When I was a kid in High School, the cool kids were mostly concerned about being seen and who they were seen with. The rest of us obsessed about our cars and car radios dreaming about what we would buy if we had money. Now move forward 20-30 years. What has changed? The cool kids have made their millions and are still focused on being seen and who they are seen with. The rest of us try to fulfill our dreams of having killer stereos and cars. Same as it ever was...
The Impossible Has Happened
If you've been visiting this forum for very long you know that many people consider professional audio reviews, the ones in the print (Stereophile, TAS, etc.) and online magazines, at best to be paid promotion and more likely outright lies in an attempt to scam you out of your money.
Here is a quote from a recent thread that was about reviews, not about their honesty or value, but got a number of posts about those attributes anyway.
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 . . .
Well believe it or not that has just happened in TAS, considered by many to be the worst abuser of the truth. The situation is not exactly as in the quote above, the less expensive gear is being reviewed in this example, but it is the same in essence, IMHO.
Alan Taffel wrote a review of the T+A Series 200 components. In it he says
"I happen to own a wonderful-sounding modular integrated amp: the CH Precision I1. Comparing it to the Series 200 was natural but a bit unfair. The CH unit costs more than double the price of the Series 200 stack. Nonetheless, I was glad I embarked on this comparison, because otherwise I never would have known that the two systems sounded almost identical."
The CH I1 starts at $38,000. Fully loaded it costs over $50,000..
The Series 200 stack, consisting of a transport/streamer, a DAC and an integrated amp in 3 separate boxes, costs $18,475.
So I'm not saying you should believe everything you read in professional reviews or even any of it, but here is an example where a reviewer stated that a system costing less than half a more expensive system sounded "almost identical" to the more expensive system.
And CH Precision has a full page ad in that issue of TAS, February 2023, while T+A has none. Just thought you might like to know.
- ...
- 45 posts total
@chocaholic I would agree that your assessment is valid. I might not have thought about it exactly that way before. I know for me personally when I’m looking at any piece of equipment or gear I spend a lot of time in the real world user forums like this one to see what people have to say about things. If there’s a review I simply use it as one tool and not the end-all. Of course that’s just me. |
@chocaholic cheap audio man does give bad reviews.
|
what pisses me off is the insensitivity of these reviews. parttimeaudiophile called an 8K component vs a 12K component affordable the other day. Car reviews are way more mindful of this cost, they don't ever call a 100K car (the equivalent of an 8K component) affordable. They call it luxury. That's what it is. People who can afford a component in the 10K range are really wealthy, in the 5% or are single or have extraordinary wives. |
- 45 posts total