Will, would you please say something stupid just once? You're giving me an inferiority complex. I am reminded of one of Joe Pesci's courtroom lines in My Cousin Vinny - "yeah, what that guy said."
Jim, I am always curious about the associated equipment used by a reviewer, but most of the time I have no experience with much of the equipment listed - so it doesnt really inform. I have found over the years that I trust the ears, sensibilties and points of view of a few reviewers, e.g., Greene, Colloms, Cordesman, and I trust them to describe the sound of the component they are reviewing, as opposed to the sound of the system including the component under review. They know what they are doing. When Greene or Cordesman say something about a component, they are really talking about the component - not its interaction with something else. They routinely evaluate components in combination with multiple amps, sources, etc.
A more serious omission in most reviews is any information about the reviewer's listening room (Greene and some of the other TAS reviewers have described theirs). For example, "Sam Tellig" recommends all sorts of inexpensive components that other people find barely listenable. John Marks's description of "Sam's" listening room in an AA thread explains a lot of stuff.
Paul
Jim, I am always curious about the associated equipment used by a reviewer, but most of the time I have no experience with much of the equipment listed - so it doesnt really inform. I have found over the years that I trust the ears, sensibilties and points of view of a few reviewers, e.g., Greene, Colloms, Cordesman, and I trust them to describe the sound of the component they are reviewing, as opposed to the sound of the system including the component under review. They know what they are doing. When Greene or Cordesman say something about a component, they are really talking about the component - not its interaction with something else. They routinely evaluate components in combination with multiple amps, sources, etc.
A more serious omission in most reviews is any information about the reviewer's listening room (Greene and some of the other TAS reviewers have described theirs). For example, "Sam Tellig" recommends all sorts of inexpensive components that other people find barely listenable. John Marks's description of "Sam's" listening room in an AA thread explains a lot of stuff.
Paul