Consumer Reports: Speaker Ratings (2 Viewers)

[Wayne_T]

the audiophile community will shy away from the JVCs and Pioneers because of the snob appeal factor to a certain degree

Only partially true. If it were entirely true how would we explain the acclaim that the RP91, a Panasonic product, is receiving on these forums.
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[DaleB]

Since someone so kindly put a link to the CU test in here, how could I not at least read it?
It was the same speaker test they have always performed for years with the same criteria.
It's general information for the mass public.
We don't live in listening rooms, and we don't live in anechoic chambers either. So the nice graphs they drew are ok for comparing between models, but to what end?
The graphs do not have reference to amplitude variations, that is what the deviation really is in decibels. I realize that might a be a stretch to try to convey the meaning of it to the populace.
Quite honestly, there are a few speakers there that are ripoffs in my own opinion, but if the public takes the time to compare and listen carefully, and do a lot of listening, they may make their own decisions, which may well be better than CU's (based on their charts).
And they may be surprised to find superior sounding systems not even on CU charts. Then they become more like most of the readers here. Funny how that works.
CU so much as implies that, so why even bother running tests except not to lose any subscribers, since that's what they depend on to exist.
The subscribers are their sponsors, and maybe they are trying too hard to please the sponsors and going off in an area that requires much more research and experience than the article reflects. In that sense, they are doing the readers a disservice.
But if you read everything, and take it with a grain of salt, and form your own opinions, you will likely do fine.
I will continue to lean more on other publications that tend to show more experience in the art of listening, as well as doing testing, and my local dealers who allow me to do lots of listening of various models and make my own decisions.
And listen to more live performances to form a reference in my mind as to what sounds good to my ears.
Seriously, now!
When was the last time you made your final decision on audio /video equipmenet based on Consumer Reports?