Amir:
It is my understanding that ddk chose to leave for . . . his reasons. It appears he can invite himself back, if he is so inclined. So far, he's not inclined. So it goes.
"Long-Term Equipment Loans: A Win-Win for Everyone" by Robert Harley, The Absolute Sound
- Thread starter Ron Resnick
- Start date
It is my understanding that ddk chose to leave for . . . his reasons. It appears he can invite himself back, if he is so inclined. So far, he's not inclined. So it goes.
“He is not violating any terms of service”. Yet Amir is doing just that - #13 on the list.
He should have his industry affiliations listed in his signature. Or perhaps ask to be identified as an Industry Expert a la Karen Summers, tima, etc.? Reading his posts on this forum and elsewhere, username Amir identifies himself in his writing as both an Electrical Engineer and a Reviewer. Links to his commercial enterprises have already been posted.
i totally agree. Talking videos tell me nothing. Even the recent Fremer video I watched because Bill WhatsApped me to listen to his system at minute 33.
they write, we can read it at varying speeds. Play music on the system to illustrate point. And if required, something that has to be shown and explained on video, where it requires sight during explanation should be by a small video clip.
And let’s face it, talking requires a certain presence, voice, accent and skill set that might not be the strength of good reviewers.
I agree that Amir should list his industry affiliation to comply with the TOS. My point was that he was not rude to other members and he is not trying to moderate the forum.
My point about videos was not whether video is superior or inferior to print.
Instead it's this: there is a changing of the guard.
The problem of loaners still comes up (see my earlier mention of Guttenberg) with videos.
The new guard, those who have a following on Youtube such as Darko or Andrew Robinson, have huge ethical problems of their own. So many of the Youtube reviewers do, as they have affiliate links for their videos on top of getting loaners.
Still, the emergence of a new guard is underway. You can demean them and claim they only do "mid-fi", but the point is the audio industry is now transitioning away from the baby boomers into younger generations.
And with that will come new wrinkles on the way of manufacturers doing marketing, which is what I consider "reviews" to be, at least these days.
When Gordon Holt started his efforts to be a reviewer outside of the advertising-influenced print media of his day... perhaps it was different then for him.
Yet to repeat myself: today I consider TAS, Stereophile, etc. to be trade press (aka "industry rag" though that term seems to rub some people the wrong way.) Much like Popular Photography and similar camera gear mags became quite quickly after they started. In the beginning the photo gear magazines were perhaps reservoirs of higher ambitions, but after awhile they just became a compilation of marketing.
Youtube allows for much easier entry into the field of being a "reviewer", than the old way of printing a magazine, which is costly.
So Youtube now has a great many channels, in many languages, covering audio gear.
Whatever you think of the quality of said channels, there are simply too many channels for a company to place loaners.
The large corporations who make "mid-fi" (and I find that term more obnoxious than "industry rag") stock up the highest-subscriber channels (like the two I mentioned above) with a constant stream of gear.
Yet the irony is there are so many audio channels on Youtube that one can easily skip the big channels to get information, and from my casual observation that is already happening (check out the video view counts of audio-gear Youtube channels.)
And again I want to point out the forums, such as this one. I would rather check out a forum like WBF and see what people write about their experiences with a product, than pay for a print magazine review.
I do not intend malice on the old-guard who still write magazine reviews, but I think that print industry is passing away so I am not concerned about them getting loaners. I find more troubling (because it is influencing a new generation of audio gear buyers) the video channels covering audio with their affiliate links and product placements pretending to be reviews.
Instead it's this: there is a changing of the guard.
The problem of loaners still comes up (see my earlier mention of Guttenberg) with videos.
The new guard, those who have a following on Youtube such as Darko or Andrew Robinson, have huge ethical problems of their own. So many of the Youtube reviewers do, as they have affiliate links for their videos on top of getting loaners.
Still, the emergence of a new guard is underway. You can demean them and claim they only do "mid-fi", but the point is the audio industry is now transitioning away from the baby boomers into younger generations.
And with that will come new wrinkles on the way of manufacturers doing marketing, which is what I consider "reviews" to be, at least these days.
When Gordon Holt started his efforts to be a reviewer outside of the advertising-influenced print media of his day... perhaps it was different then for him.
Yet to repeat myself: today I consider TAS, Stereophile, etc. to be trade press (aka "industry rag" though that term seems to rub some people the wrong way.) Much like Popular Photography and similar camera gear mags became quite quickly after they started. In the beginning the photo gear magazines were perhaps reservoirs of higher ambitions, but after awhile they just became a compilation of marketing.
Youtube allows for much easier entry into the field of being a "reviewer", than the old way of printing a magazine, which is costly.
So Youtube now has a great many channels, in many languages, covering audio gear.
Whatever you think of the quality of said channels, there are simply too many channels for a company to place loaners.
