Kal,
Of course, you would want to review it. It is in the price range of the components you use. However, this does not give anyone enough information to really know what is going on. Why don't all the review magazines send all components to most all reviewers? Rather than the usual review in every magazine that says......"this is the best thing at its price point and also 2-3 times its price".......and then you re read the review and realize that the reviewer has NONE of its latest competition and is comparing it to something years old. I must of read this a hundred times. If these magazines would really want to SERVE people then they would get maybe 5-10 of the latest and greatest thing in a particular price range and send them around to 5 different reviewers and then post the results. This would give the public a really good idea of how they all sound versus each other so we could make informed purchases. The magazines (all of them) are in business to make money. There are so many products at every price point. How can people know what to purchase? It is all the blind leading the blind. If a magazine did what I suggest then you could actually know something.......AND...the magazine would probably go out of business.....since all magazines are based on revenue from advertising. For instance, if they did a shoot out of the 10 most coveted preamps 10-40K then the losers of the shoot out would never advertise again. What if they did a shoot out of cables and Audioquest did not come out anywhere near on top.....do you think they would continue to advertise? What if B&W was way down the list in a big speaker test?
When I first got into this game in the late 70s we did not need the magazines and there was no internet. Within a 4 mile radius my audio buddies owned pretty much ALL the best stuff in the world.....maggies, Quads, Dayton Wrights, KLH 9s, triamped JBL monster system, custom tri amped wild system, etc. All the best preamps, power amps, cartridges, head amps, tone arms and turntables. You see, there were not more than a hand full of "worlds best" stuff back then. Two of my friends were within a couple of blocks from me and we would even walk over to each others house with the latest cartridge or preamp and A/B directly. We all KNEW what was going on. Of course, we were all very ignorant of all the things we know today. We had no idea that cables made such a difference, that footers and shelves made a difference, that fuses made a difference, that getting your cables off the floor made a difference, that damping heatsinks on a transistor amp makes a difference, that AC line conditioning and dedicated lines make a difference, that room treatments, resistors, solder, wire, capacitors, jacks, etc...etc, into infinity makes a difference.
High end audio is so different from most other hobbies.....in that it is almost totally subjective. Each man is on his own....to tune his system any way he prefers. There is no racetrack that "proves" the absolute superiority of any component. Measurements for the most part mean very little compared to listening tests. In drag racing....everyone knows what is going on. There are no guessing games. This is why all dragsters in the big classes all look the same and almost all run the same. Everything is known.....you have horsepower, drag, traction, gearing, weight and the driver. That is all there is. And you can measure the best car with a stop watch. Nothing like this in high end audio. Every single thing you do to a system changes the sound and most of the changes cannot be measured. However, if you are smart and do a lot of research then you can find components at every price range that are really good. However, you really need to have the ability to listen to these things before you buy or buy used so you can easily move the unwanted component. Most of my audio buddies read, read and read more and ask questions before even trying something. They look for people who seem to have real knowledge and are tweaky.....not just fan boys. If you are diligent and committed you can make seriously great sound at any price point. But most reviews posted in magazines and by people on line are just one mans opinion based on his knowledge and ability to source other competitors products (both qualities usually seriously lacking). How many people would buy all the preamps (or whatever) they think might be great and A/B them (burning each one in for 500 hours....each one using the best fuse and on the best footers tuned to it and best power cord for it, etc.)? If you did this, you would REALLY know something. You could then sell all the losers and be happy till next year when a new version of your thing comes out....he he.
What a crazy game high end audio is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Happiness is living in this moment......being aware of the infinite love and joy that exists in this and every moment. High end audio is a game of TRYing to find the best component that gives you a temporary rush and then you get bored and want something new.....he he....like anything material in life....it is in time.....and time makes rust. The heart never rusts. The soul never rusts. We are eternal joy. Can you feel it? Send blessings to everyone you meet.....when you give love you feel love. Hug the world.....Hug your self. We are incredibly beautiful....and deserving....way beyond what your mind could every imagine...........
