How much does Indians believe whathifi?

came across this Reddit thread.

But seems to be a legit thing.

Hi,

I too came across a few discrepancies in the recent past, when it comes to What Hi-Fi? rating, when I started planning my hi-fi system. The reviews of products I am referring to are specifically:

1. Quad S-2 speakers
These are highly valued by stereophile.com and several other magazines and online forums. What Hi-Fi? have only given them 4.0/5.0 rating. In fact, I am finalizing on purchasing this product.

2. Monitor Audio Bronze 2.0 speakers
These have been their product of the year for the past couple of years. Most other online forums say that they are overrated by What Hi-Fi?. Every other forum agrees that the tweeters are too forward sounding.

3. Wharfedale Diamond 11.1
This product has also been underrated, though it has received positive reviews elsewhere. Diamond 11.2 was my initial choice, before I was able to stretch the budget.

With Regards,
Sandeep
 
I refer their listing only.. then research more on listed products specially reviews by users not by websites..
 
came across this Reddit thread.

But seems to be a legit thing.


There are a lot of reviews and sites over the internet...some favour certain brands while others provide their honest opinions...end of the day...before purchase....one needs to draw an inference and conclusion based on what is auditioned personally.....I always say trust your ears
 
Keep online reviews as reference ,but choose product only after carefull listening.This helps practically.
 
We had a discussion on Similar Lines last year.
https://www.hifivision.com/threads/truth-lies-and-fraud-in-the-audiophile-world.62497/#post-798065

Always Take online reviews without any objective data with a pinch of salt. Since What'sHifi doesn't publish their testing procedure clearly , they should best be served as reference purposes only. But, most of the times we are too busy to go into finer details & continue with further reading, so our 'Busy-Ness' leads to their good 'Business'.
Another useful option is, you can note down the tracks played by them(reviewers) and listen to them in your existing system and compare the difference after the certain component (under review) being added to the chain.
 
Please use reviews only as a guide to indicate the philosophy. More salt or sugar only after eating/ listening I mean :)
 
One of the worst pasting was received in 2010 by a well known magazine which give rave reviews for a Lexicon bluray player, only to later be shown by Audioholics that the 3500 USD Lexicon was just a rebadged 500USD Oppo player.
 
Notice how almost all well known brands get 5 star reviews. Then notice that almost for a period of two years one brand is pushed as the holy grail. It started with nad rotel Cambridge roksan Cyrus rega. High end audio is a scam. With distributors dealer margins totaling 50 percent or more. No other industry milks their clientele so much. We should start a policy of only buying direct from the companies and having a common forum clearing agent or something. Or they can forget the Indian market and go elsewhere. Enough is enough.
 
Notice how almost all well known brands get 5 star reviews. Then notice that almost for a period of two years one brand is pushed as the holy grail. It started with nad rotel Cambridge roksan Cyrus rega. High end audio is a scam. With distributors dealer margins totaling 50 percent or more. No other industry milks their clientele so much. We should start a policy of only buying direct from the companies and having a common forum clearing agent or something. Or they can forget the Indian market and go elsewhere. Enough is enough.
What about Indian textile industry, every Garments readymade clothing/Apparels retailers make more than 30-40%
We go to Relieance Trendz and buy without bargain..
Clothing is a daily business and yet they make huge margins.
 
What about Indian textile industry, every Garments readymade clothing/Apparels retailers make more than 30-40%
We go to Relieance Trendz and buy without bargain..
Clothing is a daily business and yet they make huge margins.

Clothing doesn't cost lacs nor is this a cloth forum. Audio is a scam. And we are paying through our noses. In a way a better analogy are watches. Another scam there.

Magazines give five star reviews to those who pay. We gullible guys who have no means of getting a demo across brands buy based on these reviews and get cheated. 10L for a mcintosh 300 watt power amp? 20L for a speaker? 6000 usd for MIT cables? Except for products under 1L almost everything is overpriced. Id happily pay a total Margin of 40 percent to a distributor but 70 percent margins are ridiculous.
 
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Reminds me of auditioning KEF LS 50. After reading all those stellar review online (including Whathifi) I went to Profx for an audition almost making up my mind to buy a pair. Won't get into details since audio is subjective but I MUCH preferred my existing speakers (rather imexpensive ones). To my ears KEFs didn't have much to offer apart from a slightly better woofer. I felt as if most of the speaker's cost went into marketing instead of improving SQ. Sorry guys, not trying to hurt anyone's sentiments, just expressing my subjective opinion..
 
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Reminds me of auditioning KEF LS 50. After reading all those stellar review online (including Whathifi) I went to Profx for an audition almost making up my mind to buy a pair. Won't get into details since audio is subjective but I MUCH preferred my existing speakers (rather imexpensive ones). To my ears KEFs didn't have much to offer apart from a slightly better woofer. I felt as if most of the speaker's cost went into marketing instead of improving SQ. Sorry guys, not trying to hurt anyone's sentiments, just expressing my subjective opinion..
I had exactly the same experience. Rubbish speaker for the money.
 
Equipment manufacturers, the magazines, the reviewers.... All of them are businesses with one source of income.... You and me. Like all other businesses, some prefer the "I'll be truthful and build up a loyal client base" route, while others are more ready to cut corners.
 
Whatever one reads over the internet should not be taken literally as 100% gospel truth....it is indeed difficult to really decipher what is true and what is sugar coated or lies.....

Trust yourself, your instincts and your ears.....for example what I have seen on this platform, there are many who will ask for opinions, some will be accepted, while some criticize or challenge the caliber of the member etc.....end of the day it is upto you to audition where possible and make a sound decision before investing in value for money products v/s expensive AV gear........I do read a lot of stuff over the internet and I after auditioning I am able to relate to the global reviewer or magazine then I may tend to trust those as they evaluate and feedback close to my way of review and decisions
 
Whatever one reads over the internet should not be taken literally as 100% gospel truth....it is indeed difficult to really decipher what is true and what is sugar coated or lies.....

Trust yourself, your instincts and your ears.....for example what I have seen on this platform, there are many who will ask for opinions, some will be accepted, while some criticize or challenge the caliber of the member etc.....end of the day it is upto you to audition where possible and make a sound decision before investing in value for money products v/s expensive AV gear........I do read a lot of stuff over the internet and I after auditioning I am able to relate to the global reviewer or magazine then I may tend to trust those as they evaluate and feedback close to my way of review and decisions
Very valid points, and that is exactly why we have a forum like this. And it is our responsibility to ensure members (especially newbies) get the best possible advise and make sure our own biases and interests do not get in the way. Otherwise the forum will lose credibility. It is very important as forum members to empower others to make best possible decision but not make the decision itself for them. Cheers! :)
 
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