Absolute Sound's "Reviews"

my disappointment regarding Stereophile is with their relative paucity of objective descriptions of some key parts of stereophonic sound reproduction of speakers, namely imaging specificity/depth, reproduction of inner detail, width of "sweet spot," perceived frequency balance, quality/definition of bass reproduction, et al- replacing such with meaningless [to outsiders] descriptions of how the reviewed product makes their own favorite recordings sound to them. 

@liamowen 

  I really don’t like Fremer’s persona as a reviewer, but I have to say that I can’t assess his talent evaluating products because most of what he reviews is so pricey 

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 . . .

They’re not reviews.  They’re marketing material.

designsfx

348 posts

01-27-2023 at 02:02pm 

I subscribed for years- it was nice to have around for exposure to really nice gear. The more I learned from reading about the experience of actual users (various forums) the more I began to see through the mags reviews and commentary.

One day while reading the latest issue I came across an article called “You complete Me”. It was a review of an electrical outlet with magical audio properties. The verbiage used to describe the audible improvements was unbelievable and made me realize that if these writers think that I’m that stupid I shouldn’t be supporting them. I haven’t purchased (or read) an issue since.

Yes. There's plenty of that kind of nonsense here for free.