The large corporations who make "mid-fi" (and I find that term more obnoxious than "industry rag") stock up the highest-subscriber channels (like the two I mentioned above) with a constant stream of gear.
Yet the irony is there are so many audio channels on Youtube that one can easily skip the big channels to get information, and from my casual observation that is already happening (check out the video view counts of audio-gear Youtube channels.)
And again I want to point out the forums, such as this one. I would rather check out a forum like WBF and see what people write about their experiences with a product, than pay for a print magazine review.
I do not intend malice on the old-guard who still write magazine reviews, but I think that print industry is passing away so I am not concerned about them getting loaners. I find more troubling (because it is influencing a new generation of audio gear buyers) the video channels covering audio with their affiliate links and product placements pretending to be reviews.
There is also that factor that many of the new generation of audio content creators do more than review, they also do commentary and education. And perhaps the biggest factor is they are able to develop a direct relationship with their viewers through Patreon and possibly Substack. 300 Patreon subscribers begins to be a real part time income for them, a 1,000 becomes full time. And that income stream does not come with manufacturer obligations.
I see that TAS has now launched an effort on Substack. It will be interesting to see if that becomes interesting and quality focused enough to be worth a subscription cost.
I see that TAS has now launched an effort on Substack. It will be interesting to see if that becomes interesting and quality focused enough to be worth a subscription cost.
A few observations...
Print and video are two different media, convey information differently and support different ways of learning. Virtues of print include the ability to search and index. Print tends to be more portable. Print allows you to skip over or go back-and-forth -- video can do that but only to a limited extent. On-line print enables sharing through cut and paste. If you can read faster than the speed at which a video conveys information, print is a more efficient use of time. I find print is better for specifications and charts.
Video is superior for showing temporal information, where grasping change over time is critical to the subject matter. Sometimes video is useful for showing 'how-to' technique that could take lots of words to describe. Video conveys aesthetics that might be difficult to describe in words. Video accompanied by audio lets us share music and sonic differences in systems. Audio without video can also do that. The visual portion of a system or music video tends to be distracting or boring. Watching someone talk is usually boring. I've watched that Jay fellow a few times -- he is as much about showing and selling himself as he is about conveying his opinion and I have no interest in learning about his personality. A flickering screen that shows a set of speakers or a junky audio room is a distraction to multi-tasking.
That is definitely a negative, imo. Put a decal on your truck and you too can be a contractor.
Personally I find videos about audio equipment are a passive medium that does not encourage thought. Video+audio for sharing music, sonic characteristics or system differences is a plus.
Video came of age with the Web, not with a younger generation. Two different media with different uses -- not different generations.
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About the thread title, so it won't tell me to get off its lawn for not sticking to it, I'll say I've been writing about audio for a while and have worked for three different publications. The concern - no, the fear -- so self-righteously expressed or imagined here about reviewer bias influence generally or expressed as long-term loans is way over wrought. Who among you were tricked into buying a Proscenium because Valin had one for a while?
I wanna review a long term loan for the Gryphon Apex combination im thinking about a year should do the trick
Then i wanna review have a long term loan on the R KODA pre power combination.
In all seriousness reviewers should return a product after 3 months , if it stays a year at a reviewers place it indeed looks more like a gift .
If a reviewer can t make his/her mind up after 3 months , you gotta question his / her ability to make a judgement.
Then i wanna
In all seriousness reviewers should return a product after 3 months , if it stays a year at a reviewers place it indeed looks more like a gift .
If a reviewer can t make his/her mind up after 3 months , you gotta question his / her ability to make a judgement.
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Plenty of small dealers and industry affiliates do not identify themself as such on WBF, some even lie about not being affiliated when they obviously are !
One of our best reviewers is flying under the radar not listing his affiliations when he is describing his latest equipment ! Just take everything with a grain of salt !Plenty of small dealers and industry affiliates do not identify themself as such on WBF, some even lie about not being affiliated when they obviously are !
Milan, I see two members, trackingangle and Tima, who are reviewers using the same industry expert designation under their avatar. Neither discloses his affiliations in his signature. Perhaps you are describing one of our other best reviewers.
Peter i was referring to someone reviewing equipment in long threads about his personal system, meanwhile being a dealer and reseller of equipment and brands. I value his posts and the quality of his reviews and am not going to name him. But i always check what he is currently selling in the classifieds.
Pm me if you haven't guessed who.
Pardon, not sure what this is about? Are you making trouble, Milan?
You can click the 'System' link in my signature to see full disclosure.
This is not a official reviewer Tima, you are alway above board and official ! And yes i am making trouble as always !Pardon, not sure what this is about? Are you making trouble, Milan?
You can click the 'System' link in my signature to see full disclosure.
And i am not talking about Jay's garage ! Similar threads
