Sometimes I like a product but since I trade gear a lot, I hesitate to buy it unless I perceive a good resale market for it. A good review in a major publication, online or paper, goes a long way towards creating a strong sale and resale market. This is for good reasons: not everyone has a chance to hear everything, the journal reviews are much more long term and controlled than a quick listen in a shop, and the review itself serves as an awareness-raising vehicle.
A 777ES for $2000 after a strong positive review comes out can be seen as a better value the same thing for $1200 prior to the review. Reviews change the size of the sale market and demand in the resale market.
I find reviews tend to be accurate, except, that sometimes you have to read between the lines. Stereophile tends to keep their negative comments buried deep in the text IMO. A review that ends - "this is competitive in its price range, you ought to hear it, it might be to your taste" is a very mediocre statement, kind of like Wall Street calling a stock "market perform" when they mean SELL! Positive reviews end with enthusiasm - "I bought this thing" or "stomps the competition in its price range".
I think that buying this unit prior to it's positive review is something to be proud of, rather than trashing others.
Art
A 777ES for $2000 after a strong positive review comes out can be seen as a better value the same thing for $1200 prior to the review. Reviews change the size of the sale market and demand in the resale market.
I find reviews tend to be accurate, except, that sometimes you have to read between the lines. Stereophile tends to keep their negative comments buried deep in the text IMO. A review that ends - "this is competitive in its price range, you ought to hear it, it might be to your taste" is a very mediocre statement, kind of like Wall Street calling a stock "market perform" when they mean SELL! Positive reviews end with enthusiasm - "I bought this thing" or "stomps the competition in its price range".
I think that buying this unit prior to it's positive review is something to be proud of, rather than trashing others.
Art