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When a Reviewer "likes" something

... what does that mean in your opinion. I read in one of the last Stereophile mags a comment from Mr. Atkinson where he wrote about the differences in "opinions" in forums or in printed mags. After all he ended with the argument, a component is good when a reviewer likes it.
Isn't is more helpful, when a reviewer knows something about a real tone reproduction? Or is it ok, when he used every month another CD or LP he got for free, a kind of music nearly no one wants to listen to?
Harry Pearson used in the 90's always the same records for his reviews but that was an exception I think.
What is it worth for you when - for example - Mr. Dudley/Fremer/Valin/HP .... "likes" something? Do you have the same "taste" they have?
I know it is possible to like a Turntable even when that unit can't hold the proper speed, or is extremely sensitive to any influences, there are endless recommendations written about such units...what is it worth for you?
Atkinson for example measures units, some have top datas but they can sound very boring, far away from the real thing, some have no top datas, some "tests" are shortened because a unit can reach a area which can be pretty dangerous (see one of the latest Agostino units, just as an example) but they are rated Class A in recommendations anyway....
When someone "knows" what is right or not, then his "liking" is only a personal opinion which is more or less uninteresting or?
Most customers (not all of course) would prefer to know what a unit is really able to do sonically, or not? Would knowledge destroy the joy of Hardware rolling? Or is there a reason why reviewers use low efficiency speakers when they have a tube amp for review (for example Lamm ML2.1/ML2.2 with Magico Speakers)? Is the matching "expensive + expensive" the proper way to show competence?
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zenblaster
504 posts
 
so it surprises you that 99% of what they review is exceptional in some way? and the other 1% would have been a game changer if for 1 minor deficiency? A reviewers business model is to maximize profits through some combination of advertising and subscription algorithm. Reviews are content much like Jersey Shore is to MTV. The more contriversial the more value. Always subjective, a review can never be refuted because it doesn't rely on facts, just someones opinion.
In the spirit of spring, it's like going to www.yankees.com and reading how great things are going to be this year so come on out and buy tickets to "our game".
After reading this you are no closer to the truth of how the Yankees are going to perform. They will still tell you the Yankees are great this year, but no facts support these claims.
jjrenman
279 posts
 
What a reviewer likes means nothing unless, over the years, you find that you have the same tastes as they do. For me the only reviews that are helpfull, (when refering to sound quality), have references to other equipment that I myself am familiar with. Even then they are only somewhat helpfull as I have noticed in the decades of reading reviews that reviewers, just like ourselves, have some areas of the music reproduction that are critcally important while other areas not so much. A good example for me is tube electronics. I will be the first to admit that they have many shortcomings but what they do exceptional well is more important to me than what they don't. There are others who say the same for solid state.
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
03-27-13: Lewm
Yet, I want them all to survive, because I favor print over internet. Internet reviews are far less reliable, far more ridiculous, IMO. Anyone can publish anything on the internet. I see truly idiotic misconceptions promulgated electronically much more often than in print.

I couldn't disagree with you more. I don't find internet reviews any less reliable than print reviews, and the internet presents fourms such as this. Personally, I have found much more help in forums such as these than any review written in print. Most here are just hobbyists, with no agenda, no profit margin to attain. The reviews in glossy rags are almost comical, the way they wax poetically over gear that I've heard sound like garbage. They are simply advertisements, nothing more. JA has zero credibility in my eyes, after listening to some of the brands he's been shilling over the years. Yech.
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audiolui
295 posts
 
Magazine reviews to me is a starting point. It is extremely rare that a reviewer has most of my gears in his system to review a component. Let alone personal taste. However, magazine reviews help narrow down the components I am interested in. Regardless how good the reviewers say about a component, I still try to audition it (preferrably at home) before purchase. Or buy used and sell it if I don't like it.
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