The key is to find a reviewer whose tastes and preferences closely align with yours, and then use their reviews to narrow down what gear you should audition for yourself.
I don’t really agree with that as that’s not how you normally shop using reviews as a guide. Can’t imagine doing that with cars, food, appliances, etc. Can’t even use an individual’s products reviews as a guide in speakers; pretty much every review is positive so it becomes a game of having to take notes per reviewer to see their unique takes, what’s similar across reviewers then try to eliminate each reviewers’ biases to try to see if it’s something I want to spend money on.
@@martinarrieta4536 That’s how _I_ always shop using reviews as a guide. I would never just take a reviewer’s word for it. With cars wouldn’t you use a review to help narrow down which vehicles to test drive and price? With speakers you’d first use reviews to narrow down which to listen to in stores, and from there which to listen to at home as part of a purchase. Even with something like Wilsons, you will need to pay for delivery but any dealer will be willing to deliver them and set them up in your home so you can try them in your home BEFORE you decide to purchase. Components, obviously, are easier. I’ve had Wilson Sasha W/P and Alexia spend about two weeks each in my living room before, and especially in the latter case I was convinced from my store audition it would be a mere formality; I did not purchase it because it didn’t perform as I was hoping it would. It doesn’t matter whether a review is positive or not; what did the reviewer HEAR? All reviews note that and once you find one whose tastes hew close to your own, that’s very helpful… but the decision is ultimately yours following a careful in-home audition. Not even an inexpensive surround sound speaker amp gets purchased without an in-home audition.
Your so right on this one. Also for me, it comes down to trust. When i find a good dealer to trust and aligned with me and my preferences, i stick around for good ✌️❤️🇩🇰
Specs give you a good starting point but for a final decision you must listen, especially when it comes to speakers. Everyone hears frequencies at a different volume (just ask an audiologists) so everyone is unique.
Paul, I agree 100% with your comments today. People need to find a local dealer that sells the equipment that they are interested in and then contact them to arrange for a properly set up demo. Listen for yourself and decide. You won't know what the dish tastes like until you try it for yourself. The same goes for Hi-Fi equipment.
Good point there Paul our views and taste's must be aligned with the people we trust who are reviewing equipment we could potentially be interested in.👍🎧🙂
It's also important to be open to learning. Specialists, people who've devoted time and energy to mastering the medium, can reveal aspects of cinematography, timbral accuracy or flavor profiles that help one learn what to look/listen/taste for. This is why reading movie, stereo and food reviews is so rewarding: insight.
Opera almost brings tears to My eyes, too, especially when I HAVE to listen to it. I prefer reviewers who do all their listening first, then do the lab tests. That way the test results don't have a chance to affect impressions of what was heard.
I totally agree with balancing, or “vetting” if you will, an audio reviewer, or in my case reviewers. I read both Stereophile and The Absolute Sound. Have for at least two decades, but it wasn’t until I attended my first audio show just a few years ago that I really understood the reviewers terms in the context of what I like. I focused on speakers because I enjoy that part of our hobby the most. Much to my surprise, what I had gleaned from previously reading reviews of speakers that were at the show, I had “wow, I get it” moments for every speaker I listened to. I suspected I didn’t like “analytical”, and I didn’t. I suspected I liked “bass-up” point of views, and I did. The list of adjectives could go on and on. To your point, in this case I went to the “restaurant”, tasted the “food” and found out what the “critic’s” terms meant to me in whether I’d ever want to “taste” what they made. Great question and great answer, Paul!
I agree with most of what you said Paul. However, if you listen to several reviewers that normally have different tastes that come to the same conclusion about a product you have to take notice.
Don't trust magazine reviews, they give the best reviews to the company's that spends the most on advertising with them, I have first hand experience, when I ran my audio accessories business for over 10 years here in the UK, always try to listen yourself before buying if you can, or buy on the premise that you can return it if you don't like the sound of it, measurements extremely interesting, in my opinion equipment may measure well but sound crap, trust your ears, not measurements, that's enough waffle from me for now, another great video Pau,l love your video's👍
The only way I have ever found to take personal preferences into account is to find reviewers who are consistent. CONSISTENT. Doesn't matter much if I share those tastes. But I can figure out what they mean from their consistency.
Danny at GR Research had a great take on reviews/reviewers. Some of these guys are really close to paid shills for makers. Most reviewers won't give something a bad review, but iI seem to tell when they are just being OK with it and when the wax ecstatic over something. When they wax ecstatic, I pay attention. Danny has also pointed out he could build a speaker with perfect measurements, but it would sound like crap, it need to sound and measure great. It would be fun to see the two of you in a room together listening and talking.
Danny at GRR uses very limited measurements. They're effective for what he wants to do, but he relies more on experience and 'his golden ear'. Of course, anyone can make a set of speakers with perfect specs - using only a few specs - that sound bad. That proves those limited measurements are inadequate in the first place. But I agree with him - good specs can still sound bad. But I disagree that bad specs can ever sound good. I've never heard anything measure bad but sound good.
@@jdlech Thing is in audio we use only complicated step by step method while ear has simultaneous way of perception and adoptive futures which have ability to change in time of hours. Plus human imagination which is learned in life by experience We are able to imagine and recognize that sound comes from hall or cave. On other side If we fell we do not understand what we perceive, this time we do not like it to listen, it makes upset. Such things may be slight and cannot be measured. .
Paul is absolutely right. Hi-Fi is subjective to some degree and I often use the same analogies as Paul. There is also the question of advertising revenue. I can’t recall any products that have received poor reviews in magazines which may result in people asking if this is because the publisher is concerned that the brand may pull their advertising. I’m not suggesting reviews are pointless as I have used them as a starting point but I don’t automatically assume that the product will to be my taste.
Paul makes a lot of sense here on the choice of music, and musicality from a hi fi audio component, or audio systems. Although I like detail from my listening to music; maybe somebody does not, and vice versa. I suppose when a phono cartridge is preferred on a turntable system a vinyl fan may want a very good, expensive - to most people - MC cartridge with a conical stylus. I say "turntable system" because a phono preamp may have to be considered, for the most part. Anyhow, I think you get my point. Therefore, another vinyl fan may choose a new very expensive, high performance MM cartridge for their choice for playback of music on their turntable. Then there is a vinyl fan who listens to most music by buying a used, affordable Moving Coil cartridge with an elliptical stylus. Each analogue aficionado is satisfied with most of the sound from a vinyl record, even newer vinyl. Therefore, it depends on the individual; even though such a statement to make is close to simple, and a bit shallow. As Paul says "it is what floats your boat".🔉🎵🎶
It is also true that musical taste is acquired and is formed when your perception coincides with that of the critic, who has experience (assumed) and tools to make measurements. The unfair thing would be to issue a judgment without having heard the system or the musical work, just basing ourselves on the critics who could be being paid by those who manufacture the products.
Another key is to listen to reviews that describe what something sounds like instead of just saying it sounds great. One person may prefer a warm sound another may prefer a neutral analytical sound. I lean to the warm side myself. So when hear something described as neutral, analytical and extremely detailed, I figure it's probably not for me.
