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 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 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 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