Did you know on several other forums, it was suggested that Alex from UpTone actually take legal action against certain posters here?
Introducing the New HiFi Miser Forum-As discussed by Andre Marc
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Did you know on several other forums, it was suggested that Alex from UpTone actually take legal action against certain posters here?
This is an important and interesting moral and ethical dilemma, isn't it? Should you feel sorry for the business owner and not point out negatives? Or should you care about someone who has worked hard to earn enough savings to buy a $2,500 amplifier who wants to know the full truth and not a censored one.
I remember reading a Yelp restaurant review. The person end his review exactly as you say, "well, this is a mon and pop business and I will be the last guy to try to impact their business so I give it four stars" or some such thing. At first I thought that made sense. But then I remembered how often I rely on these reviews to find a restaurant when I am travelling. And how disappointed I would be to have a lousy meal because something thought they should take the side of the restaurant owner than my need for unbiased and unabashed review. So I write all of my Yelp reviews this way. If the food is bad, it is bad. If the service is bad, the service is bad. People are entitled to reliable and good information. The moment we corrupt the nature of this, we can't trust anything and the system falls apart.
As you say though, everyone needs to decide for themselves where they stand. Once they do though, I like to know that front and center. If you tell me you are a reviewer but then go on and only write positive things because of this or other motivation, just tell me. I will still read and care about what you say because you bring information to us. But I would not rely on it for purchase decision because I know you are loathe to say anything negative. Peter's videos fall in this category for example but sadly he never indicates so.
Andre just gave you a thumbs up for your post. I assume it means that he will side with the equipment owner and not try to point out negative things. If that is not the case, then I am not sure why he is agreeing with you.
It is this kind of ambiguity which I think is improper. As I said clearly and repeat, I am on the side of us, the consumers. If equipment is not designed right I am going to say it. I wrote my inside AVR/BD player for a magazine that makes a living from the very same advertisers. The magazine publisher not only had no problem with this, but loved and has encouraged me to write more. It is who I am. When people look at my name, that is what I want them to think. That I will be critical and I will point out issues with products. That way there is no ambiguity and reader can tell what to do with the information I share.
While we were discussing the Regen product, I was approached to review a linear power supply. I told them right then and then that they should not send it to me if they have any expectations of how it may come out. To their absolute credit, they were 100% cool with it. And as it turned out, my review was not positive on the product. But hugely positive on the company. They did the right thing in wanting their product tested. And I think I did the right thing by not covering that up simply because I was loaned the equipment for free.
I learned a lesson long time ago from our corporate attorneys and it is the concept of "bright line." When something can be a matter of interpretation, their advice is to stay so far clear of the issue that it then becomes black and white. Be 100% respectful of female employees and then you never have to worry whether you have or have not violated sexual harassment laws. Such is the case with me. I will 100% positively on the other side of the bright line. I am an advocate of us the consumers, not the manufacturer.
Now as to dealing with friends, man that can get tough and awkward. What would I say if someone asked me what is wrong with Steve's system? My answer would be to go away. I have not solved world peace. But have only figured out how I conduct myself when the situation is not so personal.
Would be interested to know which version of an equipment reviewer members like to see. The one that cares about the owner or us.
BTW, I own a small business but absolutely do not expect anyone to sugar coat our performance. If we do something wrong, I want to know and fix it. I don't know how to have a quality company and services otherwise.
I like the restaurant example. So many restaurants go under because their food sucks, and everyone is too kind to let them know. As a result, everyone suffers. It's a lose lose situation for everyone. Yet one that could have been easily rectified with honesty.
Honestly what world do you live in? In every city I have lived restaurants that SUCK close. Period.
You are really an old school guy.
Many designs use transistor insulator thermo pads. Quoting NTE data sheet "NTE’s thermo pads do away with the old-fashioned mica wafer and conductive grease method of mounting power semiconductors. These thermally conductive insulators offer low heat transfer resistance while still providing high electrical isolation between the parts of the assembly." Even the "Art of Electronics" 1989 edition refers to it in page 314 as "an attractive alternative". A T03 beryllium oxide or mica washer with silicon grease has a typical thermal resistance .14 ºC/W to be compared with the .1 to .2 of the typical modern TO3 equivalent made of thermal conductive elastomers. Fortunately the last few times I had to change power transistors - an Electrocompaniet and a McCormack they used these pads, avoding the grease mess.
BTW, thermal grease is used to fill the gaps between the surfaces in thermal contact, avoiding air filled zones - nothing magic about it. It is why it is nod needed with non rigid thermal pads. The isolation between the transistor metal can and the insulator is made by the washer.
But if honest folks who weren't afraid to share their opinions would speak up, it could help the situation before it comes to that. But this also requires open minded business owners as well. No different than audio components/manufacturers.
Personally, I like the George Carlin style of delivery. I find it gets the message across effectively.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vuEQixrBKCc
Dear lord. We have a VOTE. It is with our wallets.
If my wife and I eat at a place that is just not up to our standards, we NEVER go back.
The system works.
Excellent post referring some important technical aspects - but it will be ignored and the same insinuating arguments about engineering, reliability and temperature will be repeated timeless without adding factual data.
caveat emptor - Let the buyer beware
Sometimes, it is the end user's responsibility to find out about the product he is buying and the company that is producing and selling it. I could go on almost endlessly about my competition, especially those who sell upgrades that should have been free fixes, those who fail to pay their vendors, those who steal ideas from others, those who build junk and call it art, those who do lazy cookie cutter designs, those who sell hype instead of substance, those who repackage old product as new, those who screw over their employees, those who are simply idiots, etc., etc., ad infinitum. I don't because I'd rather concentrate on what my product does, and what I do. When an end user points out negatives, it is a bit different, but it is still up to the guy with the checkbook to do his homework.
