The original post asks about what it means when a reviewer likes something and I much earlier in the thread wrote a sad but true comment about it meaning little.
It was later pointed out that it is hard to find dealers who have the equipment to demo. This is true. Times have change and it is sad for the consumer that such a large percentage of demoing dealers have gone away.
Still, your own ears are the things that matter. Although audio shows are much maligned I find that I generally get a pretty good read about equipment at shows, especially speakers.
I know this mostly does not directly answer the original post but I think it addresses the reason why the OP asked the question.
Having listened to thousands of pieces of equipment in my career, two effective ways of selecting equipment seem to be:
1. Look for consistency on forums in the details of what posters say about the sound of a component. This means the exact descriptors, not just "xyz blows everything away" says little but exact descriptions that are repeated by many people are very telling.
2. Find an industry professional (dealer, manufacturer, distributor at a show or by luck of hearing his system) or very experienced consumer whose system you absolutely love and get advice from that person.
It was later pointed out that it is hard to find dealers who have the equipment to demo. This is true. Times have change and it is sad for the consumer that such a large percentage of demoing dealers have gone away.
Still, your own ears are the things that matter. Although audio shows are much maligned I find that I generally get a pretty good read about equipment at shows, especially speakers.
I know this mostly does not directly answer the original post but I think it addresses the reason why the OP asked the question.
Having listened to thousands of pieces of equipment in my career, two effective ways of selecting equipment seem to be:
1. Look for consistency on forums in the details of what posters say about the sound of a component. This means the exact descriptors, not just "xyz blows everything away" says little but exact descriptions that are repeated by many people are very telling.
2. Find an industry professional (dealer, manufacturer, distributor at a show or by luck of hearing his system) or very experienced consumer whose system you absolutely love and get advice from that person.
