19.3 Is Consumer Reports right?
Description
This article is from the rec.audio.* FAQ, by with numerous contributions by Bob Neidorff others.
19.3 Is Consumer Reports right?
Consumer Reports is the most objective testing lab we have ever
found. Unfortunately, they are also the world's least
specialized testing lab. They market their testing to the
average consumer. The average consumer will not hear some of
the subtle differences which audiophiles hear. For that reason,
Consumer Reports ignores issues that others feel vital.
Consumer Reports also insists on basing their audio testing
predominantly on lab measurements. Although lab measurements do
tell many differences between devices, interpreting lab
measurements for best sound is difficult or impossible. For
example, it is very hard to compare two speaker frequency
response curves and tell which will sound better. Some $3000
speaker frequency response curves look worse than some $600
speaker curves, even when tested in the same setup. On the
other side of the issue, Consumer Reports has improved its test
methods, and will continue to improve. Expect the accuracy of
their reviews to improve with time.
The Consumer Reports frequency-of-repair data base
is larger than any similar data base published and
can be trusted as well as any statistic.
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