This is an important and interesting moral and ethical dilemma, isn't it? Should you feel sorry for the business owner and not point out negatives? Or should you care about someone who has worked hard to earn enough savings to buy a $2,500 amplifier who wants to know the full truth and not a censored one.
I remember reading a Yelp restaurant review. The person end his review exactly as you say, "well, this is a mon and pop business and I will be the last guy to try to impact their business so I give it four stars" or some such thing. At first I thought that made sense. But then I remembered how often I rely on these reviews to find a restaurant when I am travelling. And how disappointed I would be to have a lousy meal because something thought they should take the side of the restaurant owner than my need for unbiased and unabashed review. So I write all of my Yelp reviews this way. If the food is bad, it is bad. If the service is bad, the service is bad. People are entitled to reliable and good information. The moment we corrupt the nature of this, we can't trust anything and the system falls apart.
As you say though, everyone needs to decide for themselves where they stand. Once they do though, I like to know that front and center. If you tell me you are a reviewer but then go on and only write positive things because of this or other motivation, just tell me. I will still read and care about what you say because you bring information to us. But I would not rely on it for purchase decision because I know you are loathe to say anything negative. Peter's videos fall in this category for example but sadly he never indicates so.
Andre just gave you a thumbs up for your post. I assume it means that he will side with the equipment owner and not try to point out negative things. If that is not the case, then I am not sure why he is agreeing with you.
It is this kind of ambiguity which I think is improper. As I said clearly and repeat, I am on the side of us, the consumers. If equipment is not designed right I am going to say it. I wrote my inside AVR/BD player for a magazine that makes a living from the very same advertisers. The magazine publisher not only had no problem with this, but loved and has encouraged me to write more. It is who I am. When people look at my name, that is what I want them to think. That I will be critical and I will point out issues with products. That way there is no ambiguity and reader can tell what to do with the information I share.
While we were discussing the Regen product, I was approached to review a linear power supply. I told them right then and then that they should not send it to me if they have any expectations of how it may come out. To their absolute credit, they were 100% cool with it. And as it turned out, my review was not positive on the product. But hugely positive on the company. They did the right thing in wanting their product tested. And I think I did the right thing by not covering that up simply because I was loaned the equipment for free.
I learned a lesson long time ago from our corporate attorneys and it is the concept of "bright line." When something can be a matter of interpretation, their advice is to stay so far clear of the issue that it then becomes black and white. Be 100% respectful of female employees and then you never have to worry whether you have or have not violated sexual harassment laws. Such is the case with me. I will 100% positively on the other side of the bright line. I am an advocate of us the consumers, not the manufacturer.
Now as to dealing with friends, man that can get tough and awkward. What would I say if someone asked me what is wrong with Steve's system? My answer would be to go away
Would be interested to know which version of an equipment reviewer members like to see. The one that cares about the owner or us.
BTW, I own a small business but absolutely do not expect anyone to sugar coat our performance. If we do something wrong, I want to know and fix it. I don't know how to have a quality company and services otherwise.
You're creating a false dichotomy, I specifically said criticisms shouldn't be disallowed, but they should be more thoughtful than what happened with the redgum amp. Some jumped to false conclusions based on the unorthodox design and placement of the heat sinks, implying the designer had no clue that amps generate heat or what to do about it. People assume he didn't understand electrolytic caps are sensitive to heat. This is kind of ridiculous, and also implies the person doing the criticizing is more knowledgeable than the designer himself, which is also a ridiculous assumption. I think the difference is someone who questions the design hoping to learn vs someone who criticizes the design from the POV of a self-appointed "expert".
An interesting article about how perceiving yourself as an expert (whether it's true or not) makes you closed-minded:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/...b00aa54a4db53a
Works for you, but then the restaurant ends up closing down and the owners don't understand why. Something honest criticism could have prevented.
But...
Do you say it to the restaurant owner in person, or do you take out an ad in the newspaper?
An interesting figure about heat sink position just to give a rough idea of what we loose when we mount an heat sink up/down. It suggests that if the area of the massive heat sinks is the double of conventional designs the temperature will still be lower than that of conventional smaller heat sink in the down/up position.
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Exactly the reason the engineer of the product should chime in and clarify the misconceptions.
In the case of a restaurant in modern times, you can write a comment on something like Urbanspoon, trip advisor, Google etc. And if the business has what it takes to make it this day and age, they will read this criticism, take it seriously, and do what it takes to rectify the problem.
If they aren't "Internet savvy" and understand how business works in the 21st century, they better hope their food is superb to survive.
Honest criticism yes. But was the flurry of criticism honest in this case? It was an assault. No questions were asked before the criticisms were so voluntarily expressed. And when an explanation was posted, it was ignored.
Since when is it required that an audio reviewer have a degree in electrical engineering? Personally, If I wanted to read about electrical engineering, I would subscribe to a periodical that specialized in that field. The idea that one has to bolster the findings of an audio reviewer with technical support, is IMHO, simply a side line to the most important factor. That is---what does the darn piece of gear under review sound like to a listener who has a modicum of understanding what the sound of the 'real'/ 'live' instrument sounds like.
To be frank, ( BTW, is he still a member here, LOL
)-- I would much rather read a review from a person who has ZERO technical ability., but has had some exposure to musicians and their instruments, than to a 'geek' who has never played any instrument or been near the 'live' experience...just IMHO.
this was NOT the case btw. the annotator did NOT take the photos. There is no "might".
And that is exactly how speculative comments can be repeated enough times that they are thought
to be facts.
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