T Cobe -

Perhaps we should belabor this just a bit.

Now that I have taken the time - albeit 20 minutes - to search and read the article that presumably is the subject of this thread:

www.stereophile.com/content/2016-recomme...#BG9jLCFwo10EYMHj.97
www.stereophile.com/content/2016-recomme...#xQVSt4Bp6uBU3Sh3.97

I note that (a) the T1s are listed with a $$$ symbol denoting "Where we have found a product to perform much better than might be expected from its price, we have drawn attention to it..." and (b) ALL speakers listed as "A (Full-Range) are WAY more expensive than the Triton's, the cheapest of which is more than 3 times as much.

Also, to your statement "Class A in this case is based on quality of the component", I'm not sure that is the intention of the rating. The site indicates:

"The ratings given components included in this listing are based entirely on performance—ie, accuracy of reproduction—and are biased to an extent by our feeling that things added to reproduced sound (eg, jitter, distortion, colorations of various kinds) are of more concern to the musically oriented listener than are things subtracted from the sound (eg, deep bass or extreme treble). On the other hand, components markedly deficient in one or more respects are downrated to the extent that their deficiencies interfere with the full realization of the program material."

I don't give much credence to the article.

GDHAL:

You surprise/shock me.
I figured you were a reviewer/writer for Stereophile.

I was somewhat OK with Stereophile's rating of the T1's as "borderline class A" when I first read it, as a concession to the multi dollar speaker makers. They are A#1 to me, though! Gorgeous SQ throughout the sound spectrum. Unequaled bass and treble. But T2+'s as Class C?? Can't buy it. Not even close to reality.

I really think other publications, like Sound and Vision, get closer to the truth.

Not sure I'll renew my subscription to Stereophile. Lots of reviews just seem off the mark. And I can't always "digest" their rating systems for components. I like the concept of ranking components by "realistic" reviews, but true reality has to set in somewhere. T2+'s as Class C's????l Absurd!!!!

Rick

GDHAL wrote: T Cobe -

Perhaps we should belabor this just a bit.

Now that I have taken the time - albeit 20 minutes - to search and read the article that presumably is the subject of this thread:

www.stereophile.com/content/2016-recomme...#BG9jLCFwo10EYMHj.97
www.stereophile.com/content/2016-recomme...#xQVSt4Bp6uBU3Sh3.97

I note that (a) the T1s are listed with a $$$ symbol denoting "Where we have found a product to perform much better than might be expected from its price, we have drawn attention to it..." and (b) ALL speakers listed as "A (Full-Range) are WAY more expensive than the Triton's, the cheapest of which is more than 3 times as much.

Also, to your statement "Class A in this case is based on quality of the component", I'm not sure that is the intention of the rating. The site indicates:

"The ratings given components included in this listing are based entirely on performance—ie, accuracy of reproduction—and are biased to an extent by our feeling that things added to reproduced sound (eg, jitter, distortion, colorations of various kinds) are of more concern to the musically oriented listener than are things subtracted from the sound (eg, deep bass or extreme treble). On the other hand, components markedly deficient in one or more respects are downrated to the extent that their deficiencies interfere with the full realization of the program material."

I don't give much credence to the article.

GDHAL,

I absolutely concur with your assessment. I was using the term quality for brevity. I like many of the articles in Stereophile but I'm not a huge fan of this list. Most likely due to the fact that I would never spend the kind of money that the majority of their class A recommendations cost. They do have good articles otherwise and they have been a great source for finding new music.

Cheers,

T Cobe

I posted this because people do wait and read those lists twice a year. I think they are great to assume a starting point. However, it is always left to one's ears to determine a speaker of choice. The listing of Triton II+ with the old descriptor is not acceptable. Stereophile should have scrubbed the speaker from the list as the new model presents almost a new speaker which needs to be reviewed. New speaker header, old review of the speaker being replaced. In my mind there are speakers better suited for me than many of the class A. They are boutique products which demand matched electronics and a focused sitting position, not something I am interested in. I want a speaker which provides me a reference performance, but does its job at a dinner party, or intimate get to gether! As always, reader and buyer beware.

I believe the Triton Two+ is being reviewed by Stereophile now, not sure when or how the review will appear but we expect their Recommended Components ranking will change. The magazines (especially the print ones) tend to be fairly far behind model changes so we have to give them time to catch up.

That said, we agree with the comments that these lists make great starting points for the overwhelming number of product options that exist. We also agree that the rankings may be slightly arbitrary as they are a compiled list of multiple reviewers - no one reviewer listens to all of them and then ranks, of course. And of course price has an influence ...

I would also like to point out that the "professional" reviewers are exactly that and their reputations are always at stake. As far as all the people I have met in this field over the years, you could not pay (or bribe, or whatever) any of them to say something they didn't believe. And the best of the publications all perform rigorous testing with published results, which keeps things "honest" as well. As a consumer I would trust their comments in the same way I trust the comments of my favorite reviewers at Car & Driver and Road & Track. They get to drive a lot of cars so they have an excellent reference point. But, I still want to drive anything I might want to buy.