It's easy to become cynical about the review/reviewer of the latest and greatest Belchfire 900 (amp, preamp, CD player, speaker, cartridge, wire, etc.) that stages well, focuses tightly, images palpably and holographically, renders instruments timbrally correct, etc. While many of the words and phrases we're all familiar with are not usually applied to a live musical event ("You notice, Ed, the air around the bass player")--except for distortion, they appear to be one of the few common means available to describe the audiophile listening experience. Overused, obligatory, contrived and sometimes so much BS? Probably. Necessary? Definitely, in some universal form. Arcane jargon isn't confined to audiophilia. Consider the patois of wine reviewers: bouquet, supple, round in the mouth, structure, etc. It's up to us to sort through the review and based on experience, cull the crap and consider--hopefully with knowledge of the reviewer's biases, our expectations of the product, and the maker's track record--the content of the piece. A review should be only a guideline; you have to hear it, experience it yourself, as noted so many times in audiophile discussions. As to honesty, do we believe all reviewers and publications are on the take? Some, perhaps, in various ways, such as: the "rave" review for everything--"the best I have heard (since the last best I heard), "I bought the review sample," "You must have _______,"--whether merited or not, for all the reasons stated in other's opinions above. Would we rather have no reviews and no publications? Doubtful. But the idea of an on-line panel of owner-reviewers and experts drawn from various areas of audio certainly is interesting. Expectation? More insightful and balanced comparative analyses of all things associated with audio to make the purchasing process less of a crap shoot for many. A great number of us don't have a friendly dealer who's willing to lend an expensive piece of gear for home audition. Many times, the dealer who will loan equipment doesn't have the piece in question. Solid, no-holds-barred, comparative reviews on the net as noted by Snoopdog would add another element to help all of us make reasoned decisions.
Honest Reviewers ?
Ever wonder why 99% of all reviwers seem to use the same expressions. No ? Well, I sure have been thinking about this. It's not that I have nothing better to do, but I keep asking why do they say the same things like .... " It sounds like a veil has been lifted" or "it sounds like the glass has been wiped clean" and the current favorite is "it just gets out of the way and let the music play ". Stereophile and the Absolute Sound seem to compete for the most stupid cliches. It appears that CABLE reviews will make reviewers go wild with verbal intoxication. Just sit and think about this crazy idea I am about to suggest. A group of 2 or 3 honest people with high expertise in the audio arena deciding to call the shots as they see them ! They would compare equipment or cables against each other and list their relative strengths, they would even offer opinions on any possible synergy between equipment and cables, if such a thing exists. They would have no fear. What a Concept !