Do you believe in Rich Guy audio review who never did any DIYaudio?

Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.
Gynaecologists medically help Women, tell them what to do ... and they have never been pregnant themselves ;)

As of Rich Guy , I think he speaks about Audio quality.

Now if his subject were construction difficulties, tips on soldering, how to drill/paint chassis, build custom cabinets, get hard to find parts, measure to check whether just built amp meets expectations or plain biasing and getting rid of Hum/Buzz, etc., then yes, in that case DIY building experience would be an asset.
If not, I fail to see the connection.
 
Last edited:
Do you believe in Rich Guy audio review who never did any DIYaudio?
I don't believe any reviews of audio, at all.If I pick up an audio magazine, it is for comedy, in the same way as MAD magazine. At some point, they must run out of hyperbole; after all, how many times can a new thing be the best ever, or give greater transparency?

They only exist to sell advertising; nothing more or less.
 
Agreed, as a reasonably objective person, I have yet to read a review in a profit making forum / publication that does not come across as laced with odd assertions and hyperbole.

I guess this is because if you let a scientist or engineer do a review it would be a couple of sheets of paper with numbers on them, and not sell jack. And consequently, not get the advertising in.

I see DIYers living in two broad camps: The technocrats and the subjectivists. The subjectivists have no trouble with the odd assertions and hyperbole if they buy into them. The technocrats rile against that - and from there ensues the eternal war, epitomised by directional cables and Capacitorless amplifiers.

Rather than the above, you need a marketing person writing the review, as they need to target one or the other (I suspect there is more money to be made from the subjectivists as they are more emotionally driven) camps, and translate this into advertising sales for the business they are writing for.

Do I sound cynical?
 
I'm also a cynical person, I dont mind to tell a finished audio product is bad in front of the seller, but i try to give him some inputs.

I was also a 'victim' of product review from popular driver alpair10p, when I started to get my interest on fullrange driver and enter Fullrange subforum, all I read was about how superior it was on most of the reply. i could not find anyone owned it yet then i bet just to bought it from overseas seller. then i disappointed later and now it's just laying on the corner of my garage, i can't still find it's usage.

yeah reading those audio/video magazine for me is just for fun, only to get a WOW moment especially when you look at the price tag $$$$$$$$$ :D
 
Last edited:
Administrator
Joined 2004
Paid Member
There was a Hi-Fi mag I read in the 80s & 90s that usually had 3 reviewers on each product, and you got to read those 3 different views. Some of those reviewers were tech savvy, some were not. That did help some.

The editor once asked me what I thought of the magazine, to which I replied "You guys like everything." He sighed, said "I know" and then talked at length about the hard place magazines are in. If they trash gear, they get no ads and no gear to review. No ads and no reviews = no magazine. Publishers understand this full well. As a reader, you can often "read between the lines" to get better feel for the truth. Life is rarely as simple as we would want.
 
Wow, I think you're the one being unpleasant pal, or is that more hyperbole?

Okay, since I don't actually want to be unpleasant, my last post was supposed to be part self-deprecative as to diffuse the situation, but that went over like a lead balloon. That is to say, I'm apologizing for being overly antagonistic.

I'll be clear: making a point/response via a youtube video without actually stating in text your point (versus stating what you want to say AND then adding the video for entertainment and/or reinforcement) is funny/entertaining/clever for the poster and antagonistic for everyone else. It's more or less saying "I'm going to make you sit through 4 minutes of your time to get my one line quip." (in addition to any of us who read on the bus/etc and can't/won't watch videos there) Which, as of late, has been ~15% of your posts, and a number of one word or emoticon posts in addition. Is it unfair to provide some pushback that it's an annoying habit, especially given your prolific post rate?

Exception, of course, is when the context is that you're actually sharing music.

If the goal is to spam, then by all means go ahead, if it's to actually communicate, can you please actually write out your point in addition to whatever witty thing you're trying to send?
 
Last edited:
I find myself in agreement with gadut.

I would put it this way: reviews written by people who actually know how stuff works make more sense to me than those who obsess over some some detail that was probably a design accident (not that that disqualifies a component) but the few who actually could make something have a more realistic view of what is possible and whether or not they are HEARING what they think they are hearing.

I could care less about restaurants so I do not know what to say other than I would take the opinion of a cook over someone just looking for the latest trendy experience. The cook would be interested in the quality of the ingredients and not as much how an unlikely combination of spices made what was likely substandard ingredients taste. I know I care about where my food comes from and its basic preparation more than someone's brilliant accident of ingredients not usually used together.

I like Arthur Salvatore's style of reviewing (though i do know enough to know his foibles) since he knows the sound he is looking for and will modify a component to get it. Not unlike Mr. Hiraga; not of the same stature but closer than most.

To get all excited about some expensive new box containing ordinary components maybe assembled in some clever way is much akin to the restaurant experience of "breathtaking" "new" (odd) decorating schemes with the food overwhelmed by the cleverness of the preparation and the surroundings.

Most people are too easily fooled by this kind of thing. But then I readily admit that there is nothing wrong with the placebo if it brings you pleasure. It won't last so enjoy it while you can.
 
Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.