Regadude wants to see the reviewer's personal systems! What are they packing down there, in their homes? 

Regadude likes to ask this to dealers. When a dealer tries to sell me someting, I ask him if he or any of the other salesman own it. If they have it in their personal systems, go with it. If they don't, look at someting else. 

I think that we should not only see reviewers systems (the whole system) but also designers systems. Too many times I have gone to peoples (reviewers and designers and well known listeners of note)  to hear something that is not remotely like what is talked about in the review or rave.  I don't want to cast doubt that they may have gotten that sound at one time or it sounded that way to them, but I feel that there is not nearly enough done to help people get great sound. 

Not long ago I was invited to listen to a system that I was told had great 3D sound, one of those I need to hear this things. When I arrived I was greeted with a soundstage that was flat as a pancake, no depth what so ever. Just today I was talking to a fella who went to hear another system with this good stage. I asked, could you hear the stage go past the edge of the speakers? No.

I think when people are talking about stereo they ought to paint the best they can about the size and space. So many times I have seen people in the biz talking about something as if it is the end all be all only to find out that it doesn't even give a close to life size sound. The sound doesn't come in front of the speakers or outside of the room or even fill the side to side stage. I'm disappointed if one of my setups drifts into the tiny stage and it bothers me something terrible till I open it back up to something more full. To me it's about the stage, and not looking at a 8 X 4 X 6 stage either, but having the stage fill the room. Some might want more of a pancake, and others something that is all about dynamic range.  Personally I feel if the stage is there the rest fills in, but that's me and I also think everyone has their own thing and we should be about getting each other there.  At my place in Manhattan I remember having 5 reviewers from several magazines by. Not one of them heard the system the same way, which was my point. Why are we getting systems that only know how to play the music one way?

At the same time we do have to keep in mind that the reviewers job doesn't always allow him or her to have a system nearly long enough to really tell you how it sounds. It's how it sounds in their world in a short period of time and this should be always looked at by the potential buyer of a product.  Same goes for a particular design to design match.

michael green

MGA/RoomTune

Regadude wrote:

Regadude wants to see the reviewer's personal systems! What are they packing down there, in their homes? 

Regadude likes to ask this to dealers. When a dealer tries to sell me someting, I ask him if he or any of the other salesman own it. If they have it in their personal systems, go with it. If they don't, look at someting else. 

Good point .

I've always felt if several Stereophile reviewers own one it's likely worth purchasing .

Yes I'd like to see pictures of there systems , and anyone elses too, one of my humble systems is in the gallery section . 

Back before the site redesign, the gallery section had numerous pictures of the reviewer's systems. Unfortunately, I think a lot of stuff was lost when Stereophile redesigned their website. I know I lost all my photos and couldn't log on and had to change my handle and start all over again.

On our forum the threads that have the best descriptions pics and diagrams are the ones that get the most readers. Not so much specs and test results as these are if-y, but more what someone did and the sound moved in this direction or that. Listeners are always heading somewhere with their sound and want to know how to get there. Following someones path while working on your own I believe helps listeners tremendously and forums have the ability to paint pictures of someones listening path far more than an article. The fact that forums are real time or close to it makes it a lot easier to get somewhere. It's nice to have someone say "I'm listening to this and here's the sound but I want to go there" and be able to take them there or find out why they're not getting to their goal.

michael green

MGA/RoomTune

30 years ago the cartoonist for Stereo Review had a caption "Why-YES, I happen to own these speakers in my very OWN home."  He had his hand smack on the top of a huge pyramid speaker.

Then the next picture showed the salesman sitting at home watching in front of a cheap TV with two unopened huge boxes of  pyramid speakers stacked in the far corner along with a bunch of other cr*p...

Hahahaha.  I MISS Rodrigues.  He was a classic and all ways NAILED the hobby even if sometimes you had to twinge at the recognition of your own sillyness...