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Cary in bed with Stereophile?????

Lets get some comments on the true impartiality of hi fi mags in general, and the reality of high end audio. I recently auditioned the Cary integrated 300SEI, 12 W/channel. I have a Naim CD5 and Audio Physic Virgos. Certainly there was the tube "bloom", with some of the immediacy and palpability. But the bass tightness and articulation was not there. (My "reference" amp, an old 1970's Pioneer 50W/channel receiver, was clearly better in this respect) I comandeered my wife, who I would describe as a casual listener, to compare the Cary and the Pioneer. After playing two of her favorite songs on both amps, she said "this is a trick , you didnt change anything in the system". When I pressed her, and played another song, she said she could not hear any difference. The Pioneer is worth $50, the Cary $5000. Cary is rated highly by Stereophile, but they have two page ads spread all over the place ......
mythtrip
cornfedboy
1,645 posts
 
mythtrip: if stereophile were in bed with all of its advertisers, it would need a least a half-dozen men on its payroll with the stamina of the late wilt chamberlin. -cfb
khaki8
206 posts
 
Tell it like it is Cornfed!
pcanis
26 posts
 
Reviewers keep their jobs by being excited and turned-on by the things they are asked to review. Could you imagine a music reviewer, for example, who actually told the TRUTH about 80% of the rock and pop music that comes out these days? Needless to say, that reviewer would be out on his tail, with the editor saying, "Why should we hire someone as a music reviewer who doesn't like music?"

Same with hi-fi reviewers. They are paid not to review, but to enthuse and like if at ALL possible. Someone who is too critical, too blase about iterations of products or design ideas that yield too little value for the buck, or someone who only raves about the rare genuine "great" product, I would guess they are often seen as too downbeat, too negative-minded.

I never trust the reviewers, or rather, I take them with a grain of salt. But since when would any of us "trust" someone who has a money-trail, however indirect, leading back to the manufacturer and industry itself?

I must say, this is why a dealer can NEVER be replaced. Because a dealer (a good one) of course tries to give advice and such, but they also just simply let you listen, and that after all is worth more than any amount of dubious ink in industry rags.

pcanis
Post removed 
gcarbone
4 posts
 
Abecollins is right. "System synergy" if you will, is vital to any great sounding system. That being said, and even if reviewers are not going to be overly critical of equipment they are writing about, I highly doubt that anyone at Stereophile (or any other reputable magazine for that matter) would risk their reputation by stating that an amplifier is "the most involving and communicative amplifier I've heard" if it wasn't very competent gear. What it may come down to is a matter of taste. It can't be said enough, that audio equipment is like cooking, you need to find out what you like. You may not like Cajun, but love Italian, hence you may not like the "Cary sound," but do like what you get from your gear. As a final thought, look at the reviews on Audioreview.com--they are split, with little middle ground. At any rate, best of luck finding your favorite "flavor".

Happy listening,

Gcarbone
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