What's the point of reviewing?

Reviews in audio magazines including Audio, Stereophile,  Stereo Review, etc., helped me a lot when I started to put together my system many years ago Also hours of listening with an audiophile friend of mine in his system gave me clues what I need to buy, what fits my budget, and options for future upgrades. I am very thankful to my audiophile friend for guiding me, and high-end stores in Colorado (Listen Up, Soundings, SoundTrack, etc) letting me take components home for audition.

Reading helped me to navigate in the Hi-Fi World where there are many different ways to reach your goals. Without reading reviews, you don't know what is out there regardless of whether you can afford or not. Reviews also sharpened my critical listening capabilities which is the ultimate test where you can decide whether a particular component meets your expectations or not. Finally, a thank you note to fellow hobbyists that I got to know in forums such as this one. They have all contributed helping me to get where I am today. 

Great post! thanks...

It is precisely why statistical of acoustic factors  over great number of anonymus reviewers and not only chosen well known reviewers  is important...

8th-note, the one thing you’re more likely to get from Audiogon and other sites forum members is honesty about the shortcomings of various products. Site members will often point out shortcomings of a product that many professional reviewers are loathe to bluntly address. You certainly less likely to get the expertise of professional reviewers, but you will be much more likely to be exposed to the other side of the coin on any components performance. That info is helpful to know prior to going to the audio store to listen to product demos.

Mike

@recklesskelly

Got any pix of the hot 8th Grade Teacher? I tend to agree with your view point in that seems like the biggest advertisers in the audiophile magazines never seem to rate negative reviews. I also just love reviews that say something like "After my component exploded when I first plugged it in, the CEO took his private jet to my apartment and personally installed the replacement". Of course we can all expect a similar level of service

@mahler123 I will look and see when I get home rom this trip. 👍✌️

@skyscraper

I completely agree. Even though I take user's comments with a very large grain of salt, they are valuable because they represent a base of actual experience in different systems. I enjoy reading and commenting about this hobby which is why I put up with the disturbing amount of trash talk and drivel on this and other forums to ferret out the good stuff. Sometimes owners will actually post a cogent comment about their own experience with a piece of gear that can be very helpful. For example, the comments from a few users who own the Jay’s Audio CDT3 plus the review in Stereophile & a couple of YouTube reviews made me a buyer (it’s arriving today!). It was reassuring to hear firsthand experience that confirms the quality of this unit. But this is a perfect example of buying a piece of gear that I can’t demo.

recklesskelly & mahler123 - If you read the audio magazines carefully you will see that indeed, a few major advertisers get bad reviews. PS Audio and B&W are two notable examples.