Best Place for Negative Reviews?

Personally, I find it much more important for a reviewer to tell me how a component sounds than if it is "good" or "bad". My sense is, with the severly reduced size of the major hi-fi criticism mags, that there is little space to waste on completely worthless components. That said, to take Stereophile, for example, Art Dudley wrote a negative review of the new Rega Apheta cartridge two months ago and John Atkinson has had negative comments about many, many components due to their test bench measurements, the Harmonic Technology light cables and Yamamoto Soundcraft amp being recent examples.

I've found the most useful/honest comments to be random postings in various audio forums (here and elsewhere). Just Google the component in question, and start reading. Unfortunately, ya gotta wade thru some junk and jaded opinions before you get a handle on how good it really is. I'd trust 25 casual opinions, over *ONE* reviewer.

Its interesting how some see product promotion in some reviews when careful reading by folks familar with the reviewer and the products in general can find all kinds of picks and nits which would kill a purchase.

Interesting kind of conundrum - the person who needs the review the least usually can get the most out of them. Those who read reviews thinking that they are reading something more than a subjective, albeit experience based, opinion are setting themselves up for disappointment.

Ditto in spades for casual user comments which can be forthright opinions or in many cases nothing more than puffery by product supporters like salemen, dealers, distributors and their sockpuppets.

It's a swamp out there..................

I find this site and also Audioasylum to be excellent place for reviews from actual owners and not a staff looking not to offend a manufacture that contributes big advertizing bucks to their mag.

Most reviews require you to read in between the lines of what is actually being said, I see many negative opinions that on the face can seem like an over-all positive review.
I do wish the problems with gear were not so cryptic when you read a given review, and half of me thinks most reviewers have made a deal with the devil and complete honesty has jumped the shark, but how can you mix sound business and sound reviews.....its a tap dance.