Are audio reviewers biased or incredibly biased?

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One listen to a Kronos and you will know why it costs more than my VPI. It is better. $35,000 better? That's up to the one making the decision to part with their cash. But I agree with Myles. There is a reason why better tables cost more. They sound a lot better.

My VPI Classic 3 absolutely smokes my Rega RP3.

Are there great values in high end tables? Sure. VPI, AMG, Transrotor, Feickert, etc. Are there rip offs in high end tables, oh hell yes. I'm not a huge fan of the AirForce One. But like anything else, do your home work and listen, listen, listen to those tables within your budget.
 
Bobvin said:
Money is a tool, and a physical manifestation of your life energy. We always trade some of our precious time here on earth for things we value, and things we need. Money facilitates that, because it would be hard for me to travel to Dave Wilson and provide him with an equivalent time trade for his speakers. He might not want or value water filters, which is what I make. Thankfully enough people do value what I make, and reward me with their hard earned dollars, enough so that I eek out a little profit, which I can share with Mr. Wilson and his crew. Money just greases the skids, you go through life without $$, there is a lot more friction, screeching and scratching. If you are lucky enough to find a way to provide value, you can go through life with a little more $$, and then there's less friction. Having a little extra $$ can help you slide through some otherwise sticky situations.

As to Mr. Fremer, I value his reviews, but he seems to prefer a more analytical and (dare I say) dry sound than I prefer. He loves his vinyl, and continues to be one of the biggest vinyl evangelists, but I personally prefer a little of the bloom I usually only hear from tubes.

Tubes and vinyl forever!!! (best enjoyed in the company of beautiful women and a great Cabernet!)
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If you have lots of money, that helps grease the skids with women to use your analogy which I happen to like. If you have enough money, they will gladly sit with you and drink alcoholic beverages and pretend to love the sound of your system. As soon as the money dries up, that train will come to a screeching halt and it will jump to another set of tracks that are well greased.
 
Mike said:
One listen to a Kronos and you will know why it costs more than my VPI. It is better. $35,000 better? That's up to the one making the decision to part with their cash. But I agree with Myles. There is a reason why better tables cost more. They sound a lot better.

My VPI Classic 3 absolutely smokes my Rega RP3.

Are there great values in high end tables? Sure. VPI, AMG, Transrotor, Feickert, etc. Are there rip offs in high end tables, oh hell yes. I'm not a huge fan of the AirForce One. But like anything else, do your home work and listen, listen, listen to those tables within your budget.
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Agreed and the little Rega isn't bad sounding on its own. But here's another thing. The Rega/Rega arm with the Rega cartridge isn't as good a tracker as the best arms and cartridges out there. One LP (the D2D M&K Recording Flamenco Direct) that I played on the Rega at Axpona simply gave it fits and the rig just gave up the ghost. The same LP played back on the Acoustic Signature table (the same one people will hear at Bob's place) with the Funk Firm arm and vdh Colibri sailed through the passage with nary an issue.
 
Myles B. Astor said:
I sure have. I've written a few in my lifetime. Not fun at all.

But what is the reviewer's job? I think it's to accurately describe the sound of a component, both strengths and weaknesses. But in the end, what does trashing a component buy you in reality? I know of course that there are those out there who believe that TAS went downhill when HP stopped trashing equipment. I don't know. I think that it's also our job to promote the industry whenever possible. God only knows we have enough idiots out there already trying to trash high end who have never heard a high-end component and look soley at measurements.

And I'd aver that we live in the age where the quality of the components from the top to the bottom of the price scale is better than we've ever experienced.
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This I agree with. Probably the very same people that read reviews & think they have done the audition.

NorthStar said:
Nice to have an editor ready.
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Could be closer than you think!
 
veindoc said:
Myles I would love your insights as to what manufacturers yearn to hear compared to us common folk.
thnx for your honest input.
Nick
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Thanks, I have nothing to hide and it helps the readers understand more about the review process. (of course, some will always remain unconvinced no matter what. This is the internet after all.) I do think the best reviewers bring a lot to the table, not the least of is exposure to many more components than the average person. That helps put things in a little better perspective. I also think reviewers are a little more able to get the best sound out of component than the average audiophiles. Let's take speakers. I have the ability to tap into, if I desire to several amps, not to mention to listen to the speakers with multiple cables. I'd also like to think that reviewers might be more prone to spend the proper amount of time to set the speakers up properly. But in the end, it all comes down to how something sounds in your system. But things are rarely equal, components may not have a distributor in a region or an audiophile lives really remote from any dealer.

As for the second question, it depends on the manufacturer. Most in the industry are wonderful to deal with. But some in the past have reacted rather unprofessionally to negative reviews; others read through a glowing positive review (music and equipment) and will complain about one or two areas say where I felt the unit fell a little short say of ultimate.
 
Does it really matter for too many of us if they are biased? I read reviews to: 1) Understand the technology used in a product 2) what are the capabilities and connections provided a piece of gear 2) what other products is it comparable to (i.e. what sandbox is it competing in) 4) what does it look like . Once I understand these factors I will then decide whether I want to hear the product.

And sure I wish I could get gear at industry accommodation prices. But then if we all did there would be no industry.
 
The cold hard fact is that every audiophile has biases and reviewers are no different. Some people are biased towards digital, others are biased towards analog, and some people like both. Some people are biased toward tubes, others are biased towards SS. Some people are biased towards box speakers, others are biased towards planers and stats. Reviewers are no different and if you have read them for any length of time, their biases are not hidden.
 
Instead of bias, perhaps corrupt would be a better term, since the implication is the reviewer writes a good review in exchange for discounted, or free, gear. This is a variation of past discussions where it is said the reviewer gives a good review for advertising dollars.

While there probably have been reviewers who fall into those catagories, I do not get that feeling from what I read in the absolute sound or stereophile. If that were true, and found out, it would put a big dent into their credibility.

I have bought a number of things based on reviews, and have been pleased with each piece. However, by reviews I mean magazine reviews, comments in audio forums, and any other source that shows up on Google. If every review from all these sources, or at least the overwhelming majority, I read is positive then the odds are the piece performs as expected. I might spend a year looking at this data before I make the purchase.

The recent Magico S5s I bought were based on this model. They fit the aesthetic model of how I want a speaker to look, and I could not find anything negative that would make me not want to buy them, and after buying they have turned out better than I expected.

On the other hand, I bought my Auralic Vega DAC after reading about it in TAS, and asking some questions in the audio forums. Rather than a year, this was about a month, but the result was the same; a very nice DAC with filters, DSD, an excellent clock, and very good sound for only $3500.

So, do your homework, and don't jump just because one article is positive. Find supporting data, and you probably will be okay.
 
Never let the facts get in the way of a good headline.

The Caliburn table and stand was not 150k, it was 89k when Fremer reviewed.
Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn turntable & Cobra tonearm Specifications | Stereophile.com

It was an incredible leap of faith on Fremer's part to pay 50k for a brand new turntable from a brand new unknown company. He loved the table and still does.

If that is an incredibly biased reviewer - give me that biased view every time.

Guys like Valin who never pay for anything as everything is on short term loan are more of a fundamental problem with bias. They love whatever reference gear is lent, til they ask for him to pay for it or return it.
 
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