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Re: More on the listening room as an evaluation tool

As I said below, I fully agree that a reviewer's setup is his or her place of work and laboratory so we owe it to the makers and readers to do the best we can to have it optimized and conducive for the job, the tools appropriate and sharp for the task.

But there also can come a point where a reviewer creates an idealized environment which 95% of prospective owners of the gear he reviews can't or won't duplicate. Large conventional bass traps and room treatments are one example. Most living room systems simply won't tolerate their installation as a matter of decor.

Even having a dedicated listening room is something many real-world listeners don't enjoy. They use double-duty spaces.

Installing separate system grounds with copper rods in the yards is something most end users who rent won't ever do - nor many who own their home. Elevating cables on riser above synthetic carpet. There's a long list of optimizations that audiophiles are willing to consider but not regular music lovers.

The best compromise to me is to have full disclosure on the part of the given reviewer, about what his system, setup and room are and look like. Then the manufacturer has hard data to decide whether he considers that suitable and appropriate for his standards while the reader can decide how much weight the conclusions should hold that were made under those circumstances.

And yes, something can look slick and gorgeous but may still sound like shit - a component or a system or an installaton. We all know examples of that, don't we? -;)


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