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  3. 1315276819

What does it take to qualify as a reviewer?

Posted in this thread earlier;
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?fcabl&1313300093&read
some participants said they are reviewers.

One said;

"I myself was once asked if I would be interested in reviewing for one of the publications mentioned above, by its editor. I wasn't, but also declined because I didn't feel that I was qualified: not as an audiophile, nor technically, nor as a writer."

Another said:

"let us consider what might "qualify" someone as a reviewer. Would it be an EE degree, years of experience in audio, experience as a dealer in audio, knowing many manufacturers, being wealthy enough to not be bought to give a good review to get the component at a good price, being articulate, hearing well in tests, etc.?"

And he goes on to make some other interesting remarks in the same post, in my opinion anyway.

Out of respect to the OP and not to further divert the thread from its' original theme, I began this thread.

So, what qualifications, experience, education, characteristics etc., do you believe one should possess and needs to be a reviewer?

It would be interesting to hear from everyone for I myself haven't really thought about it and can't offer an answer. Perhaps others ideas could help us form an opinion.

Best,

Dave
corazon

Showing 1 response by corazon

corazon OP
210 posts
 
Hi everyone!

Thanks to all who've written so far. Appreciate everyones opinion.

Some strong, colorful responses!

Foster_9

Clarification please.

Pathetic because of the majorities observation of a lack of integrity, or that so many feel this way?

Speaking of which, if many have such ill feelings toward reviewers, how do you go about researching components and deciding which you'd like to audition/purchase? Not all of us have access to brick and mortar stores or word of mouth from friends. We might say forums or for sale/auction sites but aren't we still reading something written by a reviewer researching to gain some perspective?

We have to start somewhere. In that case isn't there value in their writings? Whether or not we like their style, feel they're unbiased, vague in their findings, are knowledgable or worse lack integrity?

Not all can fall into the same mold. You know, one bad apple....

Not defending either, figure if reviewers want to rebut some of the posts here let them do it!

Curious about your process. Look forward to continued discussion.
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