When a Reviewer "likes" something


... what does that mean in your opinion. I read in one of the last Stereophile mags a comment from Mr. Atkinson where he wrote about the differences in "opinions" in forums or in printed mags. After all he ended with the argument, a component is good when a reviewer likes it.
Isn't is more helpful, when a reviewer knows something about a real tone reproduction? Or is it ok, when he used every month another CD or LP he got for free, a kind of music nearly no one wants to listen to?
Harry Pearson used in the 90's always the same records for his reviews but that was an exception I think.
What is it worth for you when - for example - Mr. Dudley/Fremer/Valin/HP .... "likes" something? Do you have the same "taste" they have?
I know it is possible to like a Turntable even when that unit can't hold the proper speed, or is extremely sensitive to any influences, there are endless recommendations written about such units...what is it worth for you?
Atkinson for example measures units, some have top datas but they can sound very boring, far away from the real thing, some have no top datas, some "tests" are shortened because a unit can reach a area which can be pretty dangerous (see one of the latest Agostino units, just as an example) but they are rated Class A in recommendations anyway....
When someone "knows" what is right or not, then his "liking" is only a personal opinion which is more or less uninteresting or?
Most customers (not all of course) would prefer to know what a unit is really able to do sonically, or not? Would knowledge destroy the joy of Hardware rolling? Or is there a reason why reviewers use low efficiency speakers when they have a tube amp for review (for example Lamm ML2.1/ML2.2 with Magico Speakers)? Is the matching "expensive + expensive" the proper way to show competence?
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Showing 1 response by islandmandan

Go one-on-one with with a highly qualified independant tech (the one I use has 50 years in the game), and you will lose respect for nearly the entire industry.

$40,000+ amps, that due to their design, blow their transformers on a regular basis, and too many horror stories to even begin to tell. But with 50 years at it, you will soon get the idea, that many designers really don't know what they are doing, and worse, don't care.

It's very disconcerting, but that is the current state of affairs.

There are, of course, many very knowledgeable designers, but there are enough that only care about profits, to make the situation disgusting, especially with the exorbitant current prices of supposedly SOTA equipment.

This says a lot about the equipment reviews. They must be taken with the proverbial grain of salt.

Dan