
bother to review something he doesn’t like in the first place.
andy2
jphelps5
1 posts
 
For audio reviews you have to re-calibrate what constitutes a bad review, it won't be the same as asking the advice of a buddy or someone on a forum. The term "damn with faint praise" comes to mind for poor pieces of gear.  The reviewer will typically point out a few minor positive qualities and say something like "careful gear matching is important." That's about as bad as it will get. 

I try to match up common characteristics across reviews, if 3 out of 4 reviews say that an amp has a wide soundstage then it usually does.  If all of the reviews say something different I become skeptical and take them all with a grain of salt.  
simao's avatar
simao
1,836 posts
 
There are so many good component manufacturers that get little press/reviews. Some out of choice; others out of circumstance.

Take von Schweikert speakers or Daedalus speakers. Beautifully made and beautifully sounding speakers that rarely, if ever, make Stereophile - though do appear in Dagogo and other fringe publications.

Or Decware amps and speakers - which refuse to be reviewed by anyone except customers - and that informally.
fleschler
2,028 posts
 
The best sound I and all the critics in the past several years heard, were the Ultra 11 Von Schweikerts. I’m considering the VR55K at $50K-$60K for a smaller room than the showroom hall. How about the great sounding, efficient Lumenwhites, virtually unknown except at shows. Tannoys a big name but rarely do their big speakers get reviewed. These are companies with great, efficient speakers.
amg56's avatar
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amg56
887 posts
 

Big manufacturers, the mainstream products, and those charging so much that they need the doh to break even, never seem to produce a white paper on the product. These are very few and far between. They represent the leading edge in thinking.

These, if written and released to the common consumer, reveal more about the philosophy and physics of the product. A reader, intelligent or not, can judge and decide whether it makes sense enough to make the deal.

Take an obscure Colorado company, Audiomachina by Dr Karl Schumman. His paper on the XTAC system was enough for me in Australia to put in my order. $XXk speakers, hand crafted from the US to Australia, unheard. It is an understanding of what is described in the paper, the theory behind the product and what the product aims to achieve and the result.

We should look more toward these creators, theorists and inventors, rather than the corner shop mass suppliers.

How many have put faith in Tim Mrock of PerfectPath and his graphene based products? Point taken? How many black and blue fuses are there out there? Cables? Don't go there...

andy2 OP
1,555 posts
 
Tannoys a big name but rarely do their big speakers get reviewed. These are companies with great, efficient speakers.

I think in order for a product to get reviewed, it either has to have one of these:
1. The company has to have some sort of relationship with the magazine either through PR or advertisement.
2. The product has to be a revolution of very outstanding of some types and competitive in pricing vs its peers.

For #1, it’s rather obvious.
For #2, I could name a few components that have had universal acceptance. I don’t know them all but I can certainly name a few. Arcam CD23, Conrad Johnson 17LS, ART preamp, Simaudio Moon W3 amp, Thiel CS2.4, Pass Lab XP10, Living Voice
Those above if you do search on the web, they were reviewed by pretty everybody including their grand parents.

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