Is it Possible to Properly Evaluate a Product if one Doesn't Like how it Sounds? Are Experts just Preaching Their Tastes?
- Thread starter caesar
- Start date
Well therein lies the conundrum - all reviews are subjective as we're all humans with different likes / dislikes. Can a reviewer decouple their emotions when listening to music and provide an objective review? I personally think it's incredibly difficult. On top of that, what about the reviewers' mood the day of the review? How tired were their ears, mind and body? How tainted is their listening room (treatment? room size? floor type? etc.) How synergistic is the gear connected to the unit under review? All variables matter IMO which greatly minimize the credibility of reviews, I take them with a grain or 3 of salt.. ;-).
Elliot G.
Industry Expert
Of course it is however the fact that you don't like it is part of the evaluation. Hopefully the unlike part is not a preconceived one for in that case that truly isnt going to be a fair and unbiased one.
I dont think one would want to read a review of a pizza place if the person doing the review has stated in advance they hate pizza. This to me makes little sense.
Taste is a factor of course but in truth who really defines what makes someone like or dislike something. The defining of the factors IMO is the precursor for the evaluation.
Obviously, to an extent, yes. To an even greater extent, there is an old boy network— favoritism, and advertising dollars.
Admit that personal preference affects outcomes? Common sense.Nice that you admit it !
Absolutely. You offer what your actual observations are. If it sounds like chit? There's no reason to beat around the bush about it. Say what ya' gotta say and move on.
Tom
You get two choices Caesar...
a) if you don't like the way it sounds you have already evaluated it, or
b) you can be objective to yourself and evaluate the product using the same criteria you use to evaluate similar products. this may reveal why you don't like it -- presumably you have a reason, though that might be beyond some's ability to articulate.
So Caesar, what's it gonna be?
a) if you don't like the way it sounds you have already evaluated it, or
b) you can be objective to yourself and evaluate the product using the same criteria you use to evaluate similar products. this may reveal why you don't like it -- presumably you have a reason, though that might be beyond some's ability to articulate.
So Caesar, what's it gonna be?
exactly what does 'doesn't like' mean? that can indicate a wide variety of circumstances. from 'not my cup of tea'....to....sounds 'broken'.
not preferring it to a more favored product is one thing. in degrees this is very common, even normal. and there are many degrees of this happening all the time.
how professional are you to find your reasonable approach to be objective? and you knowing the difference between taste/preference and some shortcoming of performance is important. not everyone is equipped or motivated to navigate this equally. do you have the tools personally or system wise, to optimize this gear? might you yourself be the problem? has to be considered.
actually not wanting to hear music played on it is another thing. for gear to be a 'fail' like this is unusual where it would be even considered a candidate for review and sound wrong. i think in this case we give it back with honest comments and not go any further.
not preferring it to a more favored product is one thing. in degrees this is very common, even normal. and there are many degrees of this happening all the time.
how professional are you to find your reasonable approach to be objective? and you knowing the difference between taste/preference and some shortcoming of performance is important. not everyone is equipped or motivated to navigate this equally. do you have the tools personally or system wise, to optimize this gear? might you yourself be the problem? has to be considered.
actually not wanting to hear music played on it is another thing. for gear to be a 'fail' like this is unusual where it would be even considered a candidate for review and sound wrong. i think in this case we give it back with honest comments and not go any further.
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Not all “experts” are created equal. Also, there seems to be 3 reasons against negative professional reviews:
1) P reviewers choose interesting components for their audience, usually meaning newer designs with good reputations - so expect reliability and performance to be sorted out. They do not pick randomly, which would lead to significantly more negative reviews.
2) P reviewers seem to avoid publishing negative reviews because in our small niche high-end audio market, such a review can have major negative financial effect on the manufacturer. Some consumers may feel like it’s bias not to objectify report the good and the bad.
3) If a P reviewer reports negatively, future manufactures may avoid using them for fear of a negative review.
As a consumer, I’d like honesty the good and bad to help my purchase decision. But to not perspectively seriously hurt a manufacturer, I think it best not to publish a very detrimental review to give the manufacturer a chance to correct the issues
1) P reviewers choose interesting components for their audience, usually meaning newer designs with good reputations - so expect reliability and performance to be sorted out. They do not pick randomly, which would lead to significantly more negative reviews.
2) P reviewers seem to avoid publishing negative reviews because in our small niche high-end audio market, such a review can have major negative financial effect on the manufacturer. Some consumers may feel like it’s bias not to objectify report the good and the bad.
