What's the point of reviewing?

A review without a demonstration is just moving air and not worth wasting time listening too.

@frankmc195 - but is a review with a demonstration worth much more? You're not hearing the system being reviewed; you're hearing your own system.

The only kind of demonstrations I find useful are ones in my dealers' showrooms, like the speaker audition I had yesterday. 

Although I routinely read professional reviews, they are all essentially the same, gushing over soundstage, "micro detail" etc. They are generally useless. Does anyone recall a negative review of any product? I have an ARC Ref 6. On a lark, I went to CHATGPT and asked it to write an audiophile review of it. Here’s what came out:

"The true essence of the Reference 6 lies in its exceptional sound performance. It takes the listener on a journey of sonic ecstasy, revealing nuances and subtleties within the music that were previously unheard. The preamplifier’s tonal accuracy, transparency, and dynamic range are simply breathtaking.

The Reference 6 exhibits an uncanny ability to render recordings with a lifelike presence. The soundstage is expansive and three-dimensional, effortlessly recreating the original recording environment. Instruments and vocals are placed with pinpoint precision, allowing the listener to discern their individual characteristics and spatial cues.

Furthermore, the Reference 6’s tonal balance is pristine, providing an accurate representation of the recording with no discernible coloration. The bass reproduction is tight, controlled, and impactful, while the midrange exhibits a captivating warmth and richness. The high frequencies are delicate, detailed, and extend with remarkable finesse, delivering an airy and extended treble response.

The preamplifier’s transparency is exceptional, unmasking micro-details and subtle textures within the music. It unravels layers of information, revealing the true intentions of the artists and the emotions they convey. The Reference 6 possesses a sense of musicality that is rare to find, evoking an emotional connection with the listener that is deeply moving."

Sound familiar? You could probably replace ARC REF 6 with any higher end preamp and this would be the likely review. One of the things that I tend to like about professional reviews is the choice of music to review the equipment. I like to take that same song and see if I can hear what the reviewer is talking about on my own system. But I couldn’t base a big purchase decision on a professional review.

User reviews, on the other hand, have limited utility because they are so dependent on the other equipment and the room itself. But at least with a user review, they can call it like they see it, rather than sugarcoat it. granted, when someone here is motivated to review a product that they just purchased, it is usually a favorable one, but there is often value in, "I just bought this and replaced that, and this is how I think the sound has improved . . ." There is no good solution other than to listen for yourself, take a leap of faith and buy sight unseen, or get something that has a return policy.

Great posts indeed! Thanks...

It is precisely why reviews are useful analysed for each separate acoustic factors and especially with users and non pro-reviewers mainly...

It is especially efficient with vintage or older products, because there exist more users reviews...

Very new products are very difficult to assess with few reviews mainly by pro-reviewers if not impossible...

We then must distinguish between users and pro-reviewers, and vintage and new products...

But i purchased my amplifier, dac and headphones by reading carefully users products ... None were new products...

Although I routinely read professional reviews, they are all essentially the same, gushing over soundstage, "micro detail" etc. They are generally useless. Does anyone recall a negative review of any product? I have an ARC Ref 6. On a lark, I went to CHATGPT and asked it to write an audiophile review of it. Here’s what came out:

"The true essence of the Reference 6 lies in its exceptional sound performance. It takes the listener on a journey of sonic ecstasy, revealing nuances and subtleties within the music that were previously unheard. The preamplifier’s tonal accuracy, transparency, and dynamic range are simply breathtaking.

The Reference 6 exhibits an uncanny ability to render recordings with a lifelike presence. The soundstage is expansive and three-dimensional, effortlessly recreating the original recording environment. Instruments and vocals are placed with pinpoint precision, allowing the listener to discern their individual characteristics and spatial cues.

Furthermore, the Reference 6’s tonal balance is pristine, providing an accurate representation of the recording with no discernible coloration. The bass reproduction is tight, controlled, and impactful, while the midrange exhibits a captivating warmth and richness. The high frequencies are delicate, detailed, and extend with remarkable finesse, delivering an airy and extended treble response.

The preamplifier’s transparency is exceptional, unmasking micro-details and subtle textures within the music. It unravels layers of information, revealing the true intentions of the artists and the emotions they convey. The Reference 6 possesses a sense of musicality that is rare to find, evoking an emotional connection with the listener that is deeply moving."

Sound familiar? You could probably replace ARC REF 6 with any higher end preamp and this would be the likely review. One of the things that I tend to like about professional reviews is the choice of music to review the equipment. I like to take that same song and see if I can hear what the reviewer is talking about on my own system. But I couldn’t base a big purchase decision on a professional review.

User reviews, on the other hand, have limited utility because they are so dependent on the other equipment and the room itself. But at least with a user review, they can call it like they see it, rather than sugarcoat it. granted, when someone here is motivated to review a product that they just purchased, it is usually a favorable one, but there is often value in, "I just bought this and replaced that, and this is how I think the sound has improved . . ." There is no good solution other than to listen for yourself, take a leap of faith and buy sight unseen, or get something that has a return policy.

@larsman like my hifi system, I have some very good computer speakers... where as I am listening to my speakers reproducing the reviewed speakers I listen to my speakers enough to get an idea of how the reviewed speakers probably sound. Not exact but close enough. You should understand that a lot of reviewers have an insensitive of one sort of another to give glowing reviews and they could be giving me complete crap in their review. A demo therefore is always helpful. I would like to add that since my computer speakers sound really good then everything I hear should sound good..... but some demos don't.