Just two observations in defense of older reviewers.
First, I believe much of a person's reviewing ability depends on knowing what to listen for. When I started this hobby, I couldn't tell the difference between a lot of things, like mid-fi versus high end. I find the more I listen, the more I can tell -- and this is a mental aspect, not just hearing. I expect reviewers should be fully ramped on this.
Secondly, I believe the more common hearing loss is at the high frequencies, and that this goes gradually. For example, at some point one may not hear the highs as well as before but still be able to hear them (at effectively lower volume/intensity). When the highest highs become completely inaudible, the next highest highs are heard at reduced volume, etc. on a rolling basis. If one listens to live music, say at concerts, one can get a fix on the observed loudness of the highs that can still be heard and compare that to reproduced music. If one can still hear something at 15k Hz, even though it may not be as subjectively as loud as when one was twenty years younger, one can still compare live versus recorded.
The fact that so much of music is not at the far extremes of frequency also supports the reviewers' reports. E.g., I am not going to discard JA's opinions now that I know he can't hear to 20k Hz.
First, I believe much of a person's reviewing ability depends on knowing what to listen for. When I started this hobby, I couldn't tell the difference between a lot of things, like mid-fi versus high end. I find the more I listen, the more I can tell -- and this is a mental aspect, not just hearing. I expect reviewers should be fully ramped on this.
Secondly, I believe the more common hearing loss is at the high frequencies, and that this goes gradually. For example, at some point one may not hear the highs as well as before but still be able to hear them (at effectively lower volume/intensity). When the highest highs become completely inaudible, the next highest highs are heard at reduced volume, etc. on a rolling basis. If one listens to live music, say at concerts, one can get a fix on the observed loudness of the highs that can still be heard and compare that to reproduced music. If one can still hear something at 15k Hz, even though it may not be as subjectively as loud as when one was twenty years younger, one can still compare live versus recorded.
The fact that so much of music is not at the far extremes of frequency also supports the reviewers' reports. E.g., I am not going to discard JA's opinions now that I know he can't hear to 20k Hz.