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Equipment reviews, are they credible?

Maybe I'm just thinking outloud but; do all these new equipment reviews have any value? If someone you do not know reviews a piece of gear for which he has spent a significant amount of money can his opinion be trusted. I'm not suggesting the person is lying but I think people have to justify (at least in their own minds) the money they spent.
Then there is the issue not knowing the person doing the review. We don't know their personal preferences or their perspectives. As I read these forums I see there are some names that continue to pop up that give good advice, there are some whose advice is not as good, and some people who are idiots.
How do you know which of the above categories the reviewer of the piece of equipment comes from?
With money having been invested and credibility in question, who can we trust?
128x128nrchy
zaikesman
3,017 posts
 
Yeah, I think we're on the same page about this stuff, Turnaround. What you pointed out concerning a ratings system's being potentially biased towards favorable reviews of gear anyone rating the review personally happens to like, is why I proposed a two-pronged ratings approach as detailed above. One rating for the quality of the article, one for agreement or disagreement with the take of the reviewer. My idea is that this would tend to keep the raters more objective about article quality. I think your idea of some 'leading questions', as we say in sales, to guide the review writers is also not a bad idea.

P.S. - Nrchy, I'll raise a hand for Bishopwill based on my exchanges with him. You listening, BW? Get in here and defend yourself! :-)
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jbweaver
33 posts
 
I was away for a while so missed the start of this aspect of the forum topics. I have read many with interest and found some of them useful. So, I think this is a worthwhile addition to the site. However, I would like to echo comments above regarding problems with their integration into Audiogon. Perhaps a separate section for the review postings--or at least for the archived reviews--would be better than including them with the other forum discussions. My 2 cents.
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stehno
1,453 posts
 
Some reviews beat a stick in the eye. Others do not.
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