When a Reviewer "likes" something

As an insider I can tell you it more often means nothing at all when a product is raved. But sometimes some reviewers are right on target. The problem is that you have absolutely no way of knowing which of the above is true for any given review. Listening for yourself is the only way!

Well, Wolf, he has at least ruined this thread.
Kiddman, your comment goes back to my last comment that it is nearly impossible to listen to any equipment these days before buying, and comparing is even more unlikely. so, if you have the liquid cash flow to buy and try, and then sell what you dont like, I suppose you dont need anyone elses input. But I would at least like to narrow my choices before I pays my moneys.
So, I do my internet search, and if I find universal praise or condemnation for a product that caught my interest, I can either add or delete that product from my short list. I also find that it takes time to learn about a component, so its not a matter of trying for a week and sending it back. changing out components in my set up is not a 5 minute job, except for maybe the speakers. It would be nice if I could just go to my local stereo emporium, like I used to do, and sit for an afternoon listening to my two or three finalists. but those days are over for anyone who lives outside a major metropolitan area.
So for me, reviews, both professional and on forums, have use.

"You are a wise persons and IMHO there are no true real facts where you can argue that tube technology is better than SS to work with real speakers"

Some say some tubes provide more linear gain at various frequencies than transistors. IF so, that would be one benefit of tubes.

Of course no single aspect of either technology tells the whole story.

I would say that as long as amp and speakers are well matched "electronically", good things can happen.

SS amps will tend to perform best with different speaker designs than tube amps. Tube amps will be more challenged to match SS performance with speakers designed for SS use. SS amps may be less challenged "electronically" to drive speakers that work best with tubes, but sound will be different and not like the one the speaker designer probably intended.

Mapman, that's the whole point. Unless the reviewer points out this critical fact, his article is meaningless. It's like trying to buy top grade mountain bike tires for a $5000 road bike. Yeah, they'll work, but the match is wrong.

Unless the speaker/amp manufacturers and the professional reviewers come clean and explain this issue, the consumer is blind. And btw, I called a local Paradigm dealer to find out if I could borrow a SS amp to try out at home. The answer was no. Further, the dealer didn't even have the S8s on the floor. So why bother.

Folks, you can read reviews all day long. Even if every reviewer says speaker X is the next best innovation since the invention of sliced white bread, it's a waste of time if the speaker was voiced to be driven by a SS amp and you hook it up to the finest $50,000 tube amp. The match is just wrong. It's just about as dumb as trying to put a high compliance cartridge on a tone arm that should only be fitted with a low compliance cartridge.

I repeat what I said above. As I have learned, before buying an new amp to go with your darling speakers, or new speakers to go with your darling amp, make sure you have solid data that tells you the two are good electrical matches.

Dear Syntax: +++++ " But did you never ask yourself, why Reviewers ignore those basics? Or why they are able to write enthusiastically about a tube amp they "reviewed" with a multi-chassis, low efficient speaker design which needs the first 30W for wake up? And the amp has only 10 ... :-) " ++++

certainly they don't ignore " those basics ", what they do is just ignore/undisclosed those audio customers highly valuable information in favor of $$$$$. Tha's why I said almost all of them are part of the AHEE corruption.

The speaker/amp subject is only one example there are others with the same kind of audiophile value and they never touched.

When some one like me touch those " hide " audio subjects many of you just blame me because thinks I'm " crazy ", I'm " ignorant " , I'm " selling " something or I want " ruin " your life. Certainly is not in that way, IMHO is in these kind of forums where we can talk about where we can talk of audio " tabu " subjects.

Dear Manitunc: where if no here?.

In the past I have discussions in this forum and other forums and private with M.Fremer, J.Atkinson, J.Valin and some one else and on all those discussion experiences my conclusion was that those discussions were: USELESS, all of them are living in they very small audio world thinking that only them has the " true " and that we customers are only " lambs " with no brain/common sense and ignorant of everything but what they promote.

In all cases I questio them very specific issues about their reviewes that IMHO were totally wrong gave us false information. In all cases all those reviewers: runaway the discussion, all of them were with no honest capacity to take the " bull by its horns " for the first time in their lives, shame of them an a pity that all those heavy audio know-how are hidden by those reviewers and refuse on porpose to share with us " ignorant lambs ".

Well, as Byfwynne we have to learn by our self.

Please don't blame me about tube/SS or when I talk on digital/analog or LOMC/MM or other audio subjects. I'm only sharing with all of you my findings even if I'm wrong. I repeat: if not here where can we learn what we need to learn?

I'm not against any one of you: I'M WITH YOU, ALWAYS.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.