This is why I loved Sisley And Ebert. Though I was on the young side to process much of their technical and more mature perspective, I was able to find movie reviews from people with whom I agreed with quite a bit.
100% agree. Music and musical sounds are subjective. Our ears and eyes and brain are the best reviewers..I have heard hifi systems costing thousands of dollars that sound metalic and robotic.TO ME. And I have heard vintage hifi systems from charity or thrift stores (Mine) that sound divine. I have vintage cassette tape decks all cleaned, demagnetized and lubed and aligned that sound so natural, rounded and organic when I play well kept cassette tapes on them that you would think the singer is in your room. Others will think they are cheap and ugly. What can you do?
This is absolutely right. Not like that Gr Research guy who measures and shows some stupid lines and decides that all speakers are wrong for just to sell his "upgrade kits" He doesn't even show the phase response before and after his kit..
Hi, Paul, I'll take some shrapnel for you: In most kinds of art, music, paintings, and so on most of the time you can tell the technical qualities of a great product, no matter your personal taste. I know vacuum tubes are something I like. I like bass and I like color in music. I love industrial design but think hi-fi-porn is ugly, made for and by 15-year-old kids. Reviews are valid cos you can pick and choose what you like, not what some stranger looves.
I totally agree with you Paul. Listen to the people that you respect with regard to SQ. The odds will be extremely good that you will agree with them as well.
A previous acquaintance in the Hifi industry described awards and magazines reviews as "bullsh*t". He always tells people to go to proper listening rooms in Hifi stores to compare products. The rooms in hifi shows are always terrible listening environments
I take reviews with a pinch of salt. Firstly, how independent are they? There is a lot of "looking out for each other" in the industry. Secondly, rarely do reviewers say anything bad, because if they do, they won't be given products to review any more (see point one!). Thirdly, as Paul says, what are their tastes - same or different? Fourthly, What acoustic environment did they listen in? and what other equipment was used? It will definitely sound different in your house with different acoustics and equipment. Fifthly, your tastes might match with the reviewer, but will your hearing?. Finally, buy a system you're reasonably happy with, and enjoy the music, rather than endlessly searching for the non-existent end of the hi-fi rainbow.
I enjoy buying things online except audio gear where I want to listen to it before I do the purchase. All there is left in my area is a Best Buy that doesn't sell any of the stuff I consider. I miss those days where I could go to some more audiophile shop and I could ask the dealer to demo some speakers with some amp in a proper listening room. Nowadays we have to pick the online reviewer/site such as Steve Gutenberg, Darko Audio, Jay's iyagi, Audio Science Review, Zero fidelity, Pursuit Perfect System etc. and then buy it online, and return it if we don't like it after we've wired it up to judge it. And the approach doesn't give us any proper A/B comparison options as in the old days.
Consider scratching Audio Science Review. Amir is no scientist. He successfully learned how to corral the "I can't afford it, so it is snake-oil" trolls. He is lord of the trolls. He tells them what they want to hear.
@@NoEgg4u Amir is reviewing audio gear more with a measurement perspective and he does it with good engineering depth. Of course he is less of a listen test reviewer and he often debunks snake oil products with some real valid competent engineering points, which is rare online. Which product did he call snake oil which you believe is not snake oil? Personally I don’t believe in pure measurement approach or pure listen test approach for audio. We need both. I usually check several reviews to learn the different perspectives.
@@ThinkingBetter Amir reviewed one of Paul's power generators. I do not recall the model. Paul, in one of his videos, has his engineer that designed the power generator, explain the nuances of how the power generator accomplishes its goal of feeding connected equipment cleaner power, resulting in better sound quality. Paul's engineer used a scope and measurements, which were mysteriously not part of Amir's review. Amir does not do comprehensive reviews. He makes it look like he does, by dazzling charts, measurements, and graphs to his viewers. But how many of his viewers would notice if Amir forgot to include a chart, or graph, or measurement? Nearly no one would notice. Ergo, Amir knows that as long as he dangles all kinds of techno mumbo jumobo to his viewers, they will eat it up -- never realizing the measurements that are absent from his reviews. Assuming that every chart and graph is 100% correct, the issue with Amir is the data that he excludes. Amir tells the truth, but not the whole truth. In one of Amir's reviews, where he did not listen to the equipment that he was lambasting, I asked him which of his measurements reveals the sound-stage that the equipment will throw. Amir replied, but did not answer. He tried his "engineering facts do not lie" BS with me. I pointed out that he responded to my question, but did not answer my question. This went on for 2 or 3 rounds, and I concluded that he is a con man, releasing videos for clicks, leading to revenue. I have no doubt that Amir knows how to measure, and also no doubt that he abuses his know-how. There are brilliant engineers out there that put their life into their work, who have amazing sounding products, and Amir smears them (by bashing their equipment), without listening to the equipment. That is despicable. I could not get Amir to admit that our ears can measure things that no lab equipment can measure (such as sound-staging, image focus, and texture of instruments). Amir might do a lot of good, too, by exposing real snake oil products. But all the good in the world is not a license to smear quality products.
@@NoEgg4u "Dazzling charts, measurements and graphs"? They're only dazzling if you don't know how to read them. In the case of the power conditioner, anyone with an open mind could follow the evidence that it made no difference whatsoever to the signal. The fact that you watch Paul and Amir's channels and conclude that Amir is the "con man" is, er, interesting to say the least.
Yes, every review is subjective to something, from persona preferences to financial arrangements. I am in reviewing job for 30 years, and I have done thousands of car tests or reviews, call it how ever you want. And it is the same, figures are figures, an they certainly present some values like performances and so on. But there is subjective part, that's up to author of that review regarding comfort, driving dynamics, sound insulation and so on. However, no mater how hard you try to be neutral and objective, there is one more thing - reader or listener or viewer, and his understanding or perception, that includes knowledge, experience, understanding, prejudice, and so on. What I am trying to say, reviews are not useless, but you have to take care from whom they are coming, and listening several of them about same topic might be vise, as well as figuring out if somebody has bigger or smaller interest in not actually telling truth, which is most difficult...
art is medicine for the soul. and so is music. medicine can be sweet or bitter, so a system that can administer both (sound precission) is needed to heal the most. then the medicine can be fine tuned for each patient once the whole is accessible. humans are all biologicaly similar, so effects fall in a similar range. the variation is very noteworthy, but not random and infinite.
Newsflash: "measurementists" listen too! Paul subscribes to a dualist viewpoint of measurements vs. "trusting your ears", but the truth is always somewhere in between. The way to interpret reviews and tests is via the lens of your own experience. It takes time and it costs money. Buy stuff. Make mistakes. Chop and change. Discover what works for you, and what doesn't. On the way, if you pay attention, you'll figure out which measurements are relevant, and what the jargon used by reviewers means.
