There's actually an art to writing. It's lost on many who are used to text speak, don't read books, and are otherwise conditioned to expect "instant information" (and instant gratification) by YouTube, Google, etc.
Whether that's "good" or "bad", I'll leave that to others to ponder.
Just writing this makes me feel old.
Having said that, a lot of reviews leave me wanting for more and/or wishing they'd get to the point. Sometimes I'm interested in the first few paragraphs of the review that talk about the design and implementation of the technology being covered. Other times I skip ahead to the listening impressions, and sometimes I go right to the conclusion. Most reviews are structured in a way that you can do that pretty easily.
It's also important to take into consideration that most of the publications are sponsored by many of the companies whose products are being reviewed, so there's almost no way that the review can be completely unbiased.
There are those rare occasions where you see a product get a negative review, or where one or two distinct flaws are highlighted, but more often than not we're offered "it doesn't do ________ as well as some, but...".
I only read reviews in-depth when it's for an item I'm considering purchasing, and then I look for specific comments about sound quality and functionality that matter to me as well as comparisons to other products that I'm familiar with. I also try to read between the lines where something may be glossed over or they're being polite.
At the end of the day, we all hear things differently and have different frames of reference. We all have inherent biases as well.
Whether that's "good" or "bad", I'll leave that to others to ponder.
Just writing this makes me feel old.
Having said that, a lot of reviews leave me wanting for more and/or wishing they'd get to the point. Sometimes I'm interested in the first few paragraphs of the review that talk about the design and implementation of the technology being covered. Other times I skip ahead to the listening impressions, and sometimes I go right to the conclusion. Most reviews are structured in a way that you can do that pretty easily.
It's also important to take into consideration that most of the publications are sponsored by many of the companies whose products are being reviewed, so there's almost no way that the review can be completely unbiased.
There are those rare occasions where you see a product get a negative review, or where one or two distinct flaws are highlighted, but more often than not we're offered "it doesn't do ________ as well as some, but...".
I only read reviews in-depth when it's for an item I'm considering purchasing, and then I look for specific comments about sound quality and functionality that matter to me as well as comparisons to other products that I'm familiar with. I also try to read between the lines where something may be glossed over or they're being polite.
At the end of the day, we all hear things differently and have different frames of reference. We all have inherent biases as well.