Negative show report posts... enough is enough.

[esldude]

Not having attended many such events, and knowing the difficulty tweaking a high performing system in any room, much less a new one with time constraints, I think the sensible approach would be less critical in a sense. If you hear sound you consider great, then it counts. It should bolster your opinion of what you heard for you have some confirmation it is possible for that equipment to sound good. If you hear poor sound (barring something really horrible), write it off as not counting. You have no reason to think the bad sounding system is good, but in another room it might be. So such an experience means nothing. You really can only get positives or sort of no-opinion results from such shows.

So under show conditions, I do think only positive comments tell you anything useful. And believe me, this is contrary to my opinion in most any other circumstances. I have little faith in reviewers and less than once was the case. I find these forums with regular people, with some filtering and experience of their perspectives, far more informative than reviewers comments.

 

[Al M.]

Having said that, I think the negative comments really only reflect poorly on the commentators themselves. In my eyes, they must not have ever heard a really awesome setup.

That does not follow at all.

 

[Joe Whip]

So I guess if you have a bottle of red wine that you find delicious and another than you find dreadful, you should just assume that really, all red wine tastes great and it must have been a bad piece of glass that was the cause of the bad taste?

 

[Bruce B]

Having said that, I think the negative comments really only reflect poorly on the commentators themselves. In my eyes, they must not have ever heard a really awesome setup.

Well that excludes me then. I haven't heard a "really awesome setup" yet!

 

[Al M.]

Well that excludes me then. I haven't heard a "really awesome setup" yet!

Hehe.

 

[dallasjustice]

So I guess if you have a bottle of red wine that you find delicious and another than you find dreadful, you should just assume that really, all red wine tastes great and it must have been a bad piece of glass that was the cause of the bad taste?

Yes, if you are drinking wine out of a toilet.

 

[Joe Whip]

Yes, if you are drinking wine out of a toilet.

Wow, this thread has hit a new low if that is even possible.

 

[Bruce B]

My X-2.2's were not set up optimally by my dealer...

Damn Christian. Wilson AND Porsche blew you off? You're really having bad luck!!

 

[Kingsrule]

damn christian. Wilson and porsche blew you off? You're really having bad luck!!

lmao!

 

[rockitman]

Wow, this thread has hit a new low if that is even possible.

says the antagonist...lol

 

[rockitman]

Damn Christian. Wilson AND Porsche blew you off? You're really having bad luck!!

lol

 

[Jeffy]

You have not been to enough shows then. Three years ago at the Show in Vegas I heard Absolare with Rockport Altairs and it not only was the best sound I ever heard at a show, but was some of the best sound I ever heard. So yes its possible to have great sound. Now when there is bad sound that does not mean the individual components are bad, but I do have the right to say the sound sucks in this room whatever the reason.

I would also say that IF one hears a good sounding system at a show, one should say so and thank the folks in the room for finding a unicorn. It hasn't been often that I've even heard a good sounding room at a show. And I've never heard anything approaching the best sounding systems at a show. It doesn't exist.

 

[kevinkwann]

"Having said that, I think the negative comments really only reflect poorly on the commentators themselves. In my eyes, they must not have ever heard a really awesome setup."

That does not follow at all.

Agreed. When I read his second sentence I just shook my head.

 

[dallasjustice]

You are right. I wouldn't call myself a show aficionado. There seems to be others here better qualified to evaluate hotel room systems.

You have not been to enough shows then. Three years ago at the Show in Vegas I heard Absolare with Rockport Altairs and it not only was the best sound I ever heard at a show, but was some of the best sound I ever heard. So yes its possible to have great sound. Now when there is bad sound that does not mean the individual components are bad, but I do have the right to say the sound sucks in this room whatever the reason.

 

[amirm]

We should let the thread die at this point guys. We are not accomplishing anything.

 

[jfrech]

I'm pretty surprised by this post. It seems very strange to me that, as an audio journalist, Peter seems to be asking for censorship.

I emphatically agree with Al M. There is way too much positive commentary in the "official" audio press. Both Show Reports and gear reviews are rarely in depth, rarely comparative, and, more and more, simply extensions of a company's marketing department.

If anything, these forums are opportunities for the non-professional enthusiast to express his opinions, usually unencumbered by commercial interests.

"I've frankly had enough of" the overly positive "reviews" and Show Reports that do surprisingly little to explain how a piece of audio gear actually sounds or compares to similar products. The contrast between the amateur comments in forums and the professional reviewer comments in magazines and videos is really quite stark. I find these forums to be much more informative and frankly, interesting.

I'm also a bit perplexed as to why people expressing their opinions in forums about what they have heard at public audio shows are described as "cowards" and self proclaimed "experts". Do journalists really need to denigrate their readers?

Peter, well said. I am surprised to by the tone

 

[PeterA]

I attended a show in NYC a few years ago. It was held at the Waldorf. I've seen many audiophiles' rooms that were not nearly as well proportioned or constructed as the rooms in that famous hotel. I thought it was a very good venue for an audio show. Some of the systems sounded excellent and some not so good. Can we thus excuse the poor sounding rooms on adverse "show conditions"? I really don't think so. Perhaps they were simply not good systems, not good components, or poorly set up by inexperienced professionals. Of course, the power delivery could have been poor in only some of the rooms. And yet, and yet, there were, against all odds, some truly excellent sounding rooms. Some exhibitors had the experience and made the effort to get it right.

I'm tired of the excuses in this industry.

 

[PeterA]

We should let the thread die at this point guys. We are not accomplishing anything.

Eight pages in one day. I'd say people are interested in this topic. It hints at the gulf between the customers and the industry and why attitudes must change if the high end is to grow and move forward. The professionals often seem arrogant and detached from the customer, so the customer increasingly turns to forums to research, buy and learn how to set up his system.

 

[Peter Breuninger]

We should let the thread die at this point guys. We are not accomplishing anything.

I totally disagree...

We are separating the wheat from the chaff, those with the knowledge and those with an opinion. There is a big difference. Amir, you know this. You have the knowledge.

 

[kevinkwann]

I totally disagree...

We are separating the wheat from the chaff

Which are you?