Your advice that we should trust reviewers that have similar tastes is important. I read the question as "Are measurements valid?" and to that I have some points to make. Firstly, measurements such as THD are incomplete. The standard measurement for THD is done with a max level sine wave as input - but most music occurs at low volume. Then there are other aspects that are not even measured. So, for example, trusting that a low THD measurement means the piece of equipment will sound good is a mistake - simple example: an amp with crossover distortion could have a good THD measurement and sound terrible. There are many aspects of sound reproduction that are simply not measured at all.
Perhaps reviews on UA-cam are better to be seen as 'entertainment', with a few exceptions. Some are very objective and tell about their own bias and preferences. But still, at the end of the day reviews can only help with general direction. If you are lucky, you know someone very knowledgable and experienced personally who helps.
IF a piece of equipment measures well then one should consider that brand/model when making a purchase. Then comes the subjective part, one has to listen before buying, unless you are pursuing audio as a hobby and don't mind trading gear every few months. But if the measurements are bad then one should avoid the amplifier/preamplifier/headphone amp/ etc, because it shows lack of quality. Quality is seldom mentioned in UA-cam videos. Sorry but that is how I see it.
Reviewers seem to minimize obvious flaws/deficiencies to suit their tastes. An amp that can't run anything but the easiest speakers or speakers that sound fine for an hour or so and then you're running for the exits due to fatigue are 2 of my pet peeves. 'Don't like the sound of your new speakers, just buy a new $5,000 amp to go along with them and problem solved'. How about just buy better speakers in the first place and not join the amp of the month club?
This Presentation shows us that it is OK to have differing Opinions! We don't have to agree collectively, but we could only if all agree and that's not mandatory that we must Agree! GOD gave us Free Will as Individuals to Believe or Not Believe! Remember Freedom Requires the Ability to Allow others to have Differing Opinions otherwise we are being Dictated to! AKA Tyrants telling us we have to!
When it comes to buying a movie ticket, a gourmet dinner, a bottle of fine wine, or what performances to listen to, I'm willing to rely solely on the subjective opinion of connoisseurs. When it comes to spending thousands of dollars on technical equipment designed to accurately reproduce sound, it is to my mind reasonable to expect some sort of objective evidence of their performance relative to an agreed upon, industry wide set of established references.
thanks for your great response - ive found many reviews on youtube rave about products that I didnt feel the same. Maybe my expectations are too high after watch these reviews. Our hearing ears subjective at the end of the day.
You have to find yourself a reviewer just like you have to choose a doctor and then stick with them untill they go off into a different direction and the process repeats. You may thrive with a doctor that's well hooked up with Big Pharma or you may prefer a doctor who takes a more wholistic approach. An equipment reviewer is also a very personal choice. Shout out to Dr Sten Ekberg on UA-cam BTW.
Most reviews will tell you what it sounds like to their ear in their environment and very few ever try to measure anything objectively. I've said this a million times before. I've heard equipment with good specs sound bad. But I've never heard anything with bad specs sound good. All reviews should begin with objective measurements or they're just not good reviews. And reviewers who don't give you any objective information is just blowing smoke up your you-know-what. Manufacturers lie about their specs to often that you can't trust any of their liars sheets. Even for speakers costing thousands of dollars each will cite specs that simply do not measure up.
Ask 10 people what they put on a hotdog you will get 10 different answers and I won't even get into what hotdog maker or which bun. The main reason I want tone controls. I want reviews that say things like, the amp states it has 200 watts per channel at X amount of distortion this is what it really has.
I'm 73 and have copies of Stereo Review going back to tests of Advents, Dynaco 25's.... now most reviews are opinions of sound with virtually no actual tests. as long as Ya accept that..... Stereophile for example still does extensive tech. tests of Speakers and sometimes amps. (along with listening comments) never tests turntables, just fluff essays. kinda beauty in eye of beholder. but IF a test shows power is 50 w ch and the company advertises 75 or t'table speed is consistency fast.....
Thanks for the video there is nothing like your videos you say it how it really is, when I watch one of your videos I can't help but thinking about the other reviewer not to use names the white hair dude it's like you are neo and he is Smith
Measurement people drive me nuts. There are some basic measurements to look at but....how does the damn thing SOUND? The Sprout100 doesn't measure particularly well, but it SOUNDS very good indeed. Be careful of the SHILLS as well. They are everywhere...
They are provided that you read reviews of the same reviewer -- with time you get to know his taste and will know whether his conclusions make item reviewed interesting for you. I read couple magazines and know that one of them prefer warm sound ( I don't ) so when they praise something I know that it si not for me. In my opinion reviewer should use the same couple CDs or files from ripped Cds for all reviews they made -- thsi would make reviews much more useful. Unfortunately majority uses Tidal files ( which is rubbish for review purposes) and majority use some classic music, jazz etc -- none of reviewers I know uses heavy metal for doing review so in my case reviews are of limited aid. Having said that , however, it is true that for example PS Audio supplies warmish sound ( conclusion from all reviews I read) so in that case I know that this is not equipment for my taste, particularly that Paul is "religious " enemy of tone controls
If you try to find a reviewer that is aligned to your tastes then your are heading straight down Confirmation Bias Avenue. You should try to be open minded and listen to different opinions. But having said that, if you read/watch/follow a reviewer you have to remember money is involved and reviews will never be 100% candid, even with the best intentions.
At first I just watched any and all youtubers that had anything about Audio/ HiFi. As you indicate, I've whittled the list down as some expose their methods which I find counter to mine. e.g. one started commenting on his reviews including how the speakers in the Livingroom sound while he's in the kitchen making coffee! Or started picking up on blatant contradictions caused perhaps by an actual lack of background and experience (As Danny from GR Research discussed). One "high end" reviewer that commented on how his current very expensive reference speakers cause him to stop listening at higher levels after short periods of time? Or another that started admitting to things like port breathing and horn beaming issues with their reference Klipsch which they ignored while first reviewing the Klipsch? Or one that took us on a tour of a local physical HiFi store and how all the different brands in systems scattered around proved this was a real HiFi store, followed a year or so later about how wrong it is for a store to carry and display multiple brands because when one is the correct one why have others? Most reviewers are doing it because it is the latest gig work option for revenue generation. They can do it with no more of an investment than already in their smartphone! Few are here because like you they have a lengthy history and experience!
Ha, remember back in say '75 - 85 when Hi Fi was a ' thing' like fashion, Malls would have ' stereo in the round' stores with like 30 amps, 50 different speakers all around... Ya'd NEVER actually get a good listen at anything. but at least Ya could see them, nowadays there isn't a hi fi store within 100 miles
@@rickc661 Many of those were my customer as a Manufacturer's Rep. I did a number of in store clinics in malls and shopping centers. Lot's of Maxell Tape setting up cassette decks for Maxell. Kenwood, AR, .... Some even had sound rooms buried in back.
Just remember that whether it's a review in a magazine or online or promotional material from a manufacturer; it's just an *opinion* and that it is no more or no less valid than your own.
