Search results

  1. A

    State of the industry - Roy Gregory Editorial

    The manufacturers can usually look after themselves. They generally take the results of a review on the chin, but some go off in a huff. There are always more manufacturers. The biggest problem now with writing a negative review (apart from legislation filtering out a lot of the really bad...
  2. A

    State of the industry - Roy Gregory Editorial

    That's why most of my equipment reviews are of the more metropolitan-sized components that I can move in and out of the listening room easily. The bigger ones take longer to deal with. I run two listening rooms (one in my home in London and one in the office in Sandleheath) and the office one is...
  3. A

    State of the industry - Roy Gregory Editorial

    No, I don't cut and paste my work, and if I handed my workload over to AI, it would be grammatically better. One of the more common complaints directed at high-end audio reviews is the absence of comparisons. Because of my throughput, I can go some way toward making those comparisons – or at...
  4. A

    Poll: Objective Measurements versus Subjective Reviews

    Fair enough. Not really. The forum thing largely comes with the territory. Largely, no. The equipment is a means to an end, and the better the means, the better the end. The journey is very much secondary to me. It didn't used to be, and I have no problems with those on the journey, but I...
  5. A

    Poll: Objective Measurements versus Subjective Reviews

    It sounds like cheese, of course. The pivotal question is then 'which cheese?'
  6. A

    Poll: Objective Measurements versus Subjective Reviews

    You defined the music world as follows: "Music lovers", which you define as, "the only thing they care about in buying a system is to listen to music. What gear is, or does is of zero interest to them. In that case, it is a pure case of equipment simply being there to play the music." You...
  7. A

    Poll: Objective Measurements versus Subjective Reviews

    There is a fourth case: Someone who loves music, and the sound it makes. They have a deep involvement with their music and the reason they have an interest in audio is purely because of that musical involvement. In other words, someone who is so passionate about their music that they could...
  8. A

    Objectivists, Harman Testing, Reviewers, and Reality

    Actually, I go a lot deeper. Whether measurement gives us the complete picture or not is immaterial. Either side can read a review in Stereophile and apply their own filters to avoid what they consider 'filler'. I question why forcing measurement as the primary determinant in the purchase of...
  9. A

    Objectivists, Harman Testing, Reviewers, and Reality

    This is possibly a call to separate what goes on in forums against what happens IRL. Forums inevitably preach to the choir. A car forum is likely to obsess and discuss things like tire specifications. I know of a Porsche launch where they invited three of the most fervent Porsche enthusiasts on...
  10. A

    Objectivists, Harman Testing, Reviewers, and Reality

    No, not everything has to be dumbed down, but neither does everything have to come with an expectation of understanding the rubrics underlying this industry. We can have both - it's not an either/or thing. Some people want to know everything about a thing before they buy that thing. Most just...
  11. A

    Objectivists, Harman Testing, Reviewers, and Reality

    That is precisely the problem. In the last magazine I worked on, we had to actively deflate the whole measured performance section, because our published measurements were being used (more accurately, abused) like 'Top Trumps' cards. Before we came to this decision, we regularly devoted pages...
  12. A

    Objectivists, Harman Testing, Reviewers, and Reality

    This is very true, but it also demonstrates a fairly bad case of audio myopia. Here's what's printed on the side of a tire: And here's what the vast majority of people actually ask for: "What's your best price on a set of tires for my car?" The information supplied on a tire...
  13. A

    It's time to go, see ya later.

    Thank you for making your case so eloquently. As a result, I'm kind of even more at a loss to wonder what caused Peter's outburst in the first case. I'm somewhat protective toward people being victimised on forums (not just reviewers) because not everyone has a thick enough skin to cope with...
  14. A

    It's time to go, see ya later.

    Guilt by association? Really? That Peter suicided himself here is not in question. That he did so in an infantile manner is neither acceptable or forgivable. That he did this on the back of some high-handed and ill-conceived posts only makes matters worse. And yet, that it elicits a...
  15. A

    It's time to go, see ya later.

    If so, then all to the good. I've just seen enough audio forums torn apart by the process I described to be possibly over sensitised by it, however.
  16. A

    It's time to go, see ya later.

