How much can be measured -- and how much cannot?

Newbee,
I have no idea what your LOL means. So I will return it in good humor. LOL.

I am assuming the following:

1. That John Atkinson's equipment is working when he takes measurements.
2. That Mr. Fremer and other reviewers are reporting accurately what they hear.

If we cannot assume these 2 basic things then there is no point in this whole exercise because everything becomes smoke and mirrors and nothing can be believed. If you start to question "valuations" of observations of what others report you can turn anything in any direction you wish. IMO.

I believe emphasizing JA's integrity is misplaced here. This is simply the way they do things at Stereophile. Integrity is part of their work, not something that would be extraordinary to expect from them. I am not questioning their integrity at all. I am questioning if there is not something missing in their evaluation process. Something very simple. They finish their work. They read each other's reports. They sit down and listen together and Fremer or another reviewer listens for the measurement side of things and Atkinson listens to the music as well as to any measurement factors he may be able to discern. Simple.

In this way, if one side or the other was missing something they can write a codicil to their report. This means instead of Atkinson saying "I don't understand how the reviewer could like that component after what my measurements show" he might well say after listening to some music that he can actually hear and report some good things -- in spite of what his measurements showed and the valuation he gave to those measurements. And the same for Fremer or another reviewer.

This does not mean Atkinson or a reviewer are changing the valuations placed on measurements or audition of components. Those observations stand. What they are doing is giving a second valuation based on listening in a different way. I mean, this is audio we are talking about, is it not? Or are we talking about the preeminence of the oscilloscope over the ears.

Newbee, you are right that listening entails tinkering with speaker placement, compatible electronics, etc. and the tastes of the reviewer. While measurements are more stable, but also they ignore the subtleties of tweaking with placement, etc. But obviously many of us with some experience with measurement perfect electronics, know that listening by the customer is the only real guide.

Sabai, More than anything else I was laughing at my self for allowing myself to be drawn into a discussion of magazine reviews/reviewers. I truly am an agnostic when it comes to most anything they publish. I haven't subscribed to any in years. That said I do believe JA's measurements can be helpful to those who know how to use them and I thought I should defend them on that issue alone.

In the 'beginning' I wasted a lot of money primarily based on published reports,tests,opinions, and a certain salesmanship pushing me on to chasing the latest, best etc. I waited anxiously for the next issue to arrive each month. Frankly, I had insufficient experience to make judgments on my own and they were my primary source.

Then I found this wonderful source of information - The Internet. Wow, now I had at my disposal user's as well as designer's and manufacturer's comments on all things audio! A treasure trove of information which I used as a basis for forward progress. It was broad band info though and part of the exercise was discarding all of the BS from salesmen and proud tyros. But it was there for those who are interested.

My LOL was not about you. Forgive me if my construction implied otherwise.

An understanding of measurements does more than just disqualify mismatched components. Some measurements will indicate specifically how those mismatched components will sound to some degree due to the them being mismatched, it's not just a matter of taste.
Some performance measurements will be more important to some than to others. For example, depending on ones location, a tuners ability to reject adjacent signals might be more important than overall sensitivity, and for others the reverse might be true. If one has to listen through static, everything else might be moot.
Let's not forget that some of today's measurements might be somewhat meaningless because they existed in the first place. There was a time, when not all gear "measured up" the same, but because of measurements they now do. It would be unwise to ignore measurements to the point that might happen again. I think we deserve more published measurements that can give us a better baseline correlation of audio components measurements and their sonic signatures. Perhaps published measurements of amplifiers propagation delays might be useful? How about more availability of harmonic distortions in frequency domain? FWIW, and though it doesn't necessarily exclude those that don't, I've never heard a speaker that publishes good measurements for either a good step response or clean square wave have anything but good imaging and sound stage.
Once again, measurements can be a valuable tool, but listening, though fickle, is more important...But, one doesn't need to choose between the two, both are more than the sum of their parts.
As to why the audio rags don't follow up on differences between subjective listening reviews and objective measuring, well, I suspect it's not in their best business interest. Let the buyer beware!:-)

Newbee,
Thanks for explaining. No problem.

I agree with you about not having enough experience. Years ago I was in the very same position you found yourself in -- not enough experience and lots of information trying to influence my purchases coming from various vested interests. This is a very steep learning curve that really never ends.

This has been a very rewarding if expensive process that is nearing an end because of serious financial constraints. But not only because of the latter. My system has got to such a satisfying level that I am at the point of diminishing returns. It would take a lot of money to get to a much higher level and I don't know if I did get there that all the effort and expense would translate into much more listener enjoyment because of the high level my system has reached.

It's time to sit back and enjoy what I have without chasing the latest and omnipresent breakthrough products with the attendant manufacturer claims. Over the years most of the improvements to my system have been what I would term incremental. Certainly, there have been some increments that have been more impressive than others. Some I would even call game-changers in their class. Nevertheless the effect on the sound has been incremental and improvement has not always come with the addition of an expensive component or cable. Sometimes even a very inexpensive tweak has given a wonderful improvement in the sound.

In spite of the impressive claims of even the most respected manufacturers in favor of a single component or cable being able to transform one's system, there has not been a single purchase that comes to mind that has measured up to the inflated claims of the maker.