Porsche
Active member
your loss, won't effect them
dCS threatens to sue reviewer
- Thread starter Mike
- Start date
your loss, won't effect them
I'm still amazed why risk such a huge storm for what was in essence a positive (not negative) review of a 3 years old, discontinued product?
I was not even aware of that review up untill now! And now everyone knows about it.
Is John Giolas out of dCS America now?
I was not even aware of that review up untill now! And now everyone knows about it.
Is John Giolas out of dCS America now?
Michaels HiFi
Well-known member
I agree. It was beyond stupid.
That's what I'm trying to figure out as well - is JG now out?
It's interesting that in his latest post where he admits he lied in his first one he states he KNEW they got a lawyer involved. In my mind that's a company that has completely lost its way and is desperately trying to cling onto relevance if they are worried about a 3 year old review.
They are getting HAMMERED on other forums and on some of the headphone forums they have put together massive dCS boycotts and are calling on the sponsors of CanJam to drop and block dCS from the event. People are also putting together an online army to flood online review sites to hammer dCS with bad reviews.
No way he is as innocent as he is claiming. He is scapegoating as he still approved the hiring of the attorney.
What a sad company they are where frankly most people on the other forums seem to agree their products can be vastly outdone for less money.
dCS earned every bit of the irreparable damage they have done to themselves. They've gone and "Tekton-ed" themselves.
Vintage_Tube
Member
As I posted elsewhere --
I've known JG at dCS since he assumed his duties from JQ and his responses are real as noted; but not like him IMO. Not sure what sparked his unprofessionalism but ashamed this is how he ended his career at dCS & will probably follow him for quite some time.
Glad to see this whole affair has come to what we hope will be a favorable ending & the breach of trust by a former dCS employee was brought to light.
Best Sir,
Bob
I've known JG at dCS since he assumed his duties from JQ and his responses are real as noted; but not like him IMO. Not sure what sparked his unprofessionalism but ashamed this is how he ended his career at dCS & will probably follow him for quite some time.
Glad to see this whole affair has come to what we hope will be a favorable ending & the breach of trust by a former dCS employee was brought to light.
Best Sir,
Bob
Mr Peabody
Well-known member
That's way overreacting. DCS gave an apology and took measures to rectify the issue. If you've never made a mistake cast the first stone. The fact DCS owned up to it is enough for me. I mean what else would you have DCS to do?
DCS is an undisputable leader in digital playback and an internet spat won't change that. I doubt any potential buyer would choose something else over it purely based off the spat. It's time to move on.
DCS is an undisputable leader in digital playback and an internet spat won't change that. I doubt any potential buyer would choose something else over it purely based off the spat. It's time to move on.
Porsche
Active member
gotta love the drama and overreaction of others
- Thread Author
- #27
One thing that everyone seems to have glazed over is this:
Companies like to select who they want to review their product, for whatever reasons: past relationships, that reviewers reputation, that reviewers an affinity for their type of product (ie, tubes or analog) or whatever.
I don’t believe dCS asked this fellow to review their product, did they?
There is nothing stopping the guy from doing the review if he was able to obtain the product, but what do we really know about this reviewer? What does dcs really know about this reviewer? I ask this in the age of dealer YouTubers reviewing….or should I say “trashing” products they don’t sell, one even proclaiming products he doesn’t sell “blows chunks.”
We could even discuss whether his review sample was properly configured, tested, whatever by the manufacturer before the review.
I think this little fact has gone completely unnoticed.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Companies like to select who they want to review their product, for whatever reasons: past relationships, that reviewers reputation, that reviewers an affinity for their type of product (ie, tubes or analog) or whatever.
I don’t believe dCS asked this fellow to review their product, did they?
There is nothing stopping the guy from doing the review if he was able to obtain the product, but what do we really know about this reviewer? What does dcs really know about this reviewer? I ask this in the age of dealer YouTubers reviewing….or should I say “trashing” products they don’t sell, one even proclaiming products he doesn’t sell “blows chunks.”
We could even discuss whether his review sample was properly configured, tested, whatever by the manufacturer before the review.
I think this little fact has gone completely unnoticed.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Michaels HiFi
Well-known member
I certainly respect your opinion. Though many would argue they've lost that lead lately and struggled with this for years as they are trying to regain lost ground. When reading what others on the many other forums think of dCS, leader is not a word that is used.
When all the email correspondence that has been made available is reviewed, and the lies told by dCS exposed, and their attempt to harass and intimidate with an attorney is read, they acted in a chosen calculated way.
They are now paying the price for their choices.
There is boycott to kick them out of Can Jam and have them dropped as a sponsor and blocked from attending. Many are review bombing them. Others are planning to review-bush them at the event. A simple search shows all this and that dCS is in serious PR trouble.
Clearly those outraged seem to be a much larger number of people than those not.
Each person has a right to be bothered or not bothered by the callous, unprofessional and bullying ways of dCS. I for one am glad they are getting Tekton-ed.
Others have every right to be OK with what dCS chose to do.
Those that want to keep discussing it can. Those who choose not to are welcome to ignore. That's the point of forums.
The Sandman
Member
I dunno... I thought the reviewer was very straightforward and forthcoming in presenting all of the facts (including the pedigree of the DAC in question) all through this. I for one didn't find any misrepresentation from the Cameron. As always it's up to each reader to decide how much credence to give the review.
Furthermore, pretty much all audiophiles evaluate equipment that hasn't been explained, setup, verified, tweaked, or otherwise fussed over by the manufacturer and go on to share their thoughts with just about anyone who'll listen. I'm sure there is both a downside and an upside to this. One could make the case that listening to a component as it normally arrives and gets integrated into a system by the end user is more akin to real world conditions.
