Who can forget Art Dudley's review of the Zu Audio DL-103 phono cartridge: The Zu doesn't just slay giants: It rips their beating heart from their chests, shows it to them, finishes them off, then chases their souls and drags them down to hell. Recommended.
I recall the first time I read Stereophile. Compared to other audio magazines of the time it struck me as a real curiosity. True , many ridiculous quotes, but I’m ok w that.
We have a member here who fits right in by giving two thumbs-up to bells, blocks, and pretty much every single miscellaneous trinket imaginable, each one of them having a positive impact on the music. Imagine that!
Absolutely! Didn't you know they give better imaging based on the sympathetic resonance of your room?
LOL! No I did not!! But I guess you can learn something new every day!!! Maybe that's what is missing in my room... sympathetic resonance.... thanks for the tip!
You’re probably missing the best value in digital today, the t+a CD player. It’s only $23,000. AND, it plays SACD’s!
The sense of sustain makes my day too! And that one about the best deal in digital being a 24,000$ piece. Hilarious
I like when reviewers assign an attribute to a product that it could not possibly have. Exuberant? Not sure if it’s actually true, but someone once told me there was a wine review in which the wine was described as being playful, with a sense of humor...
Oh god did you hit the nail on the head with that one. Henceforth, any reviewer using that phrase should be sentenced to listening to mis-decoded old quadraphonic recordings, with added fake Japanese early DSP "JAZZ/HALL/etc" reverb engaged...
Go back and read the early stuff by JG Holt. It's a different world. I was trying to figure something out about the history of the Vestigal arm. One of the web hits was JGH's review, which was scathing, and the manufacturer response, which was outright insulting. It was a good read. I like Roy Gregory's writing- he can convey ideas with words effectively. The whole task is impossible at some point- describing one sensory impression through another. And there's the tried and true, trite, standard verbiage too, that is tiresome. I used to be able to mimic J. Peter Moncreieff's writing; Harry Pearson, who was a decent writer, used to drive me crazy sometimes, not so much because of his writing style, but because of his frustrating tendency to promise a further, more in-depth review of something that never happened. I rarely read the magazines any more. I'm sure some of the folks that write the reviews would agree with you. It's not quite the organized group of journalists working from the same background or knowledge, but a quirky assortment of people drawn to the hobby. That said, I can't defend the indefensible.
Great points. A common theme seems to be the review that could possibly turn sour, only to have some miraculous outcome involving burn in or new cables or some nonsense. Even equipment that breaks during a review gets a thumbs up, or an if you’re looking for x, you should put this on your list, blah blah
"Dave Clark, Editor of audio review publication Positive Feedback Online describes the ANJOU performance as being "... way better than anything I have heard..." He goes on to say, "Simply put these are very danceable cables. Music playing through them results in the proverbial foot-tapping scene with the need or desire to get up and move. Great swing and pace—these cables smack that right on the nose big time."" Review of the Pear Cable's Anjou 7500 smackers speaker cables.....
I recall several of Paul Miller's reviews of equipment made by his private consultancy clients, e,g. Naim. They were comical gold, very similar to a Ken Kessler review of anything made by Quad.
What HiFi and their review of van den hul's "The Name" interconnect. What Hi-Fi magazine 2004: The Name - Van den Hul B.V. - High End Cables, Phono Cartridges and Electronics This ended up in their then Buying Guide as the one you have. Bought it, and it was no better than my then interconnect, Audioquest's Turquoise. £20 cheaper at that. Upside: I became more critical of magazines, and gave less credence to accessories. Both approaches have served me well since.
