Recommended components on Stereophile Magazine.

1) Given only those two options, I'd buy the $3K Class A component.

2) Yes, however I believe what some people fail to understand is that Stereophile
recommends components they believe to offer the best performance, but the
recommendations include *many* flavors, and Stereophile does not do a
particularly good job of describing the different flavors.

Also, Stereophile does not review components from many small companies.
Therefore, a good percentage of possibilities are not mentioned in the
magazine.

This is why one should use other resources in addition to Stereophile.

3) IMO, this is not a safe bet for the reasons given in #2 above.

Stereophile is not a bible. You are not supposed to religiously believe what it says.

It is a very good source of information nontheless. The measurement section is priceless.

Reviewing audio equipment *is* like reviewing fine wine. Everyone has different taste.

For many reasons, including some previously listed in this thread, the Stereophile Recommended Components List has become obsolete.

A definite pattern I see is that many of the participants in the audio discussion forums seem to have more involved systems than many of the reviewers, and more evolved/refined tastes as well. Beyond that, one of the dirty little secrets of this business is that negative reviewers are persona non grata, not only to the manufacturers, but also the publications and websites. Why would I put any more stock in these reviewers than I would someone participating in the threads?

One of my biggest issues is that there seems to be a lot of "slotting" of components, and by that, I mean, rating a component based more on its pricetag than anything else. "OK, this amp sounds very good, but it's $1250, Class C." There are definite exceptions to this rule, but I think it holds up far more often than not.

Beyond all of this, I've always had a problem with the Class A+ rating. Given that Class A is supposed to be the best attainable sound, how can something exceed that? Rather than demote or reclass products when some component comes down the pike to warrant it (no doubt JGH faced this many times), they decided to create an entirely new class. A lot like the grade inflation that has entered into the world of education.

I'll probably echo things that have already been said here. Music, sound, the "accurate" reproduction thereof in ones home, or perhaps more to the point the "enjoyment" of the reproduction thereof in ones home, is entirely subjective. You might prefer a system that I would not choose myself. We are not machines that respond to graphs and plots and sine waves in a consistent and predictable manner from person to person. That said, like any input / opinions you read or hear on this subject, take them as a point of departure, with a grain of salt, as just one more bit of information to make your own choices, but most certainly do not take any as the last word on the subject. The only opinion that should count in the end is your own. A system is the sum of all the links in it, and stereo systems are highly dependent upon synergy between each of those many links. It is not only impossible for a reviewer to test all possible combinations with any given component, but what they do actually test and comment on, given what is available to them as a system, represents a very tiny, and I do mean tiny, fraction of what is possible for the component being reviewed. As has already been stated, there are a huge number of components and manufacturers that are, for whatever reasons, not reviewed in Stereophile, and that is most certainly not a reflection on their worthiness for your consideration. I could go on. I would no more let someone else choose the gear that I use in my system than I would let them select the music that I use it to listen to.

As further clarification of my previous posts, I'd like to add two comments.

1) I do not fully trust Stereophile's recommendations. In my 20+ years as a subscriber, I've found their recommendations to be hit or miss, just like anyone else's opinions.

2) I will say that after buying and selling on AudiogoN for about 9 years, Stereophile's recommendations DO carry a lot of weight on re-sale prices. I'm not saying this is a right or wrong, it's just a fact that I've noticed.
To me it says that many folks let Steophile make buying decisions for them.
The best part is when I hear something that I like, and Stereophile gives it a bad review. This usually means I'll get what I want at a great discount price.

Cheers,
John