"...and I don't take any advertiser money..."

Don't forget that reviewers who post unflattering opinions often end up being harassed and threatened with legal action.

For example, read about the dCS v. Goldensound train wreck.

@realgoodsound 

Thank you for clarifying the money aspect of the manufacturer / reviewer relationship.

What about the information aspect? Reviewers sometimes appear to be repeating manufacturers' marketing materials or technical claims without too much scrutiny.

Here is a great example:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/bs-meter-is-pegged

If this can happen in Stereophile magazine... what is your take on what happened there? A reviewer unschooled in computer science, passing a manufacturer's claims along no matter how misleading / spurious?

Certainly no one expects hifi reviewers to be experts in each of the numerous fields of craft and science involved in the making of hifi gear.

But isn't it fair to expect reviewers to seek the advice of experts when their own expertise is lacking?

Also, isn't copy fact-checked before publication, especially at a respected publication like Stereophile?

Just curious about these things. The appearance of coziness between manufacturers, publications, and reviewers discredits everyone involved and casts doubt on the reviewed products.

Well, you invited comments

What are your thoughts? 

@realgoodsound 

Thank you for your comments! Everything in the editorial processes you describe is exactly as it should be, and that's comforting. 

But I would like, if I may, to again direct your attention to Stereophile's infomercial review of the Ideon Absolute Stream Meta server-streamer by Jason Victor Serinus dated Oct 17, 2024.

Though Mr. Serinus appropriately uses quotation marks and properly attributes the most egregious nonsense to the manufacturer itself, he fails to exercise the most elementary level of critical thinking or due diligence, so that he allows false and / or impossible claims to proceed into his copy verbatim; and, apparently, Stereophile's editor and staff are happy to let it go to print.

You indicate that your copy is "run through the wringer", so why wasn't Mr. Serinus's? How can that even happen with the kind of editorial processes and controls you describe in your own organization? For sure Stereophile has similar, if not the very same editorial processes in place, so it would be interesting to learn how an advertorial-grade review can just circumvent that elaborate review process and go on to be published.

@realgoodsound 

Can you blame the cynicism when even Stereophile, the standard publication, passes pure unfiltered manufacturer’s talking points to its readers as a legit review?

You’ve said you haven’t read Stereophile in a long time but still, your surprise that folks are feeling disillusioned vis-a-vis the... objectivity of hifi reviewers is kind of surprising