Stereophile's 2021 products of the year

@jjss49 i'm relatively new to this hobby, <2 yrs.  where does one find the information you describe about the policies of the different publications?  

@jjss49 Very well said!

I would also add that the new crop of youtube reviewers are following in the same footsteps. Almost all of them start with good intentions and fair and balanced reviews. Before long, they realize that this could be a lucrative business and at that point it’s pretty much downhill from there. For instance, watch some of the older videos from the likes of Zero Fidelity, Thomas and Stereo, NBT Studio, John Darko, Tarun the Brit Audiophile, etc. and compare them to what they’re publishing nowadays. You will see an incremental improvement in production values but the opposite when it comes to providing unbiased opinions.

I think the only place to get information that is not influenced by ulterior motives are forums like this one, barring a few dealers and well-known shills here and there.

"...I am not saying Schiit is the best best all end all of audio but they allows for average people to dip a toe in the water of high end audio..."

The best part of this hobby is finding gear that is really good but also affordable but don't discount the heavy hitters there is another layer above mid-range gear.

I enjoy Stereophile, TAS and HiFi News and Record Review. I do not find Harley, Valin, Fremer, Reichert, Kessler or other prominent reviewers in any way dishonest. I do not believe that the magazines provide great reviews for ad money (although I know of one reviewer who will remain nameless  and is no longer in the business who would provide a great review, unbeknownst to the higher ups at the magazine, in exchange for keeping the item reviewed at no cost to him--which he would later sell). 
 It is obvious that a brand with consistently great reviews will advertise in the magazine as their advertisements will reach their target audience and influence purchasing decisions. 
One has to know the type of sound that each reviewer prefers and judge their reviews accordingly. Furthermore, a reviewer will rarely report that a component sounds terrible, but you can usually learn the character, strengths and weaknesses of each item reviewed even if the weaknesses are not set forth in bright lights. I've come to appreciate Fremer the most as he is not afraid to be more direct than most about the character of the sound of an item and precisely what he liked and disliked about it. 

Kessler has a pathological hatred of anything Linn or Naim. They obviously must have had some sort of contratemps in the past, because he becomes mentally unhinged whenever their names are mentioned.

Mention Marantz and he can‘t stop the sycophantic platitudes. Mention Ken Ishiwata and he loses the plot.