I want to thank those of you who took a look at my piece for your feedback. It is all very welcome. I continue to worry about the cynicism that too many within our community have settled into, however understandable it may be. I am open to all suggestions.
In my 'other life' I am a University Professor and one of the skills we all learn is how to write critical or negative letters of evaluation without being 'directly' critical. There is a 'code' that everyone (or nearly everyone) employs and understands, and the same is true of audio reviews. More of them are more critical than you might at first think. If I were to see a review of speaker X in which the reviewer claimed that it favored neither tubes nor solid state -- that it was equally good with both -- I would read (without more) as damning with faint praise. After all, the reviewer never said that it was good with either. Perhaps, people want to see more directly critical remarks, but some of that may just be to see real criticism that anyone could recognize as such. Believe me, the manufacturers know such a review is not favorable.
I think what readers want is to develop a 'relationship' with a reviewer or two. They want to get know them through their writing, to learn what they like and why. They want to trust them and to follow their work. No one wants to get close to people they can't trust. It is our burden to make ourselves trustworthy. If we are trustworthy, then it is not going to matter whether we disagree with one another's ultimate judgments, tastes and so on. People will read what we have to say and find it credible. Our goal is to provide meaningful and helpful information and our ability to do that depends on all of you seeing us as persons of integrity. Don't give up on us, but demand of us that we earn it.
Tell me what you need from us to earn your trust. This is the topic of my next two opinion pieces and this is meant to be an interactive process. I'll let you know about me through my writing and you'll tell me -- and others -- what you need to be comfortable with us and willing to put your trust in us. We need that do a useful job, and from my experience, my sense is that with a few exceptions of some who may be in this to feed their egos, reviewers want to contribute to the success of the community and to the enjoyment of music. To do that we need not only to be informative and judgmental; we need to be able to construct a narrative, to tell a story, to make it interesting and to give you a reason for caring about what we think. And you wont care if we aren't worthy of your care and interest.
Needless to say, I was pleased to read that some of you have found the reviews on Soundstage to be particularly honest and helpful.
