I suppose you've already considered that the standard portfolio of distortion measurements hardly describes the actual sound into loudspeakers? clark On Thu, Oct 10, 2013 at 5:04 PM, Tom Fine <[log in to unmask]>wrote: > This kind of thing lights a fire under the audiophillic community. The > beauty of this example is that it was all played out in Stereophile, > definitely prime reading for the subjective-review scene: > http://www.stereophile.com/**content/croft-acoustics-phono-** > integrated-integrated-**amplifier<http://www.stereophile.com/content/croft-acoustics-phono-integrated-integrated-amplifier> > > I suggest you start with John Atkinson's measurements of this clearly > badly-designed piece of gear: > http://www.stereophile.com/**content/croft-acoustics-phono-** > integrated-integrated-**amplifier-measurements<http://www.stereophile.com/content/croft-acoustics-phono-integrated-integrated-amplifier-measurements> > > Then go back and read the main, gushing review, and the follow-on by > another editor: > http://www.stereophile.com/**content/croft-acoustics-phono-** > integrated-integrated-**amplifier-stephen-mejias-**comments<http://www.stereophile.com/content/croft-acoustics-phono-integrated-integrated-amplifier-stephen-mejias-comments> > > I'm not questioning the sincerity of any of them, nor the deep belief by > the two subjective reviewers that they liked what they heard. But, if they > could so like something that should have very audible distortions and > colorations, how can we trust their reviews? What is their reference point, > because it seems to favor colorations and distortions? It's OK not to like > accurate sound reproduction, but what use is a review of anything if the > goal isn't accurate sound reproduction? > > One man's (subjective) opinions ... > > -- Tom Fine