CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS

  • December 31, 2015, 10:51:12 AM
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Poll

Who shouldn't be trusted?

Steve Guttenberg @ CNET
- 94 (11.6%)
Mike Mercer
- 91 (11.2%)
Mike Fremer @ Stereophile
- 32 (3.9%)
Headphonia.com
- 66 (8.1%)
What Hi-Fi?
- 58 (7.2%)
24bit / Michael Piskor @ Headfonics.com
- 38 (4.7%)
John Grandberg / Project86 @ Head-Fi.com
- 28 (3.5%)
hifiguy528 @ Head-Fi.com
- 64 (7.9%)
Macedonian Hero @ Head -Fi.com
- 48 (5.9%)
Srajan Ebaen @ SixMoons.com
- 72 (8.9%)
Skylab @ Head-Fi.com
- 31 (3.8%)
Chris Connaker @ ComputerAudiophile.com
- 30 (3.7%)
Jude Mansilla @Head-Fi.com
- 116 (14.3%)
Michael Lavorgna (late add - redo vote if you want to add)
- 24 (3%)
TAS / Robert Harley (late add - redo vote if you want to add)
- 19 (2.3%)

Total Members Voted: 162

Voting closes: March 28, 2018, 05:02:01 PM


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Author Topic: Reviewing the audiophile reviewers  (Read 15404 times)

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Deep Funk

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Re: Reviewing the audiophile reviewers
« Reply #170 on: August 15, 2015, 09:23:29 AM »

Nomax is coming from the open-end-professional forum.
He claims to be active in the headphone scene since decades, going to meets to talk to developers and headphone freaks.
In Germany, there is the objective hifi-forum and the subjective open-end. Nomax just hypes everything he likes or rather he can listen to before others can do. He's never negative. He just wants so share the joy of the headphone hobby. Here's his own hype-thread, where he gets attacked a lot.
http://www.open-end-music.de/vb3/showthread.php?t=6634

He is one of the worst with regards to the "hype-mentality." He openly admits to using secondary sources (with inherent bias) and not owning or having owned on what he makes his or her claims. He is following the list-trend without due diligence in research and purely does this for the attention.

He reminds me of the Ultrasone fanatics at Hype-Fi: "give me attention!; give me attention!" Me: "no."

Ignore such idiots or dismantle their operations...
 
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imac2much

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Re: Reviewing the audiophile reviewers
« Reply #171 on: August 15, 2015, 11:29:35 AM »

Nomax is coming from the open-end-professional forum.
He claims to be active in the headphone scene since decades, going to meets to talk to developers and headphone freaks.
In Germany, there is the objective hifi-forum and the subjective open-end. Nomax just hypes everything he likes or rather he can listen to before others can do. He's never negative. He just wants so share the joy of the headphone hobby. Here's his own hype-thread, where he gets attacked a lot.
http://www.open-end-music.de/vb3/showthread.php?t=6634

Ah, that explains a lot.  His constant hype is incredibly annoying though, regardless of his background. 

I did find one instance of him being negative... to the Beyer T1 no less, haha.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/774015/the-first-real-high-end-hp-in-the-world/135#post_11821877
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keanex

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Re: Reviewing the audiophile reviewers
« Reply #172 on: August 15, 2015, 06:00:36 PM »

That t1 treble...ew.
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Original_Ken

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Re: Reviewing the audiophile reviewers
« Reply #173 on: August 15, 2015, 08:53:11 PM »

"Trust No One" - Herod

I find music (and audio) reviewers to be an oxymoron.

In order to get jobs (20th Century) or be read by many people, one must be expert at writing words.  So, reviewers that we find at major sites are invariably verbally oriented people.

While this does not automatically preclude them from also being perceptive about the non-verbal world, it does make it unlikely.  You can see this by comparing the quantity of reviews of instrumental music to that of "songs".  Sites like Rolling Stone and Pitchfork base their appraisals of popular music largely by the quality and import of the lyrics of songs, and mostly ignore the music and instrumental performances.

Similarly, a "wordsmith" who can also charm companies into sending him $40,000 pieces of gear, is less likely to be someone who has spent thousands of hours comparing micro-details or listening to the effect of phase shifts.

