Clement Perry's new reference speaker

tsk, tsk. the usual discount to the trade, with maybe a substantial supplemental kicker due to the price. let's say 30% retail? then you can also factor in the end of the year tax write-off, as a business expense. nice gig. "...oh what fools we mortals be".

there are both distinctions and differences between the perks provided, dontcha think? book and record reviewers really do critique/review the wares they are provided. reviews are often neither glowing nor positive. in contrast, audio equipment reviewers are hard pressed to write anything other than positive, if not glowing reviews; and this approach is rationalized and valorized by the "reviewers and publishers.

no doubt, without these 'perks' audio "reviews" would be limited to affordable components and "reviewers" reference systems would look a whole lot like those of their reviewers. wouldn't that be a sorry state of affairs? how would us lumpen know what we are missing? we would not devlop raging cases of audio envy or tradeupitis. perhaps, we would listen to the music rather than the equipment.

my point really is: given extraordinary perks to reviewers, can we, trust what is written? this is especially problematic given the incredibly subjective nature of what we hear, what we value, how we communicate what we have heard in a way that a reader can comprehend, and, the interdependency of components in generating sound and, finally, the ongoing close and interdependent relationship between the reviewer and the manufacturer.

if we, as readers, take all the foregoing into account and really enjoy the reviews as entertainment, and employ a reader beware approach, with the burden resting on the reader to take nothing at face value, then, maybe, just maybe the todo over perks and reviews would f-f-f-fade away.
LA