. It may be very hard to have trust in somebodys opinion if this person has not set his expectation on same level as we do. It may be impossible also if our taste differs from all around taste and sometime we should avoid trusting to others just not to get it worse and miss the lost. I think first condition is to listen to reviewer's best owned by him system to know his level of expectations. In my case I gave it up beacuse I see that every smallest alteration in positioning the speakers aqgainst me and every touch of knobs provides to me so serius results that such remote review is completly out of that track.
I've noted most youtube hi-fi reviewers don't use classical music test tracks when testing their speakers and audiophile gear. A huge mistake. John Darko even expressed to me his distain for classical music.
You'll never find a reviewer who you can relate to .... he/she is merely a reporter using their own standards of reference and they can't tell you what they are ! It's a great pity all humans ARENT identical in their hearing otherwise there would be just the one standard audio system that is right for everyone ... now wouldn't THAT be great !! Btw I've never heard dog doo-soo.... 🤣😂🤣🤣
Audiophile people get very emotional about their audio equipment. Audio equipment can’t be emotional, people start thinking about their equipment as emotional, musical more than about actual music recorded. It’s only product of the aggressive marketing, audio sales promotion makes it “musical” to approve crazy prices on the equipment.
Very good video. Lately I've comment other video with a measurement reviewed by someone who knows ,. wish a reply based on this video was an answer , instead you've deleted my comment. So measurement isn't important or important ? I'm confused.Pls don't delete this comment.
What a super political correct answer he gives and most people here will eat it. There’s a load of bollocks out there don’t trust reviews, loads of manufacturers have friends who wrote this stuff. I don’t say all but a lot of them!
@@Harald_Reindl Now you’re judging the recording studio, the label, mastering engineer and not the instrument itself! If the source is wrong everything else is going to be wrong.
Normally I agree, but there is a floor to what can be used for reviews that can broadly be used across the board for reviews. Your use of Food as an example; technical skills can still be evaluated like proper seasoning, uniformly cut, temperature is spot on, consistency from one day to the next, etc. Past that, a recipe/dish/cuisine is subjective but technique is objective. Undercooked is undercooked and overcooked is overcooked after all. My biggest turn off of this hobby is the lack of reviews that point out bad products. Almost everything is behind a Subjective shield. If it’s reviewers only reviewing things they know they’ll like, that’s a problem but I highly doubt a field has over 95% of products that are good. Look at headphones and IEMs, another Hi Fi hobby. I don’t have to look far for reviews of calling products outright garbage, negative, being told it’s a waste of money. I don’t have to look far to be told a set of $3000 headphones are outright garbage tier. It is incredibly hard to find that in Speakers that are more than $1k/pair. Seems really safe to dunk negative reviews on products that are meme’d for being bad, like Klipsch, but even that isn’t outright negative. It makes it so when I shop for speakers I see nothing but good reviews with caveats to the point where all those reviews go into the garbage; I can’t trust the field of reviewers if all of them are only cranking out positive reviews. That makes every negative review stand out more as a result. The fix of finding one reviewer who aligns with your tastes isn’t a great fix imo because that’s not how you normally look at reviews for anything you buy.
You're talking about subjectivity, audio reviews should not be subjective they should be scientific. Hearting the difference between two products in a double blind test is scientific. What someone thinks they hear outside of science is an opinion - it's useless. Sure one person can like a certain sound but this is not science. If audio reviewers couldn't tell the difference between two amps in a DBT what would happen? If one of those amps cost $50k and the other cost $5k the audio industry, including PS Audio, would collapse on itself. That's why you will never get a DBT from Sterophile or a bad review. If magazines started giving negative reviews no one would send their equipment to them for review - including PS Audio. It's called money and money dictates the audio industry just like it does most other industries. The difference is audio is filled with more hype than most industries, a lot of garbage gets spouted by people who know nothing about science or electronic engineering. What's the difference between an AWG (Arbitrary Waveform Generator) and an audio amp? Only the output, they are both designed using electronic engineering. Did anyone every buy an oscilloscope and have the manufacturer say you have to use it for 100 hours before it works right? Never! Did anyone ever buy an electronic instrument where the manufacturer used a vacuum tube rectifier? Not in the last 60 years! Distortion? Really? Distortion isn't a measure of musicality, you can't hear distortion under about 1% so a manufacturer giving you 0.001 percent distortion and saying his amp sounds better is slapping you in the face with your own gullibility. Tube rectification? Nonsense, you can't hear DC. Super expensive audio cables? Nonsense, if you can't hear it in a DBT you can't hear it, it's called science and anyone who wants to substitute subjectivity for science is making a fool out of anyone who believes them.
Paul, based on my personal experiences, I use the food analogy quite often myself. How many times have I fallen for the ‘oh, this place has great pizza’ advise, when in fact some of those people offering their opinions have never been to Italy or -sadly- even to ‘good’ (there we go again…!) Italian restaurants. Yawn! It’s all relative. About audio, best to either have someone (i.e. a reviewer) you really really trust with their opinion and experience, or -better- audition the equipment yourself. If it sounds good to you and meets your personal needs, then that’s all that really matters. But probably best not to throw the entire kitchen sink after some bling audio equipment, when you don’t have a solid foundation to base the purchasing decision on in the first place. jmho
Oh and don’ get me started on some of these completely disturbing horror movies. I don’t understand how anyone can enjoy this crap, when real life sadly already provides us plenty of horror. Just have to watch the news.
I love it “a broken person, not able to sleep…”
The key is to find a reviewer whose tastes and preferences closely align with yours, and then use their reviews to narrow down what gear you should audition for yourself.
totally agree....
I don’t really agree with that as that’s not how you normally shop using reviews as a guide. Can’t imagine doing that with cars, food, appliances, etc.
Can’t even use an individual’s products reviews as a guide in speakers; pretty much every review is positive so it becomes a game of having to take notes per reviewer to see their unique takes, what’s similar across reviewers then try to eliminate each reviewers’ biases to try to see if it’s something I want to spend money on.
@@martinarrieta4536 That’s how _I_ always shop using reviews as a guide.
I would never just take a reviewer’s word for it.
With cars wouldn’t you use a review to help narrow down which vehicles to test drive and price?
With speakers you’d first use reviews to narrow down which to listen to in stores, and from there which to listen to at home as part of a purchase.
Even with something like Wilsons, you will need to pay for delivery but any dealer will be willing to deliver them and set them up in your home so you can try them in your home BEFORE you decide to purchase. Components, obviously, are easier.
I’ve had Wilson Sasha W/P and Alexia spend about two weeks each in my living room before, and especially in the latter case I was convinced from my store audition it would be a mere formality; I did not purchase it because it didn’t perform as I was hoping it would.
It doesn’t matter whether a review is positive or not; what did the reviewer HEAR? All reviews note that and once you find one whose tastes hew close to your own, that’s very helpful… but the decision is ultimately yours following a careful in-home audition.
Not even an inexpensive surround sound speaker amp gets purchased without an in-home audition.
Your so right on this one. Also for me, it comes down to trust. When i find a good dealer to trust and aligned with me and my preferences, i stick around for good ✌️❤️🇩🇰
I totally agree with paul. For the end result before purchasing equipment listen to it and let our ears be the judge.
