Do you demag or destat your CDs/DVDS?

I just put my CD's in the dishwasher like everyone else.

"07-10-14: Mceljo
Magazine reviewers are biased to be positive if they want to continue doing reviews."

Are you guessing? If not, can you give some examples?

"This parallels the audiophiles who trust their own senses (perceptions) and believe the marketers (of which I include most reviewers) and shun scientific testing."

That's a pretty big assumption. I trust my own perceptions, but I don't buy marketing/reviews. I stopped reading reviews because I disagree with them more than agree. Shun scientific testing? Not at all. If science can help, I'm all for it. Audio products are made by scientists. (Please don't call me out on that statement with some ridiculous tweak made by a "scientist". Yes, I get that.)

"07-10-14: Mceljo
Specifically, I remember one particular person that left the industry and provided their thought afterwords. I thought I saw it on audiogon, at least the link. If I get time I will try to dig it up.

Generally, I have never read a truly negative review in an audio magazine which leads one to assume that they will praise anything that is put in front of them. Admittedly, I so t read a lot of reviews so maybe my sampling isn't representative."

The reason I ask is that I feel a lot of people put this topic in more of the conspiracy category than anything else. (I'm not singling you out here. It's my general observation.). Most reviews are positive, but I feel its very easy to explain why this is so. First and foremost, products have evolved over the years. For example, critics used to say SS gear didn't have many qualities that tubes had, and tube gear fell short of SS in areas. As a result, designers have been trying to deal with the weaknesses in whatever products they make. The same improvements have been made with digital and conventional speakers. And for the most part, they've been successful. Its only natural that the reviews have become more positive over time. There's a lot less to complain about.

Another major factor is that reviewers usually look to review gear that they think they will like. Its very common to hear something at a show and ask for a review sample. This practice isn't a secret, either. I've seen many times, in print, where reviewers will tell the reader they asked to review a product. And even if the review is positive overall, negative qualities are still listed. I can't remember reading any review that said the product was perfect.

"7-10-14: Mceljo
Zd542 - The article is titled Ethics and the Audiophile Press and was written by Roger Skoff. You can Google it."

Thanks for the reference. I'll have a look at it when I have some time later. If I'm not mistaken, Roger Skoff is from xlo cables. Are you sure he's not trying to get back at the audio press for a bad review? lol. Just kidding.

"07-11-14: Timrhu
ZD542, I'm not calling anyone out. Although I have met a few Agon members personally, I don't know any who fit that description. But reading through the threads here it does seem as if there are members who do."

Sorry. I don't think you read my post the way I meant it. I made the comment that audio equipment is made by scientists. Right after I put that down I said to myself someone is going to come up with an audio product that wasn't designed by a scientist. And it will probably be something silly like a tweak that doesn't make a difference. It was just a poor explanation on my part.