That was pretty brave of Mr Fremer to weigh in like that since most industry people who speak up here are savaged by the AudiogoNers who know so much more.
I have said for years that it is unwise to question the integrity of reviewers simply because they do it for a living. If I were in the position of needing open heart surgery I would prefer to have a professional do it! Even if that person had written in the JAMA or the NJM. Do you want a professional plumber to fix your pipes, or mechanic to fix your brakes? Why not get someone with experience to write reviews then?
I never understood the connection between advertising and corruption. Does that mean Newsweek and Time are both corrupt, okay so I picked a couple of bad examples!!!
People who complain about the corruption of writers in Stereophile or TAS will be the first to complain when the price triples due to the new policy of not accepting advertising.
Mr Fremer points out ONE example of companies or products that received a favorable review without buying it, but there are hundreds of other examples. These accusations simply ring hollow, like Wilson speakers!!! That was a joke!!!
It is very frustrating to see so many people who have NO experience with a product write as if they have some level of credibility. All too often people are tearing down a product they have never heard, or only heard in a poor enviroment, what is the point of this??? It is these people who are the liars, not the people who review for a living.
No magazine could survive if they simply gave a pass on or even worse, a good review to a poorly designed or executed product. Simply disagreeing with a persons opinion does not make them wrong, or the disagreer right! Is that a word?!?
Magazines would be a lot more useful and dare I say, productive if readers understood this and responded accordingly!
It's only a hobby!