Specs give you a good starting point but for a final decision you must listen, especially when it comes to speakers. Everyone hears frequencies at a different volume (just ask an audiologists) so everyone is unique.
Paul, I agree 100% with your comments today. People need to find a local dealer that sells the equipment that they are interested in and then contact them to arrange for a properly set up demo. Listen for yourself and decide. You won't know what the dish tastes like until you try it for yourself. The same goes for Hi-Fi equipment.
Good point there Paul our views and taste's must be aligned with the people we trust who are reviewing equipment we could potentially be interested in.👍🎧🙂
This is such a great explanation at a very, almost unanswerable, difficult question. Respect!
It's also important to be open to learning. Specialists, people who've devoted time and energy to mastering the medium, can reveal aspects of cinematography, timbral accuracy or flavor profiles that help one learn what to look/listen/taste for. This is why reading movie, stereo and food reviews is so rewarding: insight.
Opera almost brings tears to My eyes, too, especially when I HAVE to listen to it.
I prefer reviewers who do all their listening first, then do the lab tests.
That way the test results don't have a chance to affect impressions of what was heard.
Well said. It takes some effort to find reviewers with a similar perspective. Once you do it is fun to hear their experiences.
Depends on the audience.
Everyone has an opinion about an opinion.
I totally agree with balancing, or “vetting” if you will, an audio reviewer, or in my case reviewers. I read both Stereophile and The Absolute Sound. Have for at least two decades, but it wasn’t until I attended my first audio show just a few years ago that I really understood the reviewers terms in the context of what I like. I focused on speakers because I enjoy that part of our hobby the most. Much to my surprise, what I had gleaned from previously reading reviews of speakers that were at the show, I had “wow, I get it” moments for every speaker I listened to. I suspected I didn’t like “analytical”, and I didn’t. I suspected I liked “bass-up” point of views, and I did. The list of adjectives could go on and on. To your point, in this case I went to the “restaurant”, tasted the “food” and found out what the “critic’s” terms meant to me in whether I’d ever want to “taste” what they made. Great question and great answer, Paul!
I agree with most of what you said Paul. However, if you listen to several reviewers that normally have different tastes that come to the same conclusion about a product you have to take notice.
Great subject on personal tastes! By the way, I’ve never heard anybody say “ blah blah *woof woof* ” before, I laughed hard when I heard that. 😂
Don't trust magazine reviews, they give the best reviews to the company's that spends the most on advertising with them, I have first hand experience, when I ran my audio accessories business for over 10 years here in the UK, always try to listen yourself before buying if you can, or buy on the premise that you can return it if you don't like the sound of it, measurements extremely interesting, in my opinion equipment may measure well but sound crap, trust your ears, not measurements, that's enough waffle from me for now, another great video Pau,l love your video's👍
The only way I have ever found to take personal preferences into account is to find reviewers who are consistent.
CONSISTENT.
Doesn't matter much if I share those tastes.
But I can figure out what they mean from their consistency.
Danny at GR Research had a great take on reviews/reviewers. Some of these guys are really close to paid shills for makers. Most reviewers won't give something a bad review, but iI seem to tell when they are just being OK with it and when the wax ecstatic over something. When they wax ecstatic, I pay attention. Danny has also pointed out he could build a speaker with perfect measurements, but it would sound like crap, it need to sound and measure great. It would be fun to see the two of you in a room together listening and talking.
Danny at GRR uses very limited measurements. They're effective for what he wants to do, but he relies more on experience and 'his golden ear'. Of course, anyone can make a set of speakers with perfect specs - using only a few specs - that sound bad. That proves those limited measurements are inadequate in the first place.
But I agree with him - good specs can still sound bad. But I disagree that bad specs can ever sound good. I've never heard anything measure bad but sound good.
@@jdlech Thing is in audio we use only complicated step by step method while ear has simultaneous way of perception and adoptive futures which have ability to change in time of hours. Plus human imagination which is learned in life by experience We are able to imagine and recognize that sound comes from hall or cave. On other side If we fell we do not understand what we perceive, this time we do not like it to listen, it makes upset. Such things may be slight and cannot be measured. .
Paul is absolutely right. Hi-Fi is subjective to some degree and I often use the same analogies as Paul. There is also the question of advertising revenue. I can’t recall any products that have received poor reviews in magazines which may result in people asking if this is because the publisher is concerned that the brand may pull their advertising. I’m not suggesting reviews are pointless as I have used them as a starting point but I don’t automatically assume that the product will to be my taste.
Paul makes a lot of sense here on the choice of music, and musicality from a hi fi audio component, or audio systems. Although I like detail from my listening to music; maybe somebody does not, and vice versa. I suppose when a phono cartridge is preferred on a turntable system a vinyl fan may want a very good, expensive - to most people - MC cartridge with a conical stylus. I say "turntable system" because a phono preamp may have to be considered, for the most part. Anyhow, I think you get my point.
Therefore, another vinyl fan may choose a new very expensive, high performance MM cartridge for their choice for playback of music on their turntable. Then there is a vinyl fan who listens to most music by buying a used, affordable Moving Coil cartridge with an elliptical stylus.
Each analogue aficionado is satisfied with most of the sound from a vinyl record, even newer vinyl. Therefore, it depends on the individual; even though such a statement to make is close to simple, and a bit shallow. As Paul says "it is what floats your boat".🔉🎵🎶
It is also true that musical taste is acquired and is formed when your perception coincides with that of the critic, who has experience (assumed) and tools to make measurements. The unfair thing would be to issue a judgment without having heard the system or the musical work, just basing ourselves on the critics who could be being paid by those who manufacture the products.
You listen to or read the stuff published by critics?
Another key is to listen to reviews that describe what something sounds like instead of just saying it sounds great. One person may prefer a warm sound another may prefer a neutral analytical sound. I lean to the warm side myself. So when hear something described as neutral, analytical and extremely detailed, I figure it's probably not for me.
This is why I loved Sisley And Ebert. Though I was on the young side to process much of their technical and more mature perspective, I was able to find movie reviews from people with whom I agreed with quite a bit.
Siskel...but I agree, they were they best and often had differing view points.
Paul, you are very right. Thank you.
100% agree. Music and musical sounds are subjective. Our ears and eyes and brain are the best reviewers..I have heard hifi systems costing thousands of dollars that sound metalic and robotic.TO ME. And I have heard vintage hifi systems from charity or thrift stores (Mine) that sound divine. I have vintage cassette tape decks all cleaned, demagnetized and lubed and aligned that sound so natural, rounded and organic when I play well kept cassette tapes on them that you would think the singer is in your room. Others will think they are cheap and ugly. What can you do?
This is absolutely right. Not like that Gr Research guy who measures and shows some stupid lines and decides that all speakers are wrong for just to sell his "upgrade kits"
He doesn't even show the phase response before and after his kit..
Thanks Paul! Subject analysis is always at the mercy personal (X). lol
5:25 "Measurementists" might be my new favorite word.
What a great question and very well put.
