Utube reviews hit or misses accuracy


I have been watching Utube videos vs say reviews in Tas magazine ,Stereophile 
or other online reviews .on utube  like Zero fidelity ,or the next best thing studio
they give a review , and what they misses entirely for example they don’t try different power cords to get the most out of them ,as well as same a premium synergistic orange fuse which is crucial on some power supplies especially with class D hybrid variants, and class AB .The new Marantz ruby for example is technically the same $4k as the new Model 30 internally and it can be noticeably improved 
upon is for whatever reason switch mode power supply removing the steel fuse opens it up nicely.. More of depth , as well as a heavy power cord .I have a awg 7 Anaconda and the transparency and depth really improved vs the Luxman 505 mk2 which is a class A design it naturally is very transparent but not quite as nimble or fast.
I owned an Audio store for a decade and truly have many hours at least in matching listening over 40 years .to do a proper audition you need to match the correct power cord to That given product .I found 
many products including vacuum tube that truly open up just by experimenting with power cords .
these online reviewers should tell you what cables they are using, and a must to use the exact speakers and sourse ,or there comparisons are faulty. Even in magazines I have found they will do a review and comparisons but use a different brand of cables or mixes ,That is why I have found you can get a solid 10-15improvement by matching the cable for its warmth and depth ,or transparency speed or detail. With digital sometimes a night and day difference stock power cords Never should be used in a review 
I see blue jeans cables, in reviews that’s fine for a entry level $3k system not a $10k +.
cables can be way over priced you need to do some research . myself spend sometimes 10 hours just in reading on a specific  product 
and try to buy with a return option ,system synergy is not always guaranteed ,that is one thing not
tslked about enough ,just buying all A category products doesnot guarantee it will sound coherent .
i have had to some times goes through 3 dacs ,or amplifiers before I get the right synergy.
loudspeakers I always upgrade the Xovers for the vast majority even in $20k+ speakers the capacitors resistors are often not much better then average .having modded speakers for over 20 years .I know how to voice to get a more natural tonal balance ,on average oly  25%of the cost  is all that goes into your equipment the rest overhead ,markup,dealer markup.
modding brings the best bang for the buck. On All gear.

128x128audioman58

Showing 1 response by rcprince

I always have felt it was important for a reviewer to use and describe the component he/she was reviewing in its stock form; after all, that is the way it will be purchased by a consumer.  After that, if they want to experiment with power cords, cables, footers, etc. they can do so and describe the changes (not necessarily improvements) that they hear.  But I vaguely recall a reviewer years ago (not sure who or what he was reviewing, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was Jonathan Scull)  once reviewing an expensive piece of equipment and not waxing ecstatic until he added some tweak that cost almost as much as the unit he was reviewing.  That implied to me that the unit stunk and wasn't worth its asking price.  And while modding a unit can provide good bang for the buck, then you're not describing the component that is being sold to the public.

I do agree with the OP that working to find synergistic components and cables is important and should be part of a review.  That's why I find Herb Reichert's reviews in Stereophile to be so good, he uses different speaker/headphone/amp combinations and compares and describes them, thus warning his readers about possible mismatches as well as good combinations.