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Reviews

68.84.140.92
Posted on November 25, 2015 at 17:09:18
Awe-d-o-file
Dealer

Posts: 21037
Location: 50 miles west of DC
Joined: January 10, 2004
 Have you noticed the ratio of positive to negative reviews here? Unlike a mag or online site the reviews here are by folks that almost always already bought the piece of gear.

So go radomly choose ten reviews and I bet nine or more are positive. I like that the review form has a strength and weakness line. What doesn't jive for me then is the amount of gear changing many folks do.

Do you think already committing to the product on some level by buying it plays a role as I suspect? No biggee, just thinking out loud.

ET
ET

"If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking till you do suck seed" - Curly Howard 1936

 

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RE: Reviews, posted on November 25, 2015 at 17:12:28
bullethead
 Yes, I have some reviews which I regret to say was buyers bliss.

Harbeth and Magnepan speakers come to mind as buyers bliss which I have regretted.

Bel Canto and Yaqin still stand as gems.

 

RE: Reviews, posted on November 25, 2015 at 18:08:15
jedrider
Audiophile

Posts: 15166
Location: No. California
Joined: December 26, 2003
 If I still own the gear, it is good. It never pays to review something you just got unless you are a professional ;-)

 

Most of us don't know what the hell we are talking about most of the time, agree (nt)., posted on November 25, 2015 at 18:10:22
bullethead
 ,

 

Having just set up JM Reynaud Trente after about 18 months... , posted on November 25, 2015 at 20:20:01
musetap
Audiophile

Posts: 31874
Location: San Francisco
Joined: July 8, 2003
Contributor
  Since: January 28, 2004
 of using something else and having used the Trente for some eight years previous to that,
I "think" some day I just might review them.

They are THAT great.

There's a couple of other pieces of gear I still own that also (still) qualify.

"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination"-Michael McClure



 

RE: Reviews, posted on November 25, 2015 at 20:32:20
danlaudionut
Audiophile

Posts: 5480
Location: Schenectady
Joined: June 6, 2002
 I think it is more likely that reviewers
bought what they liked sonically.
If they don't like what they bought
then they get rid of it.
Also nobody likes to admit that they
bought a turkey or jut got fooled.

What we need to do is read what they write
AND notice what they did NOT write.
Different people want things and hear differently.
For Example -
A reviewer may say it is dynamic and extended
but nowhere is it mentioned as musical or
they spent way too much time listening to it.
That should speak volumes (It does to me).
No one is right and no one is wrong, just different.
Please do not try to confront them and say
that it mustn't be because
they will say of course it is .
If it does not come into their mind on review
then it probably isn't __.
Then again it may be but I doubt it.
Know what YOU want.

DanL



 

confirmation bias, posted on November 25, 2015 at 20:40:38
slapshot
Audiophile

Posts: 2248
Joined: January 9, 2006
 Someone who purchases something will, more than likely, have some degree of confirmation bias, which contributes to the higher percentage of positive reviews.

 

Bad Products Generally Don't Make It To Me, posted on November 25, 2015 at 20:54:55
Luminator
Audiophile

Posts: 7331
Location: Bay Area
Joined: December 11, 2000



The vast majority of products I review comes from my audio circle. If a product is bad (90% are), my audio circle gets rid of it. Said bad product thus does not make it to me.

What are the common reasons why these high-end audio products do not pass muster with my audio circle?

- Heat
- Noise
- Ugliness
- Lousy ergonomics
- Excessive gain
- Excessive speaker sensitivity
- Poor reliability
- Plain bad sound

In all honesty, if I were to review all of the available high-end audio products, and apply my usual standards, 70% would earn poor grades, 20% would garner a shrug, and 10% would earn conditional praise.

Okay, if we throw in cables, that ratio may need to be re-calibrated.

Recently, I have received cables which were made in the 1990s. My audio circle and I have had to re-review and re-evaluate these products. Why? Back in the 90s, we did not have cable burn-in devices, such as the audiodharma Cable Cooker.

Even though some of these cables have been in regular and constant use since the mid-90s, it turns out that they've only been operating at 10% of their true potential. The Cable Cooker is required to unlock that potential.

