The biggest problem with….

Henry303 said:
Most of the "long tenure in the business" reviewers are just guns for hire. Feel free to point me to any critical or even 'less than stellar' review you read lately by any of them.
Click to expand...

The more reviews I read the more I tend to agree. I have seen some reviews where the reviewer is not falling all over themselves however I have not recently read a "bad" review of anything. I have heard that if a reviewer writes a less than stellar review it basically gets thrown away, not published. Therefore, really what is the purpose anyway with actually writing the review.
 
Mike said:
Did you see this?

Alta Audio Alec Loudspeakers


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...

So he gives them a bad review because of the midbass primarily and says the construction quality was subpar compared to the SF speakers he had which cost $5k more mixed in with thick vocals and a ribbon tweeter that wasn't to his liking. The manufacturer said the review samples were defective and we never heard if they actually shipped a second pair back to Fritz.

By the way, a 1/4 wavelength transmission line designed to be flat to 30 Hz isn't "several feet" long. The line would be over 9' long (9.416').
 
I've always like Jeff's written reviews and in any of the videos I've seen of him he seems knowledgeable, articulate and on point.

This article is basically saying buyer (i.e. reader/watcher of reviews) beware because some reviewers don't know what they don't know. It's a fair point.
 
The issue of bad reviews has been discussed by editors at several times in the past, although with the growing number of solely online review sites the rationale behind avoiding nad reviews is less convincing (i.e., that with a limited number of pages it is more important to highlight the worthwhile products than to pint out the less worthy).

Also worth considering is that the majority of reviewers request products that have positively impressed them already.
 
I often wonder these days, especially with electronics in general, are their really any “bad” sounding gear? Seems to my ears, most of the amps, preamps, streamers, etc., all sound very good in general, and maybe it is truly difficult to write a bad review, without just finding some little oddity or other to nit pick about. So many things come in to play with the gear itself, and dare I even say, how it looks or feels? Easy to say it is all about the “sound” of course….Speakers are another thing altogether. Just my penny of thoughts right off.
 
Reviews are entertainment. Nothing more. If you have direct experience with products that have been reviewed you can then start to draw some conclusions about how the reviewer’s experiences match your own. That has some value.

It was nice to see a less than stellar review of a poorly designed loudspeaker. Very refreshing.
 
Buying Hifi is like buying a car. There is no "best". Many cars look great and drive fine for their budget.

Why should I care what somebody else prefers? Most reviews are paid PR anyway; direct or indirect.

Just trust yourself and choose your favorite model and enjoy.

Or not - and keep watching your neighbors & friends stuff, read magazines and change every month.

Your local dealer might indeed like that a lot.
 
reviews are good to find out details on a product you might be considering. I find Manufacturers websites lacking in useful information generally.

I take reviews with a big grain of salt other than that. I've seen rviewers writing about a product that is clearly beyond the reviewers system he is using. I know some reviewers who write for those online audio pages who I don't feel are qualified, lack of experience. You have to handle some gear, have it pass through your system, go to some shows, be in the business or other experience, just because you own a system and maybe have upgraded don't make you a reviewer.

And, don't get me started on these YouTube guys, most have an agenda and cater to a certain crowd, most don't care if what they say is true or who they slander.

I've actually gotten burned by trusting a reviewer. I used to think the long time well known reviewers might be credible. I read a Stereophile review where the writer says he couldn't tell any difference between these two products in performance, one was more expensive. I had a chance to get the cheaper product on a deal but no way to audition, I knew better but did it anyway. I did not like the sound of the product, I sold it. I auditioned the more expensive product and placed the order that day with the dealer who brought it over. I don't want to think the reviewer would lie but the two products he said sounded the same clearly did not. In fact, the difference in price was well worth it.

And, sometimes the more you findout about the reviewers you know whether you would consider them or not. There's a welll knone reviewer who I saw on FB post things I don't agree with and wouldn't even bother reding anything else by him, from his comments I just do not have confidence in the person's judgment on audio.
 
tube-vds said:
Buying Hifi is like buying a car. There is no "best". Many cars look great and drive fine for their budget.

Why should I care what somebody else prefers? Most reviews are paid PR anyway; direct or indirect.

Just trust yourself and choose your favorite model and enjoy.

Or not - and keep watching your neighbors & friends stuff, read magazines and change every month.

Your local dealer might indeed like that a lot.
Click to expand...

There is always a best to those who care and can appreciate the difference ..!


Regards
 
Mr Peabody said:
reviews are good to find out details on a product you might be considering. I find Manufacturers websites lacking in useful information generally.

I take reviews with a big grain of salt other than that. I've seen rviewers writing about a product that is clearly beyond the reviewers system he is using. I know some reviewers who write for those online audio pages who I don't feel are qualified, lack of experience. You have to handle some gear, have it pass through your system, go to some shows, be in the business or other experience, just because you own a system and maybe have upgraded don't make you a reviewer.

