Best Place for Negative Reviews?

Contrary to what seems to be approaching a general consensus, I have grown to have more respect for Stereophile's reviewers over the years. I can't think of a single component that I have run through my system (that was also reviewed in Stereophile) that didn't sound like the reviewer described. That isn't to say that I haven't disliked a component, I have...many, but I've never walked away saying to myself, "That didn't sound anything like so and so said it did." Other than that, I expect good writing and they do have the best writers by a wide margin.

read for fun..listen to learn. audiofeil just summed up the whole hobby right there.

No, No, No and No! Listen for fun and read to learn.

"Listen for fun and read to learn" should be, IMHO, Listen for fun and learn to read. :-) Sorry, couldn't resist.

Dusty,

Reviews are very useful for features, charts and test measurements (less reliable for the reviewers impression of sound quality - unless you can read between the lines).

What Hifi magazine is a probably the most sober guide I have seen.

trust more the products that have been around for some time and enjoy wide succcess.

trust products that are used by discerning customers, such as industry professionals. (i.e. if it is audio then why not pay attention to what artists and recording studios purchase - read mix magazine etc.)

do not trust hyperbole

do not trust magic

do not trust claims that have no physical or conventional scientific explanation (products with precious metals and precious materials but no lab chart showing just why they do sound different)

trust companies that sponsor the Audio Engineering Society over those that don't

trust design practices of modern mainstream electrical and acoustic engineers over those that totally oppose conventional wisdom (admittedly conventional wisdom gets turned on its head from time to time, but this is an exception rather than a general rule)

Of course it is always appealing to have a unique contrarian exclusive and anachronistic product. Armed with something very different from the conventional, one can, as Tom Petty put it, more easily "feel good to be king". An ecstatic review helps to further the pride of ownership in something unique or quirky.

This is probably one of my favorite examples of a review of a great product. The conclusion is "a $998 speaker system that was terrific on a wide variety of music."