Reviewing the Reviewers - and the decline of HiFi

Buco,
Consumer Reports also said that buying anything more expensive than Bose was just a waste of money!

Ah come on Buconero117, reviewers are for the most part regular audiophiles like the rest of us. Corrupt? Come on, that is a real stretch. Has it gotten to the point in the world we live in that we find it necessary to view ourselves as victims and dupes for seemingly everything? It seems a real trend. Mind you there are real victims and in the context of this discussion your comments diminish the importance of people that are so legitimately. We're talking about Cavaet Emptor here. I say, get educated, be smart, take responsibility for your decisions and STOP blaming and accusing. It's what the hell's wrong in the world we live in. I just HAD to vent this, I am so tired of people not taking personal responsibility and always pointing the finger. We are each the master of our choices.

Regarding the opening sentence about M.Fremer's reviews, i have to say that Stereophile almost ALWAYS gives him the most exotic/expensive components and speakers to comment on. This in itself shows a bias that i am uncomfortable with. Are not the others on the staff capable of evaluating the really pricey equipment both for sound as well as value/dollar?
The really good stuff out there at this point IS going to sound very very good.
some manufacturers still have reliability issues and in those cases they either have to fix the component RIGHT AWAY for the customer or they should not be in business at all. But what a reviewer says is too often a result of either a very good listening room and associated components or perhaps not one and/or the other. or they are partial to vinyl over cd's. nothing wrong with that, but they (in Mr.Fremer's case) own a VERY exotic record player, not a Linn or VPI, etc. Perhaps redbook cd's should be the acid test for most systems due to the fact that just about EVERYONE knows what the good and bad of cd sound results in.
Overall i find reviews are helpful, although of course you need to go hear the components yourself. and where are those few stores that carry high-end gear set up for auditioning? certainly not readily available for most of us. you can however get a sense of what is going on with high-end audio from what IS available to listen to within a 2 hour radius of your house, especially when it comes to really good speaker systems. and perhaps as the internet forums get better and more to the point, you can find out from other individuals what they thought about a piece of gear they heard at a store or an audio show. If you've heard it, and more importantly if you've OWNED IT for awhile, PLEASE contribute what you know about speaker-X or preamp-Y, etc. you may not have the writing skills of a professional reviewer, but you may know a lot more about living with a piece of equipment than they would.

for a review to be of value the following conditions must be met: a) the reviewer be at a non-profit that does not advertise, b) the reviewed equipment must not come directly from the Manufacturer but be purchased in the manner we as consumers would purchase, c) the reviewer does not know and has no contact with the manufacturer, d) the reviewed item is reviewed in a real world system (5k speakers in a 10k system --- not a 40K system; a 4k preamp in a 20k system --- not a 100K system), and e) the reviewed item is compared in one system against 3 other items and reviewed in a relativistic manner (example: 4 total 5k speakers compared & contrasted or 4 total 4K pre-amps).

These conditions are never met.

Thus, no professional reviews are of value --- except as a diversion for a few minutes and to look at pretty pictures.. otherwise, professional reviews are biased, non-relativistic (and thus meaningless) and of no real value to a person considering a purchase.

I hear what you're saying Robsker but a "non profit" for hi-end audio? Another consideration is someone with some business savvy and ambition that might explore the viability of a for profit in the mode of Consumer Reports, not likely either. (I'm not sure if they are a non profit or not for profit but you can bet, someone or somebodies is making money along the line.)

In any regard I'm certain it would take a lot of investment capital and market research as a start that few would risk UNLESS some altruistic audiophile with deep pockets decides to do it as a worthwhile "non profit" or "NOT FOR PROFIT" enterprise in the service of his fellow audiophiles maybe? Again, not likely unless there is some beneficial tax loophole regarding the 2nd option. Consumer Reports researches a wide variety of product so has vastly broader appeal and a greater subscriber base. Another problem is that objective analysis can never override subjective appeal, how do you deal with that? It can NEVER be like Consumer Reports for that reason alone. Remember Audio Magazine and Stereo Review? Everything was pretty much based on measurements and a brief comment or two about how components sounded, which was generally "good".