And, don't get me started on these YouTube guys, most have an agenda and cater to a certain crowd, most don't care if what they say is true or who they slander.

I've actually gotten burned by trusting a reviewer. I used to think the long time well known reviewers might be credible. I read a Stereophile review where the writer says he couldn't tell any difference between these two products in performance, one was more expensive. I had a chance to get the cheaper product on a deal but no way to audition, I knew better but did it anyway. I did not like the sound of the product, I sold it. I auditioned the more expensive product and placed the order that day with the dealer who brought it over. I don't want to think the reviewer would lie but the two products he said sounds ded the same clearly did not. In fact, the difference in price was well worth it.

And, sometimes the more you findout about the reviewers you know whether you would consider them or not. There's a welll knone reviewer who I saw on FB post things I don't agree with and wouldn't even bother reding anything else by him, from his comments I just do not have confidence in the person's judgment on audio.
Click to expand...





Great review Peabody ...!!!



:roflmao:
 
mep said:
So he gives them a bad review because of the midbass primarily and says the construction quality was subpar compared to the SF speakers he had which cost $5k more mixed in with thick vocals and a ribbon tweeter that wasn't to his liking. The manufacturer said the review samples were defective and we never heard if they actually shipped a second pair back to Fritz.

By the way, a 1/4 wavelength transmission line designed to be flat to 30 Hz isn't "several feet" long. The line would be over 9' long (9.416').
Click to expand...

Isn't that several feet long ...!!

TL speakers tend to score low on PRAT , really good on low bass sleepy stuff , pretty difficult to overcome Line length ..!



Regards
 
Great discussions here. I enjoy reading the reviews, but let the ultimate arbiter be my own ears. I really enjoy the work and effort the reviewers put in. It’s not meant to be a perfect science, it’s mean to be objective and fun! Remember, this is all entertainment at the end of the day. We aren’t curing cancer here.

What I see as the biggest “threat” to the integrity of the industry is not the reviewers, not even close, it’s the COMPENSATED shills. The shills are cloaked in a dark veil. They are hidden under the shroud of being genuine, when they are ultimately, anything but.

You guys have no idea what goes on. The big name manufacturer guys wouldn’t have anything to do with such a thing, but the little manufacturer guys trying to knock the big manufacturer guys off their pedestal will resort to engaging the online shills. I personally would NEVER do that. I’ve sold and loaned a lot of stuff, but never once have I asked anyone to shill. It’s completely disingenuous. If people love it and post about it, GREAT! If they love it, but keep it to themselves, that’s GREAT too. Guys, just be on the lookout for the same guy posting on multiple forums, even audiogon about the second coming of his new amp or whatever. There is hinky business going on. That I can assure you. Only trust your ears. Don’t fall into the trap of believing the shill.

My advise for everyone is to use your own ears. Trust YOUR judgement. Don’t second guess yourself. If you fall in love with Paradigm speakers and McIntosh amps with an ARC CD player, rock on!!!!!

I love what I love and get quite defensive about it. But I also understand that people like bad digital, Class D amps and bright speakers. My wife likes mint chocolate chip. I tell her it tastes like toothpaste and wouldn’t have anything to do with it.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
The more equipment I try the more that I think most gear sound good, of course some better, some worse. But all have their points.

So, it really comes down to what makes you happy, that simple. Much of it comes down to what I refer to as the warm and fuzzies... what pieces just put a smile on my face... whether it be the looks, or the features or more importantly how the features actually work. Of course, sound, although the more I listen the more I believe that my getting older ears just cannot hear much difference.

What makes me happy... I am thrilled with my recent moves back into McIntosh gear. My hometown connection makes me happy, all the custom controls on the pre-amp makes me happy, how easy these controls can be used makes me happy, how it all integrates together and even integrates other manufactures amplifiers really makes me happy.... just one man's perspective.
 
Mike said:
Great discussions here. I enjoy reading the reviews, but let the ultimate arbiter be my own ears.
Click to expand...

With that being said, those of us that have been around long enough know how to 'read between the lines'. As much as I want to trust my ears I also know that different 'biases' are at play as well, therefore I like to know good specs are also in order.
 
Mikado463 said:
With that being said, those of us that have been around long enough know how to 'read between the lines'. As much as I want to trust my ears I also know that different 'biases' are at play as well, therefore I like to know good specs are also in order.
Click to expand...

I definitely check out the specs too.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
Mikado463 said:
With that being said, those of us that have been around long enough know how to 'read between the lines'. As much as I want to trust my ears I also know that different 'biases' are at play as well, therefore I like to know good specs are also in order.
Click to expand...

I agree; I certainly will not rely completely on specs, but I do want to know that a piece at least has good solid specs.
 
i wonder why these days there are almost no more pictures of the unit by the reviewer.
just some photos from the manufaktors website. you cant even be sure the unit was ever playing in his own system.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top