    I am not in the least trying dictate what people should or should not post, but the reason I liked this forum was its willingness to debate topics from very different viewpoints without prejudice. We should all be welcome under a 'different paths, same direction' spirit of open-mindedness, even...
  17. A

    It's time to go, see ya later.

    No, certainly shouldn't change to keep one person from leaving. But a forum that ultimately creates such a toxic atmosphere that it drives people away needs to look to itself to see why that happens, before it starts happening regularly and destroys the forum. If his recent excess of animosity...
  18. A

    It's time to go, see ya later.

    While I don't agree with Peter's method of leaving, I understand the motivation. A reviewer needs an extremely thick skin, but even then some barbs burrow deep. Taken individually, we audiophiles are generally a friendly, fair-minded, level-headed lot, albeit with tendency toward exactitude. As...
  19. A

    Negative show report posts... enough is enough.

    I got one of those little blue pills caught in my throat once. I had a stiff neck for days. Thank you, I'm here all week...
  20. A

    Negative show report posts... enough is enough.

    One could argue that this was possibly not the best course of action, especially if you were the brand manager of Infinity. I suspect a more pragmatic course of action, one that incorporates blind testing as but one of many tools in the designer's arsenal, might be a more constructive...
  21. A

    Negative show report posts... enough is enough.

    I don't think there is an 'expert' audio reviewer. There are experts in measurement, experts in listening, and expert writers, the properties of which combine to a lesser or greater extent to form expertise in reviewing. That being said, Gladwell's '10,000 hour rule' probably applies, and...
  22. A

    Negative show report posts... enough is enough.

    OK, what say we fall back on everyone mumbling "I disagree with what you say, but I defend to the death your right to say it" and move this thread onto more constructive elements about how audio should be demonstrated? That may necessitate starting a whole new thread.
  23. A

    Negative show report posts... enough is enough.

    Thanks. One of the reasons for this was a dawning realisation of how the Munich show actually works. If you think of the three or four biggest names in German vinyl replay today - Acoustic Solid, Clearaudio, Pro-Ject, and Transrotor - all of them were demonstrating at Munich, but not one of...
  24. A

    Negative show report posts... enough is enough.

    Yes, but the point about it being akin to sitting in a car and making 'brrrm, brrrm' noises is far more important. We (and by we I mean members of the public as well as the industry) have backed ourselves into a corner where the least good way of demonstrating audio has also become the most...
  25. A

    Negative show report posts... enough is enough.

    Up to a point, I agree. But only up to a point. I don't think we can be over-sensitive toward the feelings of those who make crap. In a way, the better service all round is to let them know their product is crap (if it is crap), because they won't continue to throw money at trying to make a bad...
  26. A

    Negative show report posts... enough is enough.

    And yet, strangely, when he did write for the audio industry, he deployed precisely none of these things. His nickname was 'Linny' Setright because he was reputedly given a free Linn system and then just attacked anything that wasn't made in the Linn factory.
  27. A

    Negative show report posts... enough is enough.

    I would say, it doesn't appeal to the thousands either. The purpose of a show should be to present the latest audio products in the best way possible to a keen and receptive buying public. What they have become is predominantly a series of mediocre, pale representations of what is possible...
  28. A

    Negative show report posts... enough is enough.

    That's exceptionally bare-bones, and there is no way you could get enough people to agree to this, even if you could find people with money to fund this. Think on it realistically for a while. 1. Where would you cite this? China would be the obvious place (in revenue terms), but inaccessible...
  29. A

    Negative show report posts... enough is enough.

    The costs to show goers and exhibitors as hotel guests is not the same as the costs involved to exhibit. Hotels know that if they have an exhibition running, it is in their interest to give discounted rates to warm bodies, because the cheaper it is to pack out the halls, the more it makes the...
  30. A

    Negative show report posts... enough is enough.

    Thanks for the dose of sanity, Myles. For the record, I think the High-End Society in Germany does make a profit from the Munich High-End Show; part of that comes down to it pulling in more than 12,000 visitors, and part because the cheapest room costs €10,000 and the main atrium rooms cost a...

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

Home Forums Contact us

User Menu

Login
Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing
Top Bottom