Audio reviews: too many analogies, never simple, but most of all, never clear.

This is so sad, none of you know what a good audio review should be.

I good review should be like fresh hummus on an everything bagel, like the sand you discover in your shoes after vacation.  Like the ex-girlfriend who shows up and gives you pets you didn't ask for.
Now you know how to tell the difference.

Where to start! I was part owner of 3 stereo salons from 1970 to 2008.
This teajay guy is absolutely correct. Much stuff back at the start was really god awful. All of it was hyped in periodical reviews but the bar then was not too high.
Now , we have a different world. One that states that is perfectly ok to have to spend 20k for speakers, 35K for electronics, 10 K for cabling, 6k for conditioning, 5k for a stylus and if this is all you have to do with your money, more power to ya.
Truth of the matter is what you spend 5k on today, rivals what cost 40k of yesteryear as far as clarity, timbre, emotion and all the rest as it pertains to reproduction.

As far as audio equipment reviews, that’s like someone telling you what wine tastes best. Do you really think it pertinent for someone to tell you what should taste good to you?

Stereo stuff is absolutely no different. Taste, taste, taste of the reviewer is the most important aspect of the review and NOT the equipment.

There are people who like Chef Boyrdee better than home made spaghetti and sauce. Imagine if such a person wrote food reviews.
Imagine the same thing about audio reviews. Without knowing the whys of the reviewer's likes and preferences , most reviews become dead worthless.

yep, sometimes I get to the end of a review and wonder if he/she liked it or not.
Australian Hi-Fi magazine continues to be a good informative read. A nice balance of technical, listening and lab measurements.
Descriptions of their listening rooms and other equipment used to evaluate are always included along with the type or style of music listened to.At the end of the review they always have a few dot points of what they thought was great and also a few not so greats.
My only bugbear is that they don't focus enough on sub $2000 gear and in that, they are not alone.
That Jules Coleman review of the Sonus Faber speakers is just ridiculous! Thanks for alerting me to someone to avoid.

For myself, I am not really interested in reading about equipment that is 2K or less.  

that's fine. Plenty are.
It is a bit low in hindsight, I was going to put sub $5000 but who am I to judge?
I would wager that there are more interested in that price point than say $20,000 and up.
To each his own.