3) If a P reviewer reports negatively, future manufactures may avoid using them for fear of a negative review.
As a consumer, I’d like honesty the good and bad to help my purchase decision. But to not perspectively seriously hurt a manufacturer, I think it best not to publish a very detrimental review to give the manufacturer a chance to correct the issues
You can measure it rather than listen to it, and evaluate it based on a load of data.
Better, go and listen to it yourself and to hell with so-called expert reviewers and other people's subjective opinions.
Again a semantic debate - it all depends on what is exactly meant by "evaluate". If it just a private or group unformal personal evaluation like or not and why is part of it.
But if it is a professional evaluation such as a public review to be released and have impact on market the strong bias introduced by disliking precludes a proper review.
Hi Ceasar - interesting question.
I recently received an amp I didn't like at all. I mean I really didn't like it.
I spoke the truth in my video - it has an in home trial that I said people need to take advantage of that - if they like the other aspects of the amp to see if it worked for them and matched with their personal tastes.
I talked about how it was well built (which it was).
I talked about how you could choose which power tubes it runs and which of the ones I had on hand and what sound differences I heard between them.
And even though I didn't like the LCD screen on it, the switches nor the app used to control the volume, I honestly said that and finished the sentence with examples of where I thought people would like the screen, switches and app. I explained it's purely personal preference and stated my personal like is for giant switches and knobs - not screens. That way everyone clearly knows what I like and how I was approaching it.
I purposely didn't go far into the sound itself because I felt if I said I didn't like it - no matter how I prefaced it people would only take it as a negative review of the product when I know there are people - just not me - who would like the amp. And it was a well built amp with a fantastic warranty. And I know plenty of people who do like that amp, so it was clearly a system synergy of simply a personal taste issue - all no fault of the manufacturer.
It doesn't take an expert or someone professionally trained in engineering to be honest and unbiased just someone intellectually honest.
I recently received an amp I didn't like at all. I mean I really didn't like it.
I spoke the truth in my video - it has an in home trial that I said people need to take advantage of that - if they like the other aspects of the amp to see if it worked for them and matched with their personal tastes.
I talked about how it was well built (which it was).
I talked about how you could choose which power tubes it runs and which of the ones I had on hand and what sound differences I heard between them.
And even though I didn't like the LCD screen on it, the switches nor the app used to control the volume, I honestly said that and finished the sentence with examples of where I thought people would like the screen, switches and app. I explained it's purely personal preference and stated my personal like is for giant switches and knobs - not screens. That way everyone clearly knows what I like and how I was approaching it.
I purposely didn't go far into the sound itself because I felt if I said I didn't like it - no matter how I prefaced it people would only take it as a negative review of the product when I know there are people - just not me - who would like the amp. And it was a well built amp with a fantastic warranty. And I know plenty of people who do like that amp, so it was clearly a system synergy of simply a personal taste issue - all no fault of the manufacturer.
It doesn't take an expert or someone professionally trained in engineering to be honest and unbiased just someone intellectually honest.
Claiming that something you don't like is due to poor system synergy or personal taste means that something you like is also a matter of synergy and/or taste, which is fine, but then what is even the point of reviewing?
What's the point of anyone of the forums sharing what they like and don't like?
I simply make content for the fun of sharing hifi. I'm not here to persuade or get people to buy anything.
Unlike the mags, some people on this forum, and many YouTube "reviewers" I don't get paid to promote companies.
Edited to add: I should clarify there are actually three things I *am* trying to accomplish in my videos:
1) Use your own ears to decide. Nothing anyone else says matters;
2) To hopefully share my love and passion for tube gear to get more people interested in tube amps;
3) People need to lighten up and just enjoy music and don't get so uptight over what sound best, what is the best gear, or what other people buy or spend their money on.
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I’m not aware of any other hobby where personal preferences are held with almost religious zeal. For example, I race motorcycles and I don’t see Kawasaki guys arguing with Ducati Guy’s and vice versa as to whose technology is best.
It's certainly not common everywhere, but I think it's similar with camera's (it is in the cinema world with Sony vs Canon) and also Ford vs. Chevy. Would you agree?
I remember having to sort through all that crap when trying to figure out what camera to buy. And the camera companies buy off YouTubers BIG TIME.
Since we are going to going to have another go about who can hear and who can’t, time to remember what happened the last couple times.
I stand by my 2016 statement to a famous tube amp manufacturer at T.H.E. Show in Irvine. There only properly designed amps and amps that aren’t.
I don’t want people to lighten up, the crazier the better.
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