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That's dogma, not reality

Not all reviewers are good at what they do, but a lot of them are excellent at what they do. To posit that "all opinions are equal" is to deny both the objective nature of reality and the fact of excellence.

I do not seek advice on buying wine from people who do not drink, or are below legal drinking age, or who have not had enough experience to be able to give advice that is more predictive than throwing darts. Yes, a teenager may have an "opinion" after swallowing a mouthful of Puligny-Montrachet. No, that "opinion" is not equal in validity to Peter Parker's.

There is an ethos and a canon to arts such as playing the violin or piano or singing Schubert's lieder. Application of that ethos and canon results in an objectively extant phenomenon. Perceptions and preferences may vary, but there is an underlying objective reality.

Some pieces of equipment demonstrably reproduce the objective reality with fewer distortions than others. And I am talking perceived and not measured distortions. It is the critic's job to explain what the shortcomings of a component are and how much of a difference they make. And what the component does right, too. Some critics are better at it than others.

Consumers should not buy blindly just because a critic goes ga-ga. But that does not mean that a consumer who has heard three expensive amplifiers and bought one is worth listening to. Whereas JA is worth listening to, and, when he is on his game (rarely these days it seems) so is HP.

Cordially,

JM


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