The fact that I've already bored you, due to my lack of writing skills, is a good example of the above. :)
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keanex

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Re: Reviewing the audiophile reviewers
« Reply #174 on: August 15, 2015, 09:04:59 PM »

You should check out TheSilentBallet if you want reviews of instrumental stuff.
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Deep Funk

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Re: Reviewing the audiophile reviewers
« Reply #175 on: August 15, 2015, 09:39:09 PM »

"Trust No One" - Herod

I find music (and audio) reviewers to be an oxymoron.

In order to get jobs (20th Century) or be read by many people, one must be expert at writing words.  So, reviewers that we find at major sites are invariably verbally oriented people.

While this does not automatically preclude them from also being perceptive about the non-verbal world, it does make it unlikely.  You can see this by comparing the quantity of reviews of instrumental music to that of "songs".  Sites like Rolling Stone and Pitchfork base their appraisals of popular music largely by the quality and import of the lyrics of songs, and mostly ignore the music and instrumental performances.

Similarly, a "wordsmith" who can also charm companies into sending him $40,000 pieces of gear, is less likely to be someone who has spent thousands of hours comparing micro-details or listening to the effect of phase shifts.

The fact that I've already bored you, due to my lack of writing skills, is a good example of the above. :)

In the blogging, v-logging and Youtube/Vimeo/Vine community you see that being verbally adept at raising interest is an important skill. Click bait, keywords and tags are vital to stand out in the traffic of content. Sometimes keywords and tags become more important than brands and companies themselves because "viral."

You either adapt or have a following of fans, preferably both which leads to a fan base and the much desired "conversion rate" that advertisers and companies value more than your actual content. You have influence, you get money and things...
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Tyll Hertsens

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Re: Reviewing the audiophile reviewers
« Reply #176 on: August 15, 2015, 10:11:40 PM »

In order to get jobs (20th Century) or be read by many people, one must be expert at writing words.  So, reviewers that we find at major sites are invariably verbally oriented people.

Similarly, a "wordsmith" who can also charm companies into sending him $40,000 pieces of gear, is less likely to be someone who has spent thousands of hours comparing micro-details or listening to the effect of phase shifts.

The fact that I've already bored you, due to my lack of writing skills, is a good example of the above. :)

Thank you. I consider myself a pretty poor wordsmith, but pretty good at developing meaning and spewing it out colloquially.
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Cheers,

Tyll (like on the floor only spelled different)

Yuanathan

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Re: Reviewing the audiophile reviewers
« Reply #177 on: August 16, 2015, 12:37:36 AM »

Thank you. I consider myself a pretty poor wordsmith, but pretty good at developing meaning and spewing it out colloquially.
:)p13  :)p13
Personally I've always enjoyed your articles, using them as shortlist to audition gears.  :money:
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Luckbad

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Re: Reviewing the audiophile reviewers
« Reply #178 on: August 23, 2015, 04:29:43 PM »

An annoying thing about being a reviewer is that you're inclined not to tear products apart early in your journey because you're trying to get established. You don't want to make enemies with companies or they'll never send you product, but you don't want to lie and undermine your credibility.

Once you're a respected reviewer like Tyll, you can be completely honest and still get review loaners, which is an awesome place to be. An alternative is what Lachlan does, which is get donations from viewers and buy product to review, which is an awesome policy and a reason I respect his thoughts.

I'm only reviewing stuff as a side project in a very specific category (Bass!), so my approach is to just be honest and get blacklisted if I have to. I feel bad doing it, but shrug. My review of the Rhapsodio RD3 isn't going to be great despite liking the guys over there (good lord is that earphone fatiguing and sibilant).
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Armaegis

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Re: Reviewing the audiophile reviewers
« Reply #179 on: August 23, 2015, 05:20:38 PM »

Writing bad reviews always gets the most interesting (and greatest quantity of) replies for me.
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Do you think there may be an acoustic leak from the jack hole? ~Tyll Hertsens

Not sure if I like stuffing one hole or both holes. Tending toward one hole since both holes seems kinda ghey ~Purrin
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