Hi, Paul, I'll take some shrapnel for you: In most kinds of art, music, paintings, and so on most of the time you can tell the technical qualities of a great product, no matter your personal taste. I know vacuum tubes are something I like. I like bass and I like color in music. I love industrial design but think hi-fi-porn is ugly, made for and by 15-year-old kids. Reviews are valid cos you can pick and choose what you like, not what some stranger looves.
I totally agree with you Paul. Listen to the people that you respect with regard to SQ. The odds will be extremely good that you will agree with them as well.
I think it was Billy Joel " You can't get the sound from the pages in a magazine " or something along those lines .
A previous acquaintance in the Hifi industry described awards and magazines reviews as "bullsh*t".
He always tells people to go to proper listening rooms in Hifi stores to compare products. The rooms in hifi shows are always terrible listening environments
I take reviews with a pinch of salt. Firstly, how independent are they? There is a lot of "looking out for each other" in the industry. Secondly, rarely do reviewers say anything bad, because if they do, they won't be given products to review any more (see point one!). Thirdly, as Paul says, what are their tastes - same or different? Fourthly, What acoustic environment did they listen in? and what other equipment was used? It will definitely sound different in your house with different acoustics and equipment. Fifthly, your tastes might match with the reviewer, but will your hearing?. Finally, buy a system you're reasonably happy with, and enjoy the music, rather than endlessly searching for the non-existent end of the hi-fi rainbow.
Excellent response based in reality. Thank you.
Paul I would be happy to talk about almost anything with you, i want to hear others opinions even if i don't agree.
LOL nice dance around that land mine Paul.
I enjoy buying things online except audio gear where I want to listen to it before I do the purchase. All there is left in my area is a Best Buy that doesn't sell any of the stuff I consider. I miss those days where I could go to some more audiophile shop and I could ask the dealer to demo some speakers with some amp in a proper listening room. Nowadays we have to pick the online reviewer/site such as Steve Gutenberg, Darko Audio, Jay's iyagi, Audio Science Review, Zero fidelity, Pursuit Perfect System etc. and then buy it online, and return it if we don't like it after we've wired it up to judge it. And the approach doesn't give us any proper A/B comparison options as in the old days.
Consider scratching Audio Science Review.
Amir is no scientist. He successfully learned how to corral the "I can't afford it, so it is snake-oil" trolls. He is lord of the trolls. He tells them what they want to hear.
@@NoEgg4u Amir is reviewing audio gear more with a measurement perspective and he does it with good engineering depth. Of course he is less of a listen test reviewer and he often debunks snake oil products with some real valid competent engineering points, which is rare online. Which product did he call snake oil which you believe is not snake oil? Personally I don’t believe in pure measurement approach or pure listen test approach for audio. We need both. I usually check several reviews to learn the different perspectives.
@@ThinkingBetter Amir reviewed one of Paul's power generators. I do not recall the model.
Paul, in one of his videos, has his engineer that designed the power generator, explain the nuances of how the power generator accomplishes its goal of feeding connected equipment cleaner power, resulting in better sound quality.
Paul's engineer used a scope and measurements, which were mysteriously not part of Amir's review.
Amir does not do comprehensive reviews. He makes it look like he does, by dazzling charts, measurements, and graphs to his viewers. But how many of his viewers would notice if Amir forgot to include a chart, or graph, or measurement? Nearly no one would notice. Ergo, Amir knows that as long as he dangles all kinds of techno mumbo jumobo to his viewers, they will eat it up -- never realizing the measurements that are absent from his reviews.
Assuming that every chart and graph is 100% correct, the issue with Amir is the data that he excludes.
Amir tells the truth, but not the whole truth.
In one of Amir's reviews, where he did not listen to the equipment that he was lambasting, I asked him which of his measurements reveals the sound-stage that the equipment will throw. Amir replied, but did not answer. He tried his "engineering facts do not lie" BS with me. I pointed out that he responded to my question, but did not answer my question.
This went on for 2 or 3 rounds, and I concluded that he is a con man, releasing videos for clicks, leading to revenue.
I have no doubt that Amir knows how to measure, and also no doubt that he abuses his know-how.
There are brilliant engineers out there that put their life into their work, who have amazing sounding products, and Amir smears them (by bashing their equipment), without listening to the equipment. That is despicable.
I could not get Amir to admit that our ears can measure things that no lab equipment can measure (such as sound-staging, image focus, and texture of instruments).
Amir might do a lot of good, too, by exposing real snake oil products. But all the good in the world is not a license to smear quality products.
@@NoEgg4u not a scientist but he does have a degree in Electrical Engineering.
@@NoEgg4u "Dazzling charts, measurements and graphs"? They're only dazzling if you don't know how to read them. In the case of the power conditioner, anyone with an open mind could follow the evidence that it made no difference whatsoever to the signal.
The fact that you watch Paul and Amir's channels and conclude that Amir is the "con man" is, er, interesting to say the least.
Yes, every review is subjective to something, from persona preferences to financial arrangements. I am in reviewing job for 30 years, and I have done thousands of car tests or reviews, call it how ever you want. And it is the same, figures are figures, an they certainly present some values like performances and so on. But there is subjective part, that's up to author of that review regarding comfort, driving dynamics, sound insulation and so on. However, no mater how hard you try to be neutral and objective, there is one more thing - reader or listener or viewer, and his understanding or perception, that includes knowledge, experience, understanding, prejudice, and so on. What I am trying to say, reviews are not useless, but you have to take care from whom they are coming, and listening several of them about same topic might be vise, as well as figuring out if somebody has bigger or smaller interest in not actually telling truth, which is most difficult...
“ Fake it till you make it” culture at its best in PS Audi, kudos to Amir for calling it out.
art is medicine for the soul. and so is music.
medicine can be sweet or bitter, so a system that can administer both (sound precission) is needed to heal the most. then the medicine can be fine tuned for each patient once the whole is accessible.
humans are all biologicaly similar, so effects fall in a similar range. the variation is very noteworthy, but not random and infinite.
Newsflash: "measurementists" listen too! Paul subscribes to a dualist viewpoint of measurements vs. "trusting your ears", but the truth is always somewhere in between.
The way to interpret reviews and tests is via the lens of your own experience. It takes time and it costs money. Buy stuff. Make mistakes. Chop and change. Discover what works for you, and what doesn't. On the way, if you pay attention, you'll figure out which measurements are relevant, and what the jargon used by reviewers means.
Your advice that we should trust reviewers that have similar tastes is important. I read the question as "Are measurements valid?" and to that I have some points to make. Firstly, measurements such as THD are incomplete. The standard measurement for THD is done with a max level sine wave as input - but most music occurs at low volume. Then there are other aspects that are not even measured. So, for example, trusting that a low THD measurement means the piece of equipment will sound good is a mistake - simple example: an amp with crossover distortion could have a good THD measurement and sound terrible. There are many aspects of sound reproduction that are simply not measured at all.
