I am probably idealistic, but I would like to know a reviewer’s ties and obligation to any company whose products are they reviewing, along with the publication’s. "Pay to play", payola, freebies, etc have long plagued magazines that review gear, and it calls into question the independence and integrity of reviewers and their publications. For example, some photography and gun magazines and their writers have been notorious about taking freebies from manufacturers, or doing glowing reviews on products and—like a miracle (cough, cough)—a few pages later you see full-page ads bought by those same manufacturers. For that reason, Consumer Reports buys everything they test iirc, so they are not beholden to manufacturers. The magazine business has gotten very tough, and advertising is the lifeblood, but magazines who basically sell glowing reviews in exchange for ads are whores. I don’t know which audio reviewers and publications are the best and worst in this regard (and I am not asking here!), but I have been told who is by trustworthy by people whom I trust.
It’s a matter of who can one trust, and that is enormously important to me. YMMV. I am not talking about subjective opinions, I am talking about opinions which are purchased.
I won’t name names, but a few notable veteran people in the audio industry have named to me reviewers they trust to be straight-shooters, and also those who are renowned for taking gear (either outright or in the form of "longterm" loans, or buying gear at cost) from manufacturers. One longtime retailer literally guffawed when I mentioned a very prominent reviewer who is apparently egregious in accepting gear as a quid pro quo (either that or he is a millionaire and can afford his $1,000,000 reference system/gear, and it’s possible I guess). I have had personal communication with a reviewer who has probably a >$150K (or more) reference system, and who admitted that most of it is very long-term loans from manufacturers. Hell, I can’t even get most dealers to allow an in-home audition without buying the item in exchange for a return policy (in their defense, they may have only on demo model of an item on hand). For that reason, the return policies of Music Direct, Audio Advisor and some other online dealers are great, but they don’t always carry what I am interested in.
If a publication is afraid to publish critical reviews (that doesn’t mean bad, it means honest), then they should say so. They should also disclose any ties to manufacturers or ways in which they are beholden. I have some experience with this working for the LA Times for 20 years. We were not allowed to accept anything of value over $25 from anyone we were doing a story on, which basically limited it to a modest meal. We had reporters who were fired for violating that code of ethics.
What should be mandatory in every professional published review-
When testing a company's newest amp, preamp, etc, and it is a refinement of a prior product that was on the market, ie, a Mark II, an SE version, a .2 etc, it should be mandatory that the review includes a direct comparison with the immediate predecessor. IMHO, it's not enough to know ion the product is good; it's also important to know if there is a meaningful difference with the immediate predecessor.
I'm fan of Pass Labs, and I just looked at a review of an XP22 preamp. I find it very disturbing that there was no direct comparison between the XP22 and the XP20. And this lack of direct comparison is ubiquitous in hi-end published reviews, across all brands of gear tested. I don't blame the gear manufacturers, but rather the publications as I view this as an abdication of journalistic integrity.
Opinions welcome-
Showing 4 responses by patrickdowns
soixTHANKS for your perspective as a reviewer. I didn’t mean for anyone to think I’m making a broad accusation about the integrity of high-end audio reviewers— I certainly am not. Just as I took camera reviews in consumer magazines like Popular Photography with a bucket of salt, maybe the mid-fi and electronics publications are less reliable (I’ll use that euphemism) than high end pubs like AbSound, Stereophile, your former publication, and others. I will name one name. I had a fellow who puts together really expensive systems for people (up to a million $$) and who has been in the industry for many years tell me that Robert Harley’s reputation for integrity is unimpeachable. I would assume that, as Editor of AbSound, he expects the same of his writers. I hope so. Cheers
|
Hi soix
I take issue with these terms of work, but I suppose it’s the reality in magazine/publication economics. The problem, as I see it, is it incentivizes reviewers to review gear they are personally interested in and anticipate buying. If the publication assigns the items to be reviewed, that makes it more neutral. I will admit that I would write a review of the Treo CT if I could buy them for a 50% discount! 😎
As I said, it is an endorsement of a bought piece...the reviewer putting their money where their mouth is. In a more perfect world, more magazines would be like Consumer Reports and would buy the gear they review, to maintain more objectivity. Prohibitively expensive of course.
|
soix,You may have misunderstood me. The issue I have is with publications who don’t pay what I would consider a proper rate for reviews, and instead take advantage of the willingness of reviewers to do the work for a low pay scale with some promise of discounts on gear. If the writers agree to do so, it is their choice. I still think that if they are actually trying to earn a living they may be getting taken advantage of. I don’t know how it all works in the audio reviewing business. In sports photography, there are more than a few weekend warriors, doctors or the like, who can afford $50,000 in camera gear and will give their photos away for free in exchange for the sideline photo credential. It’s done real harm to pros trying to make a living. Maybe there are rich trustafarians or well-heeled people doing the same in audio, enjoying getting a byline and a discount on gear. You might know. Cheers |