Furthermore, pretty much all audiophiles evaluate equipment that hasn't been explained, setup, verified, tweaked, or otherwise fussed over by the manufacturer and go on to share their thoughts with just about anyone who'll listen. I'm sure there is both a downside and an upside to this. One could make the case that listening to a component as it normally arrives and gets integrated into a system by the end user is more akin to real world conditions.
Mr Peabody
Well-known member
I hear what you are getting at but in this case the fact DCS is willing to apologize and gift the reviewer a DAC pretty much shows the reviewer had receipts.
From watching the YT video originally posted where the guy lays out his case, in my opinion he is one of the better YT reviewers I've seen. Actually made me want to check out more of his stuff. I wasn't aware of him until this.
From watching the YT video originally posted where the guy lays out his case, in my opinion he is one of the better YT reviewers I've seen. Actually made me want to check out more of his stuff. I wasn't aware of him until this.
Michaels HiFi
Well-known member
W9TR
Active member
I totally got it. The world has changed and dCS hasn’t. That’s 100% clear.
They were used to the old ‘I’ll scratch your back, you scratch mine’ ways of doing business. A product request, some manufacturer setup assistance, some dialog, then a published review. Maybe an industry accommodation, (I bought the review sample).
Times have changed with the plethora of Independent reviewers, and dCS got all butt-hurt by a situation over which they had no control.
The veracity of these reviewers will be established over time, and the shills will be found out, but it may take awhile to settle out if it ever does. I was actually favorably impressed with GoldenSound’s knowledge and hope that his test methodologies will be vetted by others.
Now on to the dCS’s apology. Yes they gave one. But it sucked. “I didn’t authorize” “I wasn’t aware” have no place in an apology by the MD. He blamed others and publicly discussed an employee termination. Totally unacceptable.
A real apology would read something like this:
I am the managing director of dCS. This happened on my watch and I’m totally responsible for it. Golden Sound did nothing wrong in posting their review. Our response has been totally unacceptable. My sincere apologies go out to them and their readers. I have taken steps to improve our internal processes and approvals to ensure this never happens again.
Something like that.
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Well, in fact the world has changed and continues to change, but not always for the better.
Who are these new audio Reviewers? What do they know about audio?
What system do they have? A few days ago, I saw one of these new reviewers whose resident speakers are mini monitors. How do you evaluate the bass quality of one equipment listening through mini monitors?
What room do they have? What is the system layout? Speakers against the back or side walls?
At what volume do they listen to and test the gear? On another blog, a very long article ended with a very positive opinion on a test carried out at around 65 db, the level he hear given the fact that he lives in an apartment. So, does anyone test a car not exceeding 40 km/hour?
I'm going to tell you a story. A few months ago, I was guided by the assessments of one of these new reviewers with a huge number of following subscribers, and I spent around €2,000 on an audio piece. He said wonderful things. The best he ever heard... blah blah blah. It seemed sincere to me.
I bought!
I plugged it into my system and it was as if my Usher's amazing diamond tweeters had gone out. So what about the high notes, where did they go?
I continue to think that the opinion was sincere. The problem in many cases is each person's references (or lack thereof)!
We are all consumers, but we have to understand that if we are always against brands, we will end up destroying the Audio industry, also putting an end to this hobby of ours.
- Thread Author
- #34
Well said.
W9TR
Active member
Thanks for your response Spock. You make some excellent points. I agree that the world has not changed for the better.
I don’t follow YouTubers. Most are bloviating and inexperienced. Not all, just most. Why should o waste my time? I can read 3x faster than they can talk.
Just like in the paper reviewer days, you have to know what the reviewer likes and doesn’t like. You have to follow them, sometimes for years, to get an idea if you will like a product based on their reviews.
For example I’ve been following John Atkinson’s speaker reviews in Stereophile for years. When he reviewed the speakers I now own, it was easy to understand that these might just be what I was looking for. Even though he appreciated them enough to give them a Class A rating, reading between the lines, they were not his cup of tea. Which meant that may be perfect for me.
Auditions in several stores confirmed it. I bought a pair. Love ‘em.
dCS will adapt or not, it’s up to them. I’m in the hunt for a next level DAC and they are in the running.
But, wow, they really need to hire a good PR firm.
Porsche
Active member
I dont recall ever buying gear because of a reviewer, all systems are different and everyone hears differently
JCS123
Active member
You nailed it! Just like the terrible pizzeria that gets good reviews on certain sites. It took me some time to figure out that the reason it gets good reviews despite putting out lousy pizza is that the customers who frequent that place either like lousy pizza or haven't yet experienced better pizza.
....Of course, it could just as easily be that I think I know good pizza but I really don't have a clue....
Michaels HiFi
Well-known member
I'm always amazed at how difficult it is to find great pizza. And to your point it seems like there are a lot of people who like bad pizza. LOL
JCS123
Active member
So true, I can think of a couple of huge cardboard chains who market their pulp as "pizza".
My point is that opinions other than my own are not of much use to me, unless they come from someone who I trust and whose criteria, methodology and resulting opinions on other things predict that our opinions might well mesh on the subject at hand (whatever it is).
Like you always say ,"..with my equipment, in my room, to my ears..."
Loved your brand-new video review of the isolation products, BTW.
p.s. One look at me - 6'4", 365 - would suggest that I haven't been cursed with the inability to find great pizza. (Detroit being a great pizza town doesn't hurt, either.)
It's not just about Pizza!
From time to time, i´ll go to one or another so-called "gourmet" restaurant.
You know, a very big plate with little food in the middle!
And I hear some people boast and saying wonderful things.
And I think to myself: poor people. If they had already tasted my mother's food they wouldn't think that way
