Reviews and reviewers - are they necessarily bad?

All general audio posts go here.
User avatar
jandl100
Posts: 773
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2012 6:27 am
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 0

Re: Reviews and reviewers - are they necessarily bad?

Unread post by jandl100 »

Daniel Quinn wrote:it was a very recent recommendation Jerry , I think last week sometime because it arrived tuesday.
Ah, OK - the Belkin i/c?

Yeah, nice cables if you want good transparency and a bit of 'pep' added at the top end.
Jerry - unrepentant boxswapper 8-) Life's too short for boring hifi !

Current system ... MBL 116F speakers, ... various and varying electronics and cables ... Laptop (TIDAL hirez)

User avatar
jandl100
Posts: 773
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2012 6:27 am
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 0

Re: Reviews and reviewers - are they necessarily bad?

Unread post by jandl100 »

Daniel Quinn wrote:it was a very recent recommendation Jerry , I think last week sometime because it arrived tuesday.

p.s - you forgot cloth ears :D
Ooo - I couldn't say that here :naughty: - Doc would be on me case for ad hominem :P
Jerry - unrepentant boxswapper 8-) Life's too short for boring hifi !

Current system ... MBL 116F speakers, ... various and varying electronics and cables ... Laptop (TIDAL hirez)

Daniel Quinn
Posts: 8586
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2012 7:16 am
Has thanked: 24 times
Been thanked: 399 times

Re: Reviews and reviewers - are they necessarily bad?

Unread post by Daniel Quinn »

I have to confess , I bought it for Machiavellian reasons only . :lol:

User avatar
Dr Bunsen Honeydew
Posts: 30758
Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2012 7:26 pm
Location: Muppet Labs
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 48 times

Re: Reviews and reviewers - are they necessarily bad?

Unread post by Dr Bunsen Honeydew »

OK who want to lists professional reviewers in order of perceived honesty. A second list of perceived competence. And how about a third list for those best suited to look for a new career. :lol:

I can't vote as I haven't read anything they have collectively written for over 12 years, and it would be unfair to judge the current incumbents on that.

Daniel Quinn
Posts: 8586
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2012 7:16 am
Has thanked: 24 times
Been thanked: 399 times

Re: Reviews and reviewers - are they necessarily bad?

Unread post by Daniel Quinn »

Oh , I could rant about this for hours as I read them all [except what Hi-fi] but I can't say I can collate my thoughts in to a list of individual journalists . So of the top of my head .

HI-Fi news'ability of find "highly commended" "outstanding product" and "editors choice" products in every single group test of 6/7 products every time without bloody fail .

KK's siblingesque relationship with certain manufacturers .[ Wilson audio anyone ]

Every single one of them's failure to honestly describe the politics of reviewing Linn products and why this must be done as complete systems and why there always guardedly praiseworthy , as if your being invited to read between the lines . NK only hinted at it recently .

Every single one of them's myopia and failure to place in context. Each months reviews are written without any cross referencing of previous reviews or context of other related products. Tony Bolton and his liking for Benz is an exception [ there are others] but then it is almost always usually with reference to other products from the same manufacturer . For instance in Dec 2011 TB revies origin live motors , in September 2012 he reviews the Funks universal DC motor and no mention of the former!!

Hifi Pigs failure to explain to recent pulling of a review shortly after it was published . So much for putting it snout in the trough of hi-fi

Hifi worlds praising of inspires LP12 upgrade package costing £800 , premised upon a comparison with a very old LP12 supplied by inspire themselves !!!!!

Hi-fi news review of the new £200,000 Wilson speakers with Bollocks mention of the origins of the drive units which are bought in!!

To augment the last point , a significant number of reviews leave out info which is commonplace in others and this is clearly politics .

That's enough for now :D

User avatar
Dr Bunsen Honeydew
Posts: 30758
Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2012 7:26 pm
Location: Muppet Labs
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 48 times

Re: Reviews and reviewers - are they necessarily bad?

Unread post by Dr Bunsen Honeydew »

Good rant, I am sure we could fill a whole forum with these experiences.

The person I see the least complaint about is Paul Messenger, but his continued use without fail of Naim amps for the past 20 odd years is worrying. Most moaned about seems to be Ken Kessler, though at least he is not a Linn-ie or a Naim-ie.

Daniel Quinn
Posts: 8586
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2012 7:16 am
Has thanked: 24 times
Been thanked: 399 times

Re: Reviews and reviewers - are they necessarily bad?

Unread post by Daniel Quinn »

I've always like PM , ever since [ i think about 20 years ago ] i read in hifi choice he'd turned his house in to speaker cabinets , by putting the driver units in the wall. Ive always wanted to do that but lack the detached house :D

speaking of people from the past , i see in this months hi-fi news Jimmy has become James Hughes . :?

User avatar
Dr Bunsen Honeydew
Posts: 30758
Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2012 7:26 pm
Location: Muppet Labs
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 48 times

Re: Reviews and reviewers - are they necessarily bad?

Unread post by Dr Bunsen Honeydew »

Was it 20 years ago :? I heard those when he did it, from both sides as the back of the right speaker fired into the downstairs loo, and the left speaker into the cloakroom. If you had an obstructive little beast then the bass notes definitely helped to get it removed :mrgreen: The holes are still in the walls with wooded plates over them now. Tannoy 15 inch (Golds I think) IMO they were the best speaker sound he had there, interestingly probably the worst I heard were a pair of wardrobes with the same drivers in, Westminsters I think. So again it shows how important cabinets and room coupling is.

User avatar
jandl100
Posts: 773
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2012 6:27 am
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 0

Re: Reviews and reviewers - are they necessarily bad?

Unread post by jandl100 »

Daniel Quinn wrote: speaking of people from the past , i see in this months hi-fi news Jimmy has become James Hughes . :?
Jimmy (as was) Hughes was once kind enough to invite me into his Barbican apartment - a curious split level living room - with half a dozen or more stairs down to the lower level, so quite a way down.

The speakers - Linn Isobariks :? - were at the lower level and facing the rear wall :? and the listening seats were above on the upper level. :?

It actually sounded pretty good! :lol:
Jerry - unrepentant boxswapper 8-) Life's too short for boring hifi !

Current system ... MBL 116F speakers, ... various and varying electronics and cables ... Laptop (TIDAL hirez)

User avatar
Dr Bunsen Honeydew
Posts: 30758
Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2012 7:26 pm
Location: Muppet Labs
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 48 times

Re: Reviews and reviewers - are they necessarily bad?

Unread post by Dr Bunsen Honeydew »

It was / is a completely unnatural and distorted listening environment, which is why he came up with so many peculiar solutions and equipment choices to try and change / control it. The fact that he managed this to at least a certain degree meant he had good ears and ability to relate that. I have been a few times in the 90's and never really liked it, but was always polite as he was a reviewer :roll: now I would tell it as it is. See there is another corruption for reviewers.

Now lets transpose this to the present and forum Golden Ears, look at the comments on Marco's system, never a bad word (almost). Well I have spoken to three people who have heard it and none of them thought it was that good but wouldn't say so publicly as he has acquired the power of a reviewer and is not exactly emotionally stable. See the danger Jerry !!!! ;)

Post Reply