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Does anyone on AG truly care anymore about objectivity & sincerity of Magazine reviews?

The latest cover story In the Absolute Sound triumphs the latest 3rd generation YG loudspeakers & their very best, latest technology. While the accolades commence (& do they ever), they only say, "the aluminum- coned midrange driver are carried over from the series 2" conspicuously omitting to mention nothing whatsoever has been done to it - ever (unlike virtually all their competitors who've had numerous major improvements to their MRs). It’s exactly the same driver that came with the speaker when it was first introduced decades plus ago. Their claims for it have not been verified by any 3rd party ever & no audio company has tried to copy their aluminum drivers ever, either. Entry level Paradigms perhaps, but they have the wisdom to understand aluminum cannot be made to compete with the beryllium they use on their upper end product.

Regarding the revised silk dome tweeter, "you may think your speakers excel in this area but until you’ve heard something like the 3s...you may have never heard true high frequency refinement". So a complete dismissal (with no comparisons of any kind of course) of all Diamond, Beryllium, ribbon, electrostatic etc. tweeters, just like that.

Is it just me or is there (from the Wizard of Oz) a clearly implied, "Ignore that man behind the curtain! !" message, as YG simultaneously has a full page, 4 color ad in the same issue & has been an extremely heavy advertiser for years in the magazine?

I’m reminded of the con man’s credo - You can fool some of the people all the time & all the people some of the time - & that’s enough. I had thought that’s not an especially good, long term business model. Maybe I’m wrong on this last, here.

john1
larsman's avatar
larsman
1,930 posts
 

@feldmen4 + 1

willywonka
237 posts
 

I stopped subscribing to TAS years ago and now only subscribe to Stereophile. Robert Harley at TAS has some good articles, but it turns me off they do no measurements! The problems with these magazines are they for the most part only review products from companies who advertise with them. How can any reviewer say something bad about a product when that company is a customer that funds their magazine. How is it possible to be objective when you are in this situation? On YouTube they even have a video where Steve Guttenberg and Herb Reichert explain why they NEVER give bad reviews! I’m SURE they are not being honest on the reasons. I get my Audio information from Many sources including Audio forums and also attend various shows including AXPONA. Magazines and YouTube reviews are only good for getting general information about a product and still have their uses though.

jonwolfpell
386 posts
 

We all know there are very good & not so good examples of just about every speaker design, driver material, cabinet style, crossover concept etc. Perhaps  YG hasn’t changed their midrange driver because it was excellent to start with which from the few times I’ve heard them, would say it is. ATC hasn’t changed their famous dome midrange much in 40 years & it’s still amongst the very best. 
 

YG speakers are not particularly my favorite as I find them very detailed  & image beautifully but a bit lean, dry & analytical - to each his own.

What would like to see much more of in reviews by the big two magazines is comparisons between products of similar design & price. Of course it’s difficult to remember how something sounds weeks or months later, I would imaging these professional reviewers take detailed notes so this should be possible. For example, YG vs. Magico which are quite similar in concept & cost. Or Wilson’s vs. Rockport’s etc. of course with equipment at this level, personally seeing & hearing them is a must & the stores & shows. I’ve used two big shows in the last 3 years to research equipment that I eventually bought & been very happy . 

grislybutter
2,989 posts
 

"do speaker cables..." type of stuff, elusive

 

antigrunge2
1,404 posts
 

After Art Dudley and the Beatnik fading most reviewers seem to sit on their ears, be in the pockets of manufacturers or simply don‘t have a clue. If you can take his prose, Srajan at 6 Moons is one of the few left worth reading. Let‘s face it: this hobby is increasingly esoteric and septuagenarians don‘t get digital.

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