Okay, since there are dozens of cable models, for every electronic component, that negative:mediocre:positive ratio may change slightly.

But I'll say it again. My audio circle does a good job of weeding out audio products, so that all those bad ones don't make it to me. And if said bad product does not make it to me, it can't garner its deserved negative review :-)

-Lummy The Loch Monster

 

RE: Reviews, posted on November 26, 2015 at 04:58:07
Jack G
Audiophile

Posts: 9739
Joined: September 24, 1999
 Most people here do their research and audition gear before buying, or buy with a return policy. I've only bought one really bad piece of equipment. I bought it on a whim, depressed over an ended relationship. Oddly, or not so oddly, it was recommended here. Did I write a bad review? No. What's the point? That would have just invited abuse. I have mentioned it periodically.
Jack

 

...and expectation priming, posted on November 26, 2015 at 06:30:34
wazoo
Audiophile

Posts: 4062
Location: Middle GA
Joined: December 6, 2006
 Surely, dopamine is responsible for lots of great (initial) reviews.

 

RE: Reviews, posted on November 26, 2015 at 06:56:46
fantja
Audiophile

Posts: 15518
Location: Alabama
Joined: September 11, 2010
 I research then audition any gear, prior to buying.

 

RE: Reviews, posted on November 26, 2015 at 08:17:13
jec01
Audiophile

Posts: 1462
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Joined: September 22, 2004
 Unless a product is so execrable that the general public needs to be warned (and when's the last time you bought one of those?), then why would an amateur want to waste time trashing it? If you love a piece, then say so; if you don't, there's not much point in saying "it didn't work for me but it might work for you".

Happy listening,

Jim

"The passage of my life is measured out in shirts."
- Brian Eno

 

RE: Reviews, posted on November 26, 2015 at 10:36:47
mark111
Audiophile

Posts: 4699
Joined: April 12, 2002
 Part of the reason for more positive reviews is that many of the people who are writing user reviews have researched the products they are interested in and have dismissed the products that don't fit with their needs.
Professional reviewers are more likely to cirtique a more broad range of products,
enjoy,
mark

 

RE: Bad Products Generally Don't Make It To Me, posted on November 26, 2015 at 11:20:13
A.Wayne
Audiophile

Posts: 2527
Location: Front row center
Joined: November 30, 2011
 Well what products made it thru this circle ....

 

Click On My Moniker, posted on November 26, 2015 at 11:37:07
Luminator
Audiophile

Posts: 7331
Location: Bay Area
Joined: December 11, 2000



#1, go to my homepage. As you can see, I am well into my review of the Simaudio 750D.

#2, click on "Posts," to see what I've put up right here on AA. I've been on here for over a decade. And still, to this day, I'll receive emails about products I reviewed back in the early 2000s.

 

RE: Click On My Moniker, posted on November 26, 2015 at 11:49:09
A.Wayne
Audiophile

Posts: 2527
Location: Front row center
Joined: November 30, 2011
 Monikor takes me to mail ....

 

Then click on the A after the name ...., posted on November 26, 2015 at 12:51:26
Rod M
Web Geek

Posts: 16242
Location: So. California
Joined: March 1, 1999
Contributor
  Since: March 1, 1999
 The moniker will take you to mail if the user enters their email. The A or M or D designation after the name always goes to the user profile and Asylum emailer.

-Rod

 

RE: Reviews, posted on November 26, 2015 at 14:11:28
Awe-d-o-file
Dealer

Posts: 21037
Location: 50 miles west of DC
Joined: January 10, 2004
 Me too, no audition is a recipe for trouble. Of course this was very easy for me as a dealer.

ET
ET

"If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking till you do suck seed" - Curly Howard 1936

 

RE: Reviews, posted on November 26, 2015 at 17:38:04
soulfood
Audiophile

Posts: 3725
Joined: August 9, 2001
 Audiophiles can write testimonials that are as relevant as most non-professionals. If you're referring to AA specifically, I can't say why it seems that way.

 

Go back in the AA archives...., posted on November 26, 2015 at 19:07:19
Ross
Audiophile

Posts: 1814
Joined: January 24, 2000
 A few yeas ago, the publisher 6 Moons essentially posted his general editorial criteria.

