Stereophile Class A tables

Stereophile has a preamble to their ratings list which states that they only review and rate items which are generally available to the public, usually meaning that they have a dealership presence, not just factory direct or mail order. they have made some exceptions, but usually state so up front. Their policy is that they dont want to rate something that is vaporware, or unlikely to be found by their readership for evaluation purposes. that leaves out a lot of cottage manufacturers. Also, they only rate what a manufacturer supplies them with. they do not go out an buy these items themselves. So if a manufacturer does want to supply a unit, it doesnt get reviewed. At least they restrict their ratings to that which one of their reviewers has actually listened to, not just what some internet guru has proclaimed the best. I imagine putting together the ratings is quite a monumental task, but as they also point out, its just a starting point. Listening is always necessary to make an informed decision. And as you get into the Class A components, they are all worthy an get the basics right. The differences at that level are minor, whereas the difference between a class D, which is also deemed worthy, to a Class B is more substantial.
The only Class A items I own are my vinyl front end, and thats only because they were once Class A. I think my Sota Cosmos IV is still Class A, but not my Oracle Delphi V.
The big advantage of Stereophile and Absolute Sound is that they are actually able to listen to equipment that most of us dont have the opportunity to listen, much less compare. It just gives one a starting point, to pare down a list to something manageable or to keep up with current thoughts on building components. The only parts I really read are vinyl related, as well as MF and AD's columns. I have little interest in digital.

"NEVER" is pretty definitive. I trusted Valin on the Magico Mini 2 and Airtight Supreme cartridge, at least enough to go listen to them before I bought them. His reviews were well written and described pretty much what I hear from those two components. OTOH, I disagree with him about the Pass Class A amps. Reviews are just one opinion and can often be helpful in identifying components for a potential audition. Those class A lists, though, are something else.

I'll repeat I'll NEVER trust Valin. Why would anyone trust someone that's been dishonest.

Rsf, I was wondering why you made the statement "never trust Valin". Now you say he's been "dishonest". I personally think he has too much influence on the ratings, only because he is probably their best pure writer. Flowery adjectives pepper every review he writes, and the phrase "tone colors" drives me nuts. But, when and where was he ever "dishonest"?

What is wrong with the credibilty of a person contributing HERE regarding the sound of a given component as long as we know A.that person has been in the hobby for 5 years or more (although 15-20 would be even better) and B. they have owned and listened to the piece in question for 6 months or more, in a creditble system in a room with at least "average" acoustics. by that i mean NOT a 10 x 10 bedroom or den, or a 30x40 foot meeting hall. I would submit that such a person has invested the time and money to get to a place where they are really enjoying what they're hearing, and they are NOT part of a commercial for Wilson or any other company with an abundance of advertisements in a given publication. IF we can agree on these standards, then i challenge anyone to question that person's sincerity.
Professional reviewers certainly do have some insights on technical features of components and get to interview manufacturers, take factory tours, go to CES, etc., so that is definitely valuable. and 95% of them write really REALLY well so i have no qualms about that. but they jump around from one product to another and you can't really see, other than price, just WHY they are so enthusiastic about certain components, and why they almost always conclude that you "get what you pay for". Take the Wilson XLF speakers for example. no question they are excellent speakers, but for $10,000 you can also buy "excellent" speakers (like the Aerial Acoustics 7T for example). Go ahead, crank the Aerials up, they can fill up your room without the slightest hint of strain. so can a myriad of other speaker systems costing as little as $5,000.
Do you really need a $200K speaker, or would you be better off going to concerts, or finding a friend who could expose you to different genre's or new composers (there are SO MANY to discover).
When are WE going to get together and enlighten one another rather than argue over which reviewer has their "stuff" together? when that day comes, we will have a reliable database of meaningful insights of which components are truly wonderful sounding and which manufacturers are doing their best work and providing the best service.