19.2 Which reviews are better?
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This article is from the rec.audio.* FAQ, by with numerous contributions by Bob Neidorff others.
19.2 Which reviews are better?
Some reviews are so colorful and exciting, that they
make great journalism and fun reading. Lets ignore
these for now, even though they have their place.
Beware of reviews from magazines that advertise the same
product. The likelihood of bias is too high. Unfortunately,
that rules out 99% of the reviews in magazines.
Stereo Review has a bad reputation for loving everything
made by every advertiser. Even high-end journals such
as Stereophile and The Absolute Sound can be influenced.
A classic example of misleading reviews occurs with equipment
submitted to a magazine for review. The manufacturer may send
the editors a carefully built, adjusted piece for review. The
magazine will honestly rave about it. The manufacturer will then
send the design off-shore for more economical manufacture and
assembly, and the quality will suffer. Lower quality components
will be substituted for prime parts. Adjustments will be made
to wider tolerances or will not be made at all. The design may
be completely changed to make it more manufacturable. You will
unknowingly get a completely different piece than reviewed.
Home auditions with one or two candidates from each of a few
dealers are your best guide to be sure that you get what you
want and pay for.
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