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Mag editors and interviewers could do better

Is it just me or are there others who find the typical interviews with audio designers in the paper mags to promise more than they deliver? I'm not out to try and learn the intimate details of the people who design truly state-of-the-art gear, but I guess I’d like to know more that the predicable questions in the mags. But is this wise though? Is it better to not ‘meet’ your heroes. I'm just not sure.

For example, what design process led to the magnificent Vandersteen 7 product? Not just ‘we wanted better’ or ‘we didn’t cut corners’ and stuff like that. What did Beveridge use as his benchmark? Not just ‘try to recreate the live sound’ and so on. So, despite my uncertainty if this is a wise cause, I will be very interested to know the questions that people like us would like answered – if indeed there was an opportunity to ask them?
Thanks.

My system (passive)
Vandersteen 2Ce Signatures
LFD PA2M (SE) power amp
Benchmark DAC-pre
XTZ Cd player
Kenwood / Trio KT917 FM tuner
Nakamichi 682 tape
Pink Triangle PT Too
Breuer 8 Dynamic arm
Van den Hul MC1
LFD phono stage
Speaker cables – various LFD Audio
Interconnects – vintage Stereovox and LFD
Power cords – Black Rhodium, PS Audio
Power regeneration – PS Audio
128x128bigaitch
tomcy6's avatar
tomcy6
1,368 posts
 
There is a "Critic's Corner" forum at Audio Asylum where folks from the magazines post pretty often. You may be able to get a response to your question there.
cerrot's avatar
cerrot
1,606 posts
 
I'd just settle for a 'complete' review.

It wasn't until TAS reviewed an updated version of the Walker turntable, that they mentioned issues on the older ones.

Why don't they comment on a products noise and other real world issues? Telling me a cd player "sounds like vinyl" but than sounds like a rocket ship going of when I buy it does me not good.

At this point, I couldn't care less for the reviewer to tell me what the designer was thinking of when he conceived his fare. I would rather know what isolation the component sits on, how many hours of breakin & warm up, what cables are being used, etc.
philjolet's avatar
philjolet
2,262 posts
 
That would be much more interesting than hearing all the personal comments they often fill reviews with - too many silly stories for me, just get on with the review already...

my two cents
syntax's avatar
syntax
2,033 posts
 
... that they mentioned issues on the older ones.

Why don't they comment on a products noise and other real world issues?...

This business runs different. Any reviewer writes for the manufacturer, not for the customer. They don't want to write something negative (and they don't hear it anyway).
The normal way is to write something positive about a given product. When the manufacturer does an update, for example a new high frequency chassis, THEN you can read that the former model was aggressive in that area.
When you have still have the former -old - review you will never read something about that "problem", all was great.
A kind of deafness is mandatory in this business. There is only one rule (only one!): The next is always better.
bigaitch's avatar
bigaitch OP
38 posts
 
Hello Cerrot. You wrote: “At this point, I couldn't care less for the reviewer to tell me what the designer was thinking of when he conceived his fare.” I see – or rather, I don’t.
If a designer stated that his / her primary motivation was to (say) ‘make hip-hop listenable or that ‘rap drives my design work’ then quite clearly they are not on the same wavelength as me, and vice-versa of course – notwithstanding the utter futility of such a challenge.

In extremis then should the ‘review / interview’ conclusion be binary i.e. ‘buy this’ OR ‘do not buy this’? Do people really want the Dr. Seuss version of everything? I really hope not

However … I am in agreement re the points you raise re what isolation the component sits on, how many hours of break-in & warm up, what cables are being used, etc. I wish these questions had occurred to me. Not too old to learn from others I guess. So – thank you!
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