Perhaps reviews on UA-cam are better to be seen as 'entertainment', with a few exceptions. Some are very objective and tell about their own bias and preferences. But still, at the end of the day reviews can only help with general direction. If you are lucky, you know someone very knowledgable and experienced personally who helps.
IF a piece of equipment measures well then one should consider that brand/model when making a purchase. Then comes the subjective part, one has to listen before buying, unless you are pursuing audio as a hobby and don't mind trading gear every few months. But if the measurements are bad then one should avoid the amplifier/preamplifier/headphone amp/ etc, because it shows lack of quality. Quality is seldom mentioned in UA-cam videos. Sorry but that is how I see it.
Reviewers seem to minimize obvious flaws/deficiencies to suit their tastes. An amp that can't run anything but the easiest speakers or speakers that sound fine for an hour or so and then you're running for the exits due to fatigue are 2 of my pet peeves. 'Don't like the sound of your new speakers, just buy a new $5,000 amp to go along with them and problem solved'. How about just buy better speakers in the first place and not join the amp of the month club?
This Presentation shows us that it is OK to have differing Opinions!
We don't have to agree collectively, but we could only if all agree and that's not mandatory that we must Agree! GOD gave us Free Will as Individuals to Believe or Not Believe! Remember Freedom Requires the Ability to Allow others to have Differing Opinions otherwise we are being Dictated to! AKA Tyrants telling us we have to!
Paul, love your taste in music!
When it comes to buying a movie ticket, a gourmet dinner, a bottle of fine wine, or what performances to listen to, I'm willing to rely solely on the subjective opinion of connoisseurs. When it comes to spending thousands of dollars on technical equipment designed to accurately reproduce sound, it is to my mind reasonable to expect some sort of objective evidence of their performance relative to an agreed upon, industry wide set of established references.
thanks for your great response - ive found many reviews on youtube rave about products that I didnt feel the same. Maybe my expectations are too high after watch these reviews. Our hearing ears subjective at the end of the day.
"many reviews on youtube rave about products" Because they trying to sell you said products.
You have to find yourself a reviewer just like you have to choose a doctor and then stick with them untill they go off into a different direction and the process repeats. You may thrive with a doctor that's well hooked up with Big Pharma or you may prefer a doctor who takes a more wholistic approach. An equipment reviewer is also a very personal choice.
Shout out to Dr Sten Ekberg on UA-cam BTW.
Most reviews will tell you what it sounds like to their ear in their environment and very few ever try to measure anything objectively. I've said this a million times before. I've heard equipment with good specs sound bad. But I've never heard anything with bad specs sound good. All reviews should begin with objective measurements or they're just not good reviews. And reviewers who don't give you any objective information is just blowing smoke up your you-know-what. Manufacturers lie about their specs to often that you can't trust any of their liars sheets. Even for speakers costing thousands of dollars each will cite specs that simply do not measure up.
Ask 10 people what they put on a hotdog you will get 10 different answers and I won't even get into what hotdog maker or which bun. The main reason I want tone controls. I want reviews that say things like, the amp states it has 200 watts per channel at X amount of distortion this is what it really has.
I'm 73 and have copies of Stereo Review going back to tests of Advents, Dynaco 25's.... now most reviews are opinions of sound with virtually no actual tests. as long as Ya accept that..... Stereophile for example still does extensive tech. tests of Speakers and sometimes amps. (along with listening comments) never tests turntables, just fluff essays. kinda beauty in eye of beholder. but IF a test shows power is 50 w ch and the company advertises 75 or t'table speed is consistency fast.....
Absolutely true!
Are jvc good make jd Paul from Dublin Ireland 🇮🇪
Thanks for the video there is nothing like your videos you say it how it really is, when I watch one of your videos I can't help but thinking about the other reviewer not to use names the white hair dude it's like you are neo and he is Smith
Measurement people drive me nuts. There are some basic measurements to look at but....how does the damn thing SOUND? The Sprout100 doesn't measure particularly well, but it SOUNDS very good indeed. Be careful of the SHILLS as well. They are everywhere...
WELL SAID, Paul!
They are provided that you read reviews of the same reviewer -- with time you get to know his taste and will know whether his conclusions make item reviewed interesting for you. I read couple magazines and know that one of them prefer warm sound ( I don't ) so when they praise something I know that it si not for me. In my opinion reviewer should use the same couple CDs or files from ripped Cds for all reviews they made -- thsi would make reviews much more useful. Unfortunately majority uses Tidal files ( which is rubbish for review purposes) and majority use some classic music, jazz etc -- none of reviewers I know uses heavy metal for doing review so in my case reviews are of limited aid. Having said that , however, it is true that for example PS Audio supplies warmish sound ( conclusion from all reviews I read) so in that case I know that this is not equipment for my taste, particularly that Paul is "religious " enemy of tone controls
If you try to find a reviewer that is aligned to your tastes then your are heading straight down Confirmation Bias Avenue. You should try to be open minded and listen to different opinions. But having said that, if you read/watch/follow a reviewer you have to remember money is involved and reviews will never be 100% candid, even with the best intentions.
Great key 👏🏻
Where is the LOVE BUTTON?!?!
I hate people that claims measurements are everything….
At first I just watched any and all youtubers that had anything about Audio/ HiFi. As you indicate, I've whittled the list down as some expose their methods which I find counter to mine. e.g. one started commenting on his reviews including how the speakers in the Livingroom sound while he's in the kitchen making coffee! Or started picking up on blatant contradictions caused perhaps by an actual lack of background and experience (As Danny from GR Research discussed). One "high end" reviewer that commented on how his current very expensive reference speakers cause him to stop listening at higher levels after short periods of time? Or another that started admitting to things like port breathing and horn beaming issues with their reference Klipsch which they ignored while first reviewing the Klipsch? Or one that took us on a tour of a local physical HiFi store and how all the different brands in systems scattered around proved this was a real HiFi store, followed a year or so later about how wrong it is for a store to carry and display multiple brands because when one is the correct one why have others?
Most reviewers are doing it because it is the latest gig work option for revenue generation. They can do it with no more of an investment than already in their smartphone! Few are here because like you they have a lengthy history and experience!
Ha, remember back in say '75 - 85 when Hi Fi was a ' thing' like fashion, Malls would have ' stereo in the round' stores with like 30 amps, 50 different speakers all around... Ya'd NEVER actually get a good listen at anything. but at least Ya could see them, nowadays there isn't a hi fi store within 100 miles
@@rickc661 Many of those were my customer as a Manufacturer's Rep. I did a number of in store clinics in malls and shopping centers. Lot's of Maxell Tape setting up cassette decks for Maxell. Kenwood, AR, .... Some even had sound rooms buried in back.
Thanks Paul, very very funny Steffen from Germany, it wasn´t me..😂
Just remember that whether it's a review in a magazine or online or promotional material from a manufacturer; it's just an *opinion* and that it is no more or no less valid than your own.
Well put Paul!! 👍🍻
That's the nature of the beast when things are subjective....
I spy an Innuos server in that system - nice !
. It may be very hard to have trust in somebodys opinion if this person has not set his expectation on same level as we do. It may be impossible also if our taste differs from all around taste and sometime we should avoid trusting to others just not to get it worse and miss the lost.
