At first glance at least for me , it looks like it would be fun to review new audio equipment. You get to try out new equipment for free. There are no return fees. Depending on the gear, the manufacturer or their rep might set it up in your room. If you really like it , you can purchase it at a discount. If you go to the audio shows you might get private listening sessions either before the show starts or after hours. If you walk into a crowded demo room you might be offered the sweet spot for listening. At the same shows you might be wined and dined. You might get invited for factory tours or new gear unveils anywhere in the world for little to no cost.
Now let’s look at what I consider the downside. First and foremost , you might get a piece of gear that you absolutely love. It is better than anything you have heard before in your system but even with a nice courtesy discount, it is beyond your means. You are crestfallen when you have to send it back. You have to have excellent writing skills that can keep readers engaged. Ideally, you would have experience in the audio industry and a degree in electrical engineering or a similar degree would also help. You should have a dedicated listening room. You will need space to store boxes and crates. As you get along in your career you will have made friends with manufacturers, retailers and inventors who might want you to do a review of their product. You do them a favor and listen to it. After listening to it you can’t give it a positive review . You have a readership that expects you to give them good insight into the gear you are reviewing but if you are honest you are going to let somebody down . You have deadlines to meet. And finally, a lot of this gear is capable of ruining your back if you don’t have help.
These are my thoughts but I am sure there are many of you would jump at the opportunity to be an audio reviewer. What are your thoughts positive or negative as I am sure I missed some pros or cons to being an audio reviewer?
You make some really good points. Being an audio reviewer sounds exciting at first, especially getting to try new gear and attend shows. Those experiences would be hard to pass up.
But the downsides are real. It would be tough to return equipment you love but can’t afford. It would also be stressful to review a product honestly when you know the maker personally. Writing clear and fair reviews takes a lot of time and skill, and the deadlines and heavy equipment don’t help.
One more challenge is staying honest and fair over time. If a reviewer is always positive, readers may stop trusting them. If they are too critical, they may upset companies and lose opportunities.
Overall, being an audio reviewer sounds fun, but it also takes discipline, honesty, and hard work. It’s probably best for someone who truly enjoys the process, not just the perks.
Certainly a lot of upsides as you’ve listed but one downside that would probably be a dealbreaker for me. My interest in audio has been a lifelong passion for me. It keeps me engaged. Turning it into a full time job would probably kill it for me. Too much of anything is a bad thing. I wouldn’t want to lose one of my main interests in life. Just wouldn’t be worth it for me.
Too many downsides! Even writing reviews in the forum is hard, and talking about the responsibility one has to carry. If I said one is great, then it means the other is “less great”. But frankly I had no idea if the one I like better in my system will be universally better in others. I also know that my personal taste of music and sound preference would play into the evaluation greatly.
The unfortunate truth is the most expensive gear and cable in my system are usually sounding better to me, and I do not know how much that played into my head because I paid good sum of money for them.
Even if I knew all the measurement methods and understood acoustic engineering (no clue), switching gear all the time and determine how they differ in sound is hard. To put the difference into proper wording every few weeks is harder. It will probably kill my joy of music and ruin my golf game too.
Thanks guys for the responses. Another issue I didn’t mention is I like to sit back and relax when I listen to music. When I am evaluating gear , I am listening to the gear and the music is secondary. When I am evaluating potential new gear , I can’t wait until the evaluation is over so I can kick back and just enjoy the music.
Don’t turn your hobby into your job.
Trust me
All this reminds me of decades ago when I thought I would like to write about jazz and review recordings. An editor of a small blog really liked what I submitted and even managed to get my biggest contribution to jazz history out there, an interview with reissue producer and record label owner Michael Cuscuna about Alfred Lion of Blue Note–an interview where he revealed to me some important facts about the label’s early history that had never been published before. Later when Richard Cook published his “Blue Note Records: the Biography” he included those facts and credited my interview in the footnotes–that took me by surprise. The sad thing was that this blog was hardly seen by anyone and disappeared in short time. I started submitting reviews to a much bigger website, seemed I was doing well from feedback I got, but the editor admonished me for “having too many opinions about the music and sound.” Silly me, I thought that was one purpose of a review. I questioned that assertion and was chastised and cut off from submissions. Never tried again (not entirely because of this editor, but my life changed).
I had thought about pursuing some audio reviews, but that experience made me think twice, and it’s alright.
