I would like to see qualification from the reviewer as to why, before he or she even begins, that in the context of his or her SYSTEM, the component being evaluated can yield ANY useful information. I remember a spate of Thiel reviews where it was completely clear that the amplifier being used to evaluate the speakers had no capability whatsoever to drive the damn things and then the reviewer called them bright. Well, yeah duh. So system context in my mind is 95% of the perceived outcome of any component review and I will harp on this point till I die.
Recommendations to "Professional" Reviewers?
What would recommend to the reviewers at Stereophile, TAs and the likes? Not in terms of equip to review, but what they need to include in their review write up more consistently? Also not about ind discounts etc....what should they do more to make the reviews more helpful to us consumers? Lets start this thread as quite a few reviewers are Audiogon members and hopefully take this feedback.
From my perspective,
Need to consistently contrast & compare against equipment in similiar price range: frequently done but not consistently...comparing to the mfr's old model is not helpful enough without the added info on competitors. Not asking to name what is "best" but what are the rel individual strengths and weakness within the group?
Try to link technology used to listening results: a lot of times, we see write ups dealing with this as separate issues: though at times it would be pure conjecture, but at least make an attempt
Don't tweak excessively: the review is about the equip, not what tweaks u can do to your system
Try to suggest other equip in the chain that would seem a good match
When reviewing Hi-rez digital, always always first comment on redbook CD capability (I have seen quite a few exceptions to this obvious rule!)
From my perspective,
Need to consistently contrast & compare against equipment in similiar price range: frequently done but not consistently...comparing to the mfr's old model is not helpful enough without the added info on competitors. Not asking to name what is "best" but what are the rel individual strengths and weakness within the group?
Try to link technology used to listening results: a lot of times, we see write ups dealing with this as separate issues: though at times it would be pure conjecture, but at least make an attempt
Don't tweak excessively: the review is about the equip, not what tweaks u can do to your system
Try to suggest other equip in the chain that would seem a good match
When reviewing Hi-rez digital, always always first comment on redbook CD capability (I have seen quite a few exceptions to this obvious rule!)