Disappointing audition after great review


Ok, so I read the hi fi mags, in print and on line. I recently read a glowing review of speakers retailing in excess of $10,000. Then I found a dealer with the speakers on display. After listening I came away thinking what wa stat reviewer thinking? Also recently I tried a pair of headphones. Read a glowing review which touted its sonic quality and noted although they were heavy, they were comfortable to wear, even for hours. So I tried those headphones. After 5 minutes I could not wait to get them off.

Makes me wonder- are the reviews little more than shill ads? Sometime I think so.

On the other hand, there is one long time reviewer who seems to hear pretty much what I do. What he likes I like.

What's been your experience?
128x128zavato

Showing 3 responses by kr4

I was hoping that French_fries was going to conclude with a recommendation that you audition yourself regardless of what you read. That really is the bottom line.
I cannot comment on headphones but the sound of any speaker is almost totally dependent on the room's acoustics and the speaker and listener positioning within the room. It is hard to make definitive differentiations between different speakers in different rooms..................unless one set of the speakers is defective.
Good point, Zavato. However, one advantage that reviewers
have, aside from long experience, is the facility to
compare speakers (or anything else) under the same and,
hopefully, optimized conditions.