That is how many reviewers got their start usually writing blogs that get some attention and if it is the right person it could lead to something bigger. Whether or not it leads to compensation initially might be another issue.Sorry to hear that it didn’t work out for you but if it had, we probably wouldn’t be able to enjoy your contributions to this forum.
Ha! Thanks. It wasn’t really compensation I was after, but with no compensation it’s hard to take some actions and strange ideas of an editor. 
I continued to learn about the history of jazz and yes, my writing attention went on to a few bulletin boards.
That reminds me of the quote of a talent scout at RKO Pictures after Fred Astair’s screen test:“Can’t act, can’t sing, can dance a little.”
I’ve certainly not read or listened to as many reviews as others here, but I don’t recall any reviewers mentioning breaking in gear for hundreds of hours or that gear having arrived well seasoned. Maybe this is a given but it surprises me nonetheless given the amount of change many hear over time.
There have been some reviews where burn in has been mentioned. I seem to recall one or two that even mentioned that a manufacturer had sent a review piece that had already been burned in.
I recall a few instances where speakers have been reported as already run in or not.
I had an opportunity to write (or at least audition) for the new audio website “The Listening Chair with Howard Kneller” (thelisteningchair.net), but after thinking about it, I chose to work behind the scenes as the editor. The majority of equipment being reviewed is much higher-end than my modest system, leading me to wonder if any performance benefits might be beyond my system’s ability to resolve (let alone my ears’ abilities). The real deciding factor, though, was that my system setup is not easily accessible. In fact, it’s bad enough that I have a hard time getting up the gumption to insert new pieces I purchase for myself, let alone trying to accommodate an ongoing parade of gear to carry downstairs, set up, evaluate, tear down, repack and lug back upstairs. It was exhausting just thinking about it. So instead, I assist Howard in managing staff, assigning reviews, and editing their submissions.
I personally don’t have that kind of patience to be a real reviewer in print or on my YouTube Channel. Within our AZAVClub, we have some great writers who could write for an Audio/Video Magazine. Hell, back when I was energetic/inspired. I used to write the odd articles for the Club. Either equipment reviews or personal experiences involving Audio in one form or another.
I haven’t monetized my YT Channel for 6.5 yrs. now (that may change soon). When I started it. It was my reaction really to people posting Bose 901 Sound Sample Videos and getting 10’s of thousands of views. I thought it was a disservice and decided I would document my personal audio journey. Pre Covid. During COVID, an opportunity to start reviewing name brand equipment occurd via New Record Day Ron Brenay and he did help grow my channel and viewership. Monetization & chasing after equipment manufacturers for reviewing equipment during COVID would have been easy. But that was never my goal. Luckily, I was gainfully employed during that time. Also, I was doing Zooms with Paul Barton, Ted Smith, & Gus Skinas (sorry for the name drops…no I’m not) during that time. So the channel wasn’t a priority plus I’d started building Amps for Orchard Audio in '21 & '22, & part of '23. I’m still doing the odd Amp builds via ArgentPur Cables which are Orchard based Amps with solid silver wire.
I’m also doing repairs for another Amp manufacturer which keeps me busy. My 2025 overall views really sucked compared to the years before. YT is saturated with Audio/Video equipment review channels as well as physical media review channels. This my have something to do with it.
I missed out on the cheap chinese crap equipment review fad (which is grown stronger than ever). I’m still a Buy American kinda Guy even though my Speakers are Made in The Netherlands and my Turntable Scottish.
Easy enough to fix - buy a VPI! 
This review of the Magico A1 (in translation to English) opens with a summary criticism of reviewing that is rather spot on. He definitely hits the nail on the head with his observations of the repetitive nature of reviews. Overcoming the issues he summarizes always struck me as hurdles that would confound me in the month to month grind of meeting publishing deadlines.
Reviewers take different forms. When I was recently at a Gryphon listening party, I was educated by a fellow “audiophile” who works as a “consultant” at a brick and mortar store.He explained that folks who spend money on high end cables are being fooled into the purchase by clever marketing. Some wizardly advice was “if cables make your system sound better, there’s something wrong with your system”.
When customers come into the store looking for guidance, he wears his “reviewer’s” hat.
He must come from a sports background. One and done.
Is that a paying job? That gig sounds better than an audio reviewer!