Reviewing the Reviewers - and the decline of HiFi


I know that Arthur Salvatore has an ongoing tirade with Michael Fremer, and whilst I don't wholly share his views so far as Fremer is concerned, I support the sentiment that reviewers themselves ought to be themselves reviewed.
I say this after having read another 6Moons review that basically says that the item they have reviewed is the best thing since sliced bread. With the exception of HiFi news - and that was about 7 years ago, and HiFi Critic (which is regrettably not distributed very widely as yet)- none of the magazines ever criticize products.
This may well explain why the industry is in such decline. Let's face it in the United States Breitling made more than the whole of the US HiFi industry put together! Think I am mad? Well think on this cars sell, and continue to sell well. New cars are by and large a luxury, because we can recycle old cars, but we convince ourselves on their necessity. Car reviewers are unfettered by the need to give wet reviews. The buying customers are therefore not forced to listen through the BS of a review to get some real and genuine information.
Manufacturers also have to wake up and not be so hypersensitive of any genuine comparative criticism - it leads to product improvement. The reviewing industry should get out of the habit of expecting 5 star reviews when they lend equipment to magazines for 'extended periods'. let's face it - most people see hifi and music as coming out of white ear buds, computers, and mobile phones.
lohanimal
OK then lets start out making a new hi fi movement altogether. Ther was a web site about it not long ago but lets try again affordable audio we will mainstream, we'll call pop music, main wave. We will congratulate those who make good stuff cheap. Maybe not the last top 5% we all chase which can be left alone, which can carry on in the fashion it has.
You know we are not the only people who care about older technology. I collect and use fountain pens and there are plenty of people who shell out $400-500 day in and day out for these pens. A perfectly usable fountain pen can be bought for about $1.50 and is thrown out like any old ball point. I am not suggesting that user of cheap pens gain an appreciation for slightly better ones but it may be as hard as getting people to appreciate mid fi. That stuff used to dominate. Ah the good old days Pioneer, Kenwood, Yamaha, Sansui, and better McIntosh, Accuphase even B and O, before that Fisher, Scott Bogen, Sherwood, Harmon Kardon etc.Oh well Where have they all gone...
I do have hope I noticed that people seem to want better headphones and are willing to pay for it. wWell see..
If you're writing for enthusiasts, then a) you better be enthusiastic, and b) you better create voyeauristic experiences with unattainable objects. Otherwise your audience will choose a different purveyor.

The audio press supports the illusion that there is a vector towards better and better that is moving far faster than actuality, which feeds the underlying consumerism that supports the industry, but after fifty years of variation on a theme it is far more likely that these are mostly just variations in subtle differences. There will be a next AR preamp, heralded with rave reviews of 'better' and calls to consume it, but it is unlikely to be better than all that have preceded it.
Just found this thread. Not followed every post, however I concur with Mofimadness (2nd post) and Electroslacker post. If Hifi is in decline it is not for lack of great gear. Nor are the reviewers at fault. Who wants to spend time with and write about something that one is not interested in? Especially when there is so much worth writing about. My interest in audio is not in decline, I enjoy the mags, and am having more fun in this hobby than ever.

As an afterthought, think about how many TTs, phono stages, cartridges are available even after the rise of digital and how many approaches to digital exist. Is this indicative of a decline?
The editors of the online blogs and the glossy mags need to up their integrity levels. What are we to make of an editor/reviewer who states that the latest DCS stack is the ultimate in digital playback, and a few months later says the latest Berkeley DAC is the new state of the art? The journalistic sources of information have devolved into glorified advertising services for the latest cool gadget.
Psag, I think you are correct in what you say about the magazines. This may seem a daft comment, but does it matter that they are in thrall to the manufacturers? It only matters if you do'nt know this is the case. I suspect every seasoned "Audiophile" does, or should know that.

Who is at risk then? Well I suppose the newcomers. Those who have heard a great system and think they would like some of that. Well where do you start? For me in 1977, I started buying the magazines, in good faith. To be honest, I did'nt go wrong following their advice.

Now I use magazines as a, hopefully, interesting read, making me aware of new products I might want to research or audition