the true measure of a good reviewer is someone who can put you on the right path when you leave the house to go audition some equipment for yourself. what music should you bring- what should you listen for- how were the components set up at the store- how good was their room/room treatments. did you have to suffer having to listen at uncomfortably loud volumes, or did they let you set the volume at your comfort level. a good reviewer let's you know when something is REALLY well built, and also reminds you OFTEN when it is not. a good reviewer compares the component to at least two other competitive pieces, especially ones that alot of us have come across at one time or another.
and, while it's okay if something is really, REALLY expensive- some equipment is so elegant and so well made, that it's clearly part of the mystique of the hobby; BUT it would be irresponsible in my opinion to NOT remind the reader that brand-Y- which might be homely looking in comparison- for a fraction of the cost, will give you 95% of the performance.
i can't remember names that well, but take out some older stereophiles (the little ones), and you may see what i'm talking about. high-value gear was often high-lighted "with a big flashing arrow". eccentric gear HAD to sound as good as it looked, or else. if something was next to impossible to set up to get it sounding good, it was all too obvious. if something else sounded good right out of the box, the reviewer could tell you, almost immediately, what the tonal character was "with every amp i tried", or "with all types of music", etc. and to my best recollection, there were VERY FEW speakers that cost more than $15k. premium speaker cables (MIT SHOTGUNS) were $5k a pair. $5,000 was considered top dollar for a stereo amp, $10k for SOTA monoblocks. you could spend more, but certainly there would simply be no point in reviewing WAVAC'S (300K??), when you had audio research, VAC, and VTL building superb tube equipment for real audiophiles. digital was getting more and more expensive, but trickle-down rapidly solved most if not all
of the financial hurdles even there. a good/great analog table might cost $3k to $10k with everything. the goldmund reference was nice, but it was audio sculpture- nicer to look at than to listen too (and who even had one?- a handful of rich technophiles no doubt). for music, you bought a sota saphire, or "maybe" a nova.
anyway, those are some of my impressions, even though they are changing all of the time as well. equipment costs more now than it did then, but there's no excuse for not making some astute comparisons amongst components that cost about the same. and if a reviewer tells you his/her room has a major deficiency in some area, like a chronic "BASS" manangement problem, what good are they doing telling you about the low-frequency performance of very-expensive speakers? if they tell you they spend 10 minutes cleaning and demagnetizing every cd, and then treating it with some exotic smutz before inserting it into a CDP, their reviews should be in the funny pages of the sunday paper. sure they liked some $25k transport, but only 3 dealers can even get you one, although even they don't stock it- it might take them 4 years to sell it if at all.
maybe it's all just a rich joke- but at the end of the day, the emperor has no BVD's- just a crown on his head that he can use for... nothing actually.... a reviewer with a good system with some budgetary constraints here and there can talk turkey better than some guy who spends too much time hanging out at the "bentley factory".
and, while it's okay if something is really, REALLY expensive- some equipment is so elegant and so well made, that it's clearly part of the mystique of the hobby; BUT it would be irresponsible in my opinion to NOT remind the reader that brand-Y- which might be homely looking in comparison- for a fraction of the cost, will give you 95% of the performance.
i can't remember names that well, but take out some older stereophiles (the little ones), and you may see what i'm talking about. high-value gear was often high-lighted "with a big flashing arrow". eccentric gear HAD to sound as good as it looked, or else. if something was next to impossible to set up to get it sounding good, it was all too obvious. if something else sounded good right out of the box, the reviewer could tell you, almost immediately, what the tonal character was "with every amp i tried", or "with all types of music", etc. and to my best recollection, there were VERY FEW speakers that cost more than $15k. premium speaker cables (MIT SHOTGUNS) were $5k a pair. $5,000 was considered top dollar for a stereo amp, $10k for SOTA monoblocks. you could spend more, but certainly there would simply be no point in reviewing WAVAC'S (300K??), when you had audio research, VAC, and VTL building superb tube equipment for real audiophiles. digital was getting more and more expensive, but trickle-down rapidly solved most if not all
of the financial hurdles even there. a good/great analog table might cost $3k to $10k with everything. the goldmund reference was nice, but it was audio sculpture- nicer to look at than to listen too (and who even had one?- a handful of rich technophiles no doubt). for music, you bought a sota saphire, or "maybe" a nova.
anyway, those are some of my impressions, even though they are changing all of the time as well. equipment costs more now than it did then, but there's no excuse for not making some astute comparisons amongst components that cost about the same. and if a reviewer tells you his/her room has a major deficiency in some area, like a chronic "BASS" manangement problem, what good are they doing telling you about the low-frequency performance of very-expensive speakers? if they tell you they spend 10 minutes cleaning and demagnetizing every cd, and then treating it with some exotic smutz before inserting it into a CDP, their reviews should be in the funny pages of the sunday paper. sure they liked some $25k transport, but only 3 dealers can even get you one, although even they don't stock it- it might take them 4 years to sell it if at all.
maybe it's all just a rich joke- but at the end of the day, the emperor has no BVD's- just a crown on his head that he can use for... nothing actually.... a reviewer with a good system with some budgetary constraints here and there can talk turkey better than some guy who spends too much time hanging out at the "bentley factory".