Exec summary :

Unless a component is electrically unsafe, violates laws, or otherwise is not usable for the purpose in which it was designed, it will not be given a bad review. He further stated that a lowly reviewer is essentially unqualified to render a negative review of a functioning component unless said reviewer was an actual designer of audio components.

The same publisher now operates as a pay to play webzine- no review unless you buy ads.

Best, Ross

 

Most reviews are overly generous, posted on November 26, 2015 at 20:02:51
G Squared
Audiophile

Posts: 8478
Location: Washington, DC Metro Area
Joined: November 16, 2004
Contributor
  Since: May 23, 2023
 Both amateur and "professional."


Gsquared

 

RE: Reviews, posted on November 26, 2015 at 23:59:33
RGA
Reviewer

Posts: 15177
Location: Hong Kong
Joined: August 8, 2001
 We all have our own standards which is why I have maintained that people should follow reviewers and not review magazines or just reading blanket reviews in general.

WHO is doing the review? This is what matters. Not that a product got a great review in Stereophile or TAS or dagogo or Hi-Fi Choice etc. Every outfit has reviewers who view certain approaches as best or better. The magazine itself will thus give the 8 watt SET a rave and the 1000 watt high negative feedback amp a rave and there is a pretty good chance that each of the two reviewers doesn't much care for the other. The magazine sits back and can rave about both.

Further, reviewers with a lot of experience and perhaps some money behind them who review something over 1-2 months or more - don't want to waste their time reviewing stuff they know they're not going to like. We choose stuff that holds some interest. When I choose to review something - I have to spend a bunch of time listening to it and so I am not going to go out and choose something that will torture me. And of course the stuff that holds interest holds interest because it sounded good. And if it sounds good under usually bad conditions then it's "probably" going to sound as good or better in better conditions (our listening rooms). There is no conspiracy about so many good reviews versus few bad reviews. It's not the same as movie critics or even car critics.

A movie critic would have a lot less bad reviews if he simply avoided what is likely to be obvious dredge. I can pre-screen my time by looking at rottentomatoes before I go to the movie. Or the guys at car magazines that are given the car to review.

But audio reviewing isn't like that. Stuff gets pre-screened by the reviewer.

Where reviews bother me is that some product will be raved about endlessly with seemingly no weaknesses and then and ONLY THEN when the new model is reviewed will the reviewer mention how the new model is an improvement and oh BY THE WAY - the old model was thin etchy bright or lacked dynamics etc.

Choose a reviewer who hears things the way you hear them - and subscribe to them. There is usually at least one at every magazine if you look close.

 

I should review my Onkyo A/V Receiver., posted on November 27, 2015 at 12:29:31
MannyE
Audiophile

Posts: 2088
Location: Miami Beach
Joined: March 4, 2001
 That chunk of garbage would get a terrible review.

 

I think you're right, posted on November 27, 2015 at 12:35:43
MannyE
Audiophile

Posts: 2088
Location: Miami Beach
Joined: March 4, 2001
 No one likes to admit they screwed up in public.

Others (like me) are only motivated to write a review when something they buy is particularly good. In my case, the MMF-5 is a favorite component. The Nakamichi Soundspace 5 despite being a "Bose-like" product is another. I've had both for over a decade and written them up.

I haven't written anything about the dismal Onkyo Receiver because I hate it. I can't wait to get my B&K Reference 50 back so I can throw it into the bay. BUT...writing a review about it never occurred to me.

 

Smart consumer/reviewers..., posted on November 27, 2015 at 12:59:26
genungo
 ... will do as much research as possible before buying (and eventually) reviewing, any product.

This "research" might include the reading of printed reviews, the consideration of rumor or word of mouth recommendations, and personal auditions. By the time the product is actually bought or borrowed and eventually reviewed, that consumer/reviewer has an inkling that he/she is going to *like* that product, at least to an extent.

I'm not saying that "confirmation bias" does not exist, but it comes as no surprise to me that there are more positive reviews out there than there are negative ones. The smart consumer/reviewer "separates the wheat from the chaff", so to speak, long before that positive review gets published.

 

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