Recommended components on Stereophile Magazine.

No disrespect to the venerable folk at Stereophile, but I find it difficult to believe that as a commercial enterprise their reviews are not influenced, subconsciously or otherwise, by demands of the advertisers--rational human beings simply wouldn't slam a product produced by a big advertiser even if, in objective terms, the product is substandard. Then, too, audio review is scarcely an exact science, and reviewers bring their own subjective biases and conceits to the table. I've previously been burned by buying stuff off their recommended list (JBL S38 speakers come to mind), only to find it deficient. All that said, like most of the yobs on this site I read reviews and recommended lists compulsively, and I find them useful for introducting me to products and giving me information to make a more informed choice. Ultimately, however I believe one is better served by trusting your own ears than by slavishly following the picks of some "expert".

Hi Nasa - this should be an interesting thread. Let me start first with - I think all of the reviewers try and do a good, unbiased job in reviewing equipment. Problem is - with the exception of Fremer and Dudley, the rest of the reviewers are very inconsistent with the sort of sound that they like. Couple that with trying to review components that are integrated into a system whose components are not all that familiar to most readers, with cables that are not all that familiar to most readers, and in a room( and with AC) that is not at all familiar with any of the readers and you start to get the idea that this IS a tough job. They do the very best that they can.
Now they get together twice a year and "vote" on components reviewed by other reviewers and rank them based on the other reviewers ratings. With all of that in mind, the component that "they" might rank as Class B might really perform better than other Class A rated components in some systems ( with other rooms, power, cables, and associated equipment - not to mention EARS). Would I buy a piece of equipment based on their ratings alone - NO. Is there often a really blurred line between a Class A rating and a Class B rating - absolutely. Trust your ears, your room, your system, and the type of music you listen to in order to determine the sonic merits of a piece of equipment ( or cable, etc). Use Stereophile's ratings for what they are intended to do - making up a short list for components that you might want to audition when you are considering an upgrade. Just my $0.02

Remember that there is a wide variation in sound, you should try to determine what kind of sound you like and look for components that give you that. A 5 watt tube SET might be the finest amp in the world but will not work with the big Wilson's. A system should be an integrated whole and one from column a and one from column b is not the way to assemble it.