I google a lot before making any purchase. From my experience I find whathifi reviews very reliable. Can anybody suggest the best site for reviews on receivers,speakers,etc, Another doubt I have is Why are Polk Audio speakers not reviewed in whathifi.com:sad:
Can anybody suggest the most trusted review site for speakers
- Thread starter ps_sonic
- Start date
GCE
Member
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whathifi.com
Home Page | Stereophile.com
pl note that reviews arent all what theyre written out to be. your best bet is to audition
Home Page | Stereophile.com
pl note that reviews arent all what theyre written out to be. your best bet is to audition
Generally the reviews on the whathifi and Stereophile are good and more or less genuine.
Remeber that these sites/magazines might have their own bias towards or associations with certain brands which they may want to promote or they may not want to promote due to various commercial or non commercial reasons. So generally each speaker will not be reviewed by all the review sites.
Remeber that these sites/magazines might have their own bias towards or associations with certain brands which they may want to promote or they may not want to promote due to various commercial or non commercial reasons. So generally each speaker will not be reviewed by all the review sites.
I trust Home Page | Sound & Vision Their receiver reviews are awesome and they put out the true power figures by driving all channels. Most receivers go into protection mode in their tests.
ranjeetrain
New Member
Like most learners, I have bought components based on reviews/spec sheets. What I have learnt in the process is that - read everything, hear everyone out, but buy only after auditioning. Review sites are good for making a first shortlist, but that's about it. There is no substitute for hearing a gear for yourself and buying based on what your ears and heart say - buy them.
Some review sites are good. But the truth is - most review sites have commercial interests. It is too much to ask of a human to be completely neutral.
Besides, all reviewers are humans. You can't take bias out of a human. Not necessarily the financial bias, but the personal bias, bias for a specific kind of sound. Even if a reviewer tries to present a neutral stand point, at a subconsciously level his opinions are affected by his personal liking/disliking of a specific kind of sound.
Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
That is 100% pure-gold good advice.
It may not always be possible if one does not live in a hifi metropolis, or one may choose to buy blind. I guess we have nobody to blame but ourselves if we do that and it all goes wrong! We can't blame the reviewers! That's not so bad with, say an ODAC, but could be an expensive mistake with speakers.
For monitor speakers, or, indeed, any equipment that might be used in pro/semi-pro audio, I have long been fond of Sound on Sound magazine. I used to buy it every month, but I still consult their website. I find it very sound ...on sound.
At the opposite extreme (I'm not saying it's unsound, just an utterly different cultural view) would be, say, 6-moons. If they have reviewed something I'm interested, I certainly read it.
Last but no-way least is members of HFV, many of whom have many years of experience of different brands and models. The kind of people that can tell you that, yeah, you might like what a company made in 170, but you probably wouldn't be so keen on what they make now. Those people give the best advice of all, particularly as they can hear about you, and your preferences, and you can find out if their preferences are likely to suit you.
It may not always be possible if one does not live in a hifi metropolis, or one may choose to buy blind. I guess we have nobody to blame but ourselves if we do that and it all goes wrong! We can't blame the reviewers! That's not so bad with, say an ODAC, but could be an expensive mistake with speakers.
For monitor speakers, or, indeed, any equipment that might be used in pro/semi-pro audio, I have long been fond of Sound on Sound magazine. I used to buy it every month, but I still consult their website. I find it very sound ...on sound.
At the opposite extreme (I'm not saying it's unsound, just an utterly different cultural view) would be, say, 6-moons. If they have reviewed something I'm interested, I certainly read it.
Last but no-way least is members of HFV, many of whom have many years of experience of different brands and models. The kind of people that can tell you that, yeah, you might like what a company made in 170, but you probably wouldn't be so keen on what they make now. Those people give the best advice of all, particularly as they can hear about you, and your preferences, and you can find out if their preferences are likely to suit you.
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keith_correa
Well-Known Member
The most trusted "site" is the demo room at the dealer when YOU do the review based on what YOU hear.
Even that is not fool-proof. Most demo rooms are "treated". What you hear at your home after you set up the speakers MIGHT be very/little different from what you heard in the demo room.
I know this does not help much but its the truth.
Even that is not fool-proof. Most demo rooms are "treated". What you hear at your home after you set up the speakers MIGHT be very/little different from what you heard in the demo room.
I know this does not help much but its the truth.
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Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
I suppose it depends on just how much cash is at stake. But, there are forum members, especially those who I've met and talked to, and especially if I have listened to music in their homes, whose advice I'd take blind if I really needed to buy and listening was hard.
Of course, they'd tell me not to, and tell the same as keith and ranjeet.
And, anyway, I'm crazy, and quite likely to get fascinated by some product and buy it anyway. The very last thing I'd advise anybody else to do!
But... almost everything I have now, with the exception of low-cost experimental purchases of ODAC and Ocean Blue Bravo, was heard before purchase.
~
Of course, they'd tell me not to, and tell the same as keith and ranjeet.
And, anyway, I'm crazy, and quite likely to get fascinated by some product and buy it anyway. The very last thing I'd advise anybody else to do!
But... almost everything I have now, with the exception of low-cost experimental purchases of ODAC and Ocean Blue Bravo, was heard before purchase.
~
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vijaykarthik123
Member
check Home Page | Stereophile.com for exclusive speaker reviews
While practically it is not possible to audition every product , you can find reviewers with whom you can connect based on their review of a product that you are familiar with and those reviews which are inline with your experience. I have had bad experience with reviews from what-hi-fi , it is mostly five star and not all would suite for your liking.
I like the art-dudley from stero-phile and john-darko from digital audio review , but his style is florid, sometime difficult to follow.
Again this appraoch has its own limitation and takes time to lock.in
I like the art-dudley from stero-phile and john-darko from digital audio review , but his style is florid, sometime difficult to follow.
Again this appraoch has its own limitation and takes time to lock.in
keith_correa
Well-Known Member
You want florid, you need to read some of the guys at 6moons. I get lost in their prose. :lol:
Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
I sometimes don't even finish their reviews! The photos are always good.
Just another viewpoint, style; maybe other ways of listening. Good to take a look at least.
Just another viewpoint, style; maybe other ways of listening. Good to take a look at least.
Reviewing a product by merely listening once in one combination of gear also could be unreliable. If auditioning is not possible, then you can read as many 'user reviews' as you can by googling. If majority of the users are pleased, then you are not likely to go wrong. Advantage is different users would have paired the product you are looking for with different gear so the worries about synergy are aslo minimum. You must be capable of differentiating between unbiased reviews and fan boy reviews though.
Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
Forums are good for that --- where members actually discuss, compare and argue about their different setups.
Even some of the forums have sponsors. But hey, it's an imperfect world. We have to take what we can
Even some of the forums have sponsors. But hey, it's an imperfect world. We have to take what we can
heliumflight
Well-Known Member
The greatest reviewer is your own "ears"
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