“Faithful to the recording”

reviewers need to sell you their point of view, just like all others in the market for information...  some are better than others... 

Giant Killer.

Snake Oil.

Those 2 are complete turn-offs usually used by people who have no idea what they’re talking about.

I don't necessarily hate them, but a lot of the descriptive terms  become subjective when used to describe sonic qualities.  So they may not mean the same to me as they do to the writer. 

I despise when reviewers use those words in describing a piece of equipment unless they were, quite literally, at the recording. Once those words are used, I pretty much stop reading since IMO the reviewer is full of BS.

If they compared the input (recording) to the output from a speaker or amp, like with a graph, then it can make sense.

Otherwise it is hyperbole when used subjectively..

If the step function, or impulse response, of the speaker is not textbook, then it is hard to claim it is faithful.

I agree, but I'd still rather hear 'faithful to the recording' than 'faithful to the performance', which I've always found to be an absurd concept.