firedog;525763 Wrote: > There actually was a thread similar to this on the TAS (AvGuide.com) > forum. > I agree with the quote above. What I think high end reviews need to > include are comparisons. For instance, say, "this $1200 DAC sounds as > good as anything presently on the market under $2500". Or direct > comparisons between similar products and how they sound, so we can > differentiate what each one is good at (or not good at).
+1 I and others have been saying this for 20 plus years (no old age, old timers jokes please). I even asked TAS and Stereophile why there were so few test them all articles. The answer was that its hard to get them all together at one time due to release dates, most reviewers work from home now (not at an office for group reviewer group gear reviews), one reviewer has to pile up and hold all the gathered equipment, when he does the review it takes up a huge amount of time so that other gear scheduled to be reviewed stacks up and the reviews run late, and lastly all but one manufacture hates it because usually there appears to be a clear winner, some also runs, and glaring losers. By reviewing one piece of gear on its merits one at a time without usually having other gear for direct comparison then generalities are broader and the kinder comparison that the gear under review is "similar" to such and such respected gear becomes the trend (read more sales for advertisers). Of course there is also the problem of how one realistically does a side by side by side when the gear is a $5000 CDP, a $12000 transport/DAC combo, and ultra money is no object $18000 CDP. And for Stereophile, it allows them to create the annual rating/review issue where they rank gear in each classification without actually comparing them directly at the same time but by comparing reviews from the various reviews done during the year. Sure there can be clear winners when money is no object but what about ten DACs in the $3K to $5K range that where reviewed by 6 different people. What I am looking for in a DAC might not be what Wes Phillips or John Atkinson are looking for. For me the rags are now only good for measurements and general impressions to see if I want to take the time to look into or audition a piece of equipment. -- iPhone *iPhone* Media Room: Transporter, VTL TL-6.5 Signature Pre-Amp, Ayre MX-R Mono's, VeraStarr 6.4SE 6-channel Amp, Vandersteen Speakers: Quatro Mains, VCC-5 Reference Center, four VSM-1 Signatures, Video: Runco RS 900 CineWide AutoScope 2.35:1 Living Room: Duet, ADCOM GTP-870HD, Cinepro 3K6SE III Gold, Vandersteen Model 3A Signature, Two 2Wq subs, VCC-2, Two VSM-1 Kitchen: Squeezebox BOOM Bedroom: Second Boom Bathroom: Squeezebox Radio Ford Thunderbird: Duet, Mac Mini Ford Expedition: SB Touch, USB drive ------------------------------------------------------------------------ iPhone's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=13622 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=75908 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
