Magazines and negative reviews

[highstream]

Even on its own merits, I thought the Stereomojo review was worthless (I think it was on the "JKenny Audio Ciúnas DAC and Ciúnas SPDIF" thread at headfi.org). From recollection, two things stood out to me: 1) DeHann didn't specify the associated equipment, something which is a standard in reviewing, so there's no way to evaluate for the strengths/weakness of other equipment, let alone possible interactions, and 2) his evaluation of the Ciunas relative to other dacs was based entirely on memory, not direct comparison. Since in my brief experience Stereomojo had seemed to do decent reviews, I wrote the editor at the time, wondering why he had published it. DeHann being a first time reviewer is no excuse for such a sloppy job.

[jkeny]

Good on ye, highstream!!
James, the editor, has taken down the review while he sorted things out, he said - but I haven't heard anything since I told him my last email correspondence with DeHaan was for him to return the unit as he now wanted to use it with an iPad & it would need a firmware update. I thought to myself that I would look into his charging issues when I received the unit rather than ask him a number of checklist questions. I never heard anything more from DeHann until the review appeared.

Pretty shabby approach to a review, I would say. James did not know any of this until I contacted him!