Good comment, but I think this interview is more like a press release, which is fine.
Or is it? This brings up a good point worth talking about. Should reviewers be doing press releases for manufacturers or should reviewers be covering press releases paid for by manufacturers? I think there is a not-so-subtle distinction there.
I do think that some high-end magazines have blurred those lines by being *free* mouthpieces for the marketing department of manufacturers. TAS for one has a section in the front of some issues where they do exactly that. Do high-end rags really need to be in the business of announcing new products that are coming out from manufacturers?
Every 4 years during the Presidential elections, both parties have their separate conventions. During these conventions, Congress suspends all ethics rules so they can make their down-and-dirty deals with their wealthy contributors from the business/corporate world. The press is kept far away from the yachts and exclusive hotels where the private parties are being thrown so they can't see what is actually going down during these events. You have to pay to play, and this is partly where the "paying" part goes down.
I don't mean to insinuate that any reviewers have been bought by OEMs. All I'm trying to say is that magazines and reviewers should maintain their credibility by reviewing products in a manner that engenders trust in the readership. Leave the fluff pieces to the OEM's marketing department. When reviewers cover audio shows, I think each room should be treated as a mini-review which many of the reviewers do. They talk about the sound of the system and the room and give their opinions on what they heard and then pick out their favorites in different categories. I have no problem with that and I actually like that.
A record weight that retails for $3500 deserves some very special scrutiny. Some people (even on this forum) might not have that much invested in their entire system. Many people outside of this forum damn sure don't have $3500 invested in their whole system. If you want to cover Joel Durand talking about how magnificent his $3500 record weight is, make him put it on a table and show you how magnificent his record weight is and tell me what you hear. That's all I'm sayin'.