I think first condition is to listen to reviewer's best owned by him system to know his level of expectations. In my case I gave it up beacuse I see that every smallest alteration in positioning the speakers aqgainst me and every touch of knobs provides to me so serius results that such remote review is completly out of that track.
Very nice answer
I think I relate to Shawn at Zero Fidelity..
Oh dear, so the key is to find a manufacturer that likes a nice ribeye medium rare, ok thanks Paul ;-))
I've noted most youtube hi-fi reviewers don't use classical music test tracks when testing their speakers and audiophile gear. A huge mistake. John Darko even expressed to me his distain for classical music.
When one don't give a shit about classical music it's unusable for him - there are tons of other music which is perfect to test speakers
@@Harald_Reindl I disagree.
@@papagen00 turn on your brain! When I have no connection to classical music it is the wrong type for whatever done by me
You'll never find a reviewer who you can relate to .... he/she is merely a reporter using their own standards of reference and they can't tell you what they are !
It's a great pity all humans ARENT identical in their hearing otherwise there would be just the one standard audio system that is right for everyone ... now wouldn't THAT be great !! Btw I've never heard dog doo-soo.... 🤣😂🤣🤣
Audiophile people get very emotional about their audio equipment. Audio equipment can’t be emotional, people start thinking about their equipment as emotional, musical more than about actual music recorded.
It’s only product of the aggressive marketing, audio sales promotion makes it “musical” to approve crazy prices on the equipment.
Very good video. Lately I've comment other video with a measurement reviewed by someone who knows ,. wish a reply based on this video was an answer , instead you've deleted my comment. So measurement isn't important or important ? I'm confused.Pls don't delete this comment.
5:38. “I could care less”. You meant “I couldn’t care less”?
What a super political correct answer he gives and most people here will eat it. There’s a load of bollocks out there don’t trust reviews, loads of manufacturers have friends who wrote this stuff. I don’t say all but a lot of them!
FIDELITY is tantamount! Does this equipment reproduce instruments and voice closest to live!
Unless you were present at the recording, how will you know?
Trumpet is a trumpet is a trumpet; heard one, you’ved heard them all!
@@mikeeygauthier2959 bullshit - it sounds different depending on the environment
@@Harald_Reindl Now you’re judging the recording studio, the label, mastering engineer and not the instrument itself! If the source is wrong everything else is going to be wrong.
Umm, I think what you said, sound system opinion is subjective.
Trust no one.
Try things, keep what you like.
Fantastic
You've got to review the reviewer.
👍
Of course they are valid - the question is “are they useful?”
Normally I agree, but there is a floor to what can be used for reviews that can broadly be used across the board for reviews. Your use of Food as an example; technical skills can still be evaluated like proper seasoning, uniformly cut, temperature is spot on, consistency from one day to the next, etc. Past that, a recipe/dish/cuisine is subjective but technique is objective. Undercooked is undercooked and overcooked is overcooked after all.
My biggest turn off of this hobby is the lack of reviews that point out bad products. Almost everything is behind a Subjective shield.
If it’s reviewers only reviewing things they know they’ll like, that’s a problem but I highly doubt a field has over 95% of products that are good.
Look at headphones and IEMs, another Hi Fi hobby. I don’t have to look far for reviews of calling products outright garbage, negative, being told it’s a waste of money. I don’t have to look far to be told a set of $3000 headphones are outright garbage tier.
It is incredibly hard to find that in Speakers that are more than $1k/pair. Seems really safe to dunk negative reviews on products that are meme’d for being bad, like Klipsch, but even that isn’t outright negative. It makes it so when I shop for speakers I see nothing but good reviews with caveats to the point where all those reviews go into the garbage; I can’t trust the field of reviewers if all of them are only cranking out positive reviews.
That makes every negative review stand out more as a result. The fix of finding one reviewer who aligns with your tastes isn’t a great fix imo because that’s not how you normally look at reviews for anything you buy.
this is going to blow Paul's mind. what about a meat burger made in the lab? no animal was killed but it's not plant life as such, 3D printed burger
Bullseye Paul!
tube amps add harmonic distortion and i wouldnt listen to anything else 300bset
A vegetarians ears are far too refined for my aural needs.
Freddy the 13th lol
Nice place for your eyeglasses....ON THE SEAT.!!!
Music has lost its way with too much technology that’s not even better sounding than vintage
It is better sounding but you audiofools like the distortion and noise of analog for whatever reason
You're talking about subjectivity, audio reviews should not be subjective they should be scientific. Hearting the difference between two products in a double blind test is scientific. What someone thinks they hear outside of science is an opinion - it's useless.
Sure one person can like a certain sound but this is not science. If audio reviewers couldn't tell the difference between two amps in a DBT what would happen? If one of those amps cost $50k and the other cost $5k the audio industry, including PS Audio, would collapse on itself. That's why you will never get a DBT from Sterophile or a bad review. If magazines started giving negative reviews no one would send their equipment to them for review - including PS Audio.
It's called money and money dictates the audio industry just like it does most other industries. The difference is audio is filled with more hype than most industries, a lot of garbage gets spouted by people who know nothing about science or electronic engineering.
What's the difference between an AWG (Arbitrary Waveform Generator) and an audio amp? Only the output, they are both designed using electronic engineering. Did anyone every buy an oscilloscope and have the manufacturer say you have to use it for 100 hours before it works right? Never! Did anyone ever buy an electronic instrument where the manufacturer used a vacuum tube rectifier? Not in the last 60 years!
Distortion? Really? Distortion isn't a measure of musicality, you can't hear distortion under about 1% so a manufacturer giving you 0.001 percent distortion and saying his amp sounds better is slapping you in the face with your own gullibility. Tube rectification? Nonsense, you can't hear DC. Super expensive audio cables? Nonsense, if you can't hear it in a DBT you can't hear it, it's called science and anyone who wants to substitute subjectivity for science is making a fool out of anyone who believes them.
Paul, based on my personal experiences, I use the food analogy quite often myself. How many times have I fallen for the ‘oh, this place has great pizza’ advise, when in fact some of those people offering their opinions have never been to Italy or -sadly- even to ‘good’ (there we go again…!) Italian restaurants. Yawn! It’s all relative. About audio, best to either have someone (i.e. a reviewer) you really really trust with their opinion and experience, or -better- audition the equipment yourself. If it sounds good to you and meets your personal needs, then that’s all that really matters. But probably best not to throw the entire kitchen sink after some bling audio equipment, when you don’t have a solid foundation to base the purchasing decision on in the first place. jmho
Oh and don’ get me started on some of these completely disturbing horror movies. I don’t understand how anyone can enjoy this crap, when real life sadly already provides us plenty of horror. Just have to watch the news.
Nothing more divisive than opinions on good pizza. Not politics, sports, religion, or coke vs pepsi.
5:22
Audio science review.
No. End of video
I was listening to this video and towards the end I got a download from the universe. The name "Amir" popped up in my mind.