The Credibility Gap

[jap]

http://thehighfidelityreport.com/credibility/

 

[mep]

From reading the above report, I'm not sure if the motive is to do away with reviewers or to just eliminate their ability to receive accommodation pricing. I think a reviewer either earns your trust over time or they don't. If a reviewer lists the gear that is in his reference system and if he reviews a piece of gear he owns (and I have done that with the LS50s, but I paid full retail for them), you can throw that review out if it bothers you and place no credence in what was written if you so choose. Rather than focus on accommodation pricing for reviewers, I would be more interested in knowing which reviewers (if any) don't own most of the gear in their reference system. I don't even know if long-term loans exist anymore like they did once upon a time. There may just be a few select reviewers who still garner such treatment.

 

[JackD201]

"The most obvious indication that this exchange of value (discount for influence) is taking place is when the reviewer tells the reader, “I loved this thing so much that I bought the review sample!” I mention this not to suggest that the reviewer is being dishonest at all, because why would anyone part with serious cash of any sort if they didn’t really love something to begin with? This is certainly the most common occurrence of accommodation for the reviewer, and it reveals an enthusiasm so great that they are willing to lay down real money in exchange for the gear. I’d say that’s pretty authentic. But there’s this haze created because of the deep discount, and because of what this can suggest with regard to the exchange of value between the manufacturer and the reviewer, and also what it means to the customer who reads the review and has to lay down twice as much as the reviewer in order to obtain the same gear." - CS

A review pair should never be resold as brand new. Used street price typically isn't that far off from dealer's cost. I don't think this per se is so bad. Getting a brand new unit after the review with your choice of finish or options on the other hand, I am not comfortable with.

 

[ddk]

Personally any outfit with Pearson in it has zero credibility!

As as far as accommodation pricing goes, I don't see it as a problem unless the reviewer is also peddling gear on the side. Credibility is built based upon the expertise of the reviewer and that of the reader. A less experienced reader is easily led and might trust the average reviewer while the knowledgeable one wont and will question the credibility of the review based on content. Of course, assuming the honesty of the reviewer.
david

 

[MylesBAstor]

http://thehighfidelityreport.com/credibility/

People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

 

[dallasjustice]

5,000 hour breakin on all gear reviewed! It takes a really top notch reviewer with many years experience to do the tough work after all those needed breakin hours. Anything less isn't worth their time.

 

[rbbert]

Carry this through to its logical conclusion and you end up with Consumer Reports. They do a decent job with washing machines and dishwashers or even fairly high-priced automobiles, and they do sometimes review audio equipment. Interestingly, their recommendations for televisions are fairly close to those of enthusiast magazines. So it seems to me that if that's the kind of reviewing you want, buy Consumer Reports.

 

[zztop7]

5,000 hour breakin on all gear reviewed! It takes a really top notch reviewer with many years experience to do the tough work after all those needed breakin hours. Anything less isn't worth their time.

200+ days of break-in.
??? How many of those pieces needed service [replacement resistor, capacitor, bad attenuator, etc.] before the 5,000 hour mark &&&& is the 5000 hour timer reset at that point & the process begins again?

zz.

 

[astrotoy]

I want to read at the end of a review that "I didn't liked this equipment enough to buy it, even though I would get a big discount."

Larry

 

[mep]

5,000 hour breakin on all gear reviewed! It takes a really top notch reviewer with many years experience to do the tough work after all those needed breakin hours. Anything less isn't worth their time.

Is the 5000 hour break in your idea of a joke based on how long you think reviewers get to keep a piece of gear they are reviewing?

 

[mep]

I want to read at the end of a review that "I didn't liked this equipment enough to buy it, even though I would get a big discount."

Larry

Larry-Reviewers list the components that make up their reference system. You can make whatever inferences you want based on what is not in their system if that makes you happy.

 

[Atmasphere]

Personally any outfit with Pearson in it has zero credibility!

As as far as accommodation pricing goes, I don't see it as a problem unless the reviewer is also peddling gear on the side. Credibility is built based upon the expertise of the reviewer and that of the reader. A less experienced reader is easily led and might trust the average reviewer while the knowledgeable one wont and will question the credibility of the review based on content. Of course, assuming the honesty of the reviewer.
david

Harvey Rosenberg sold off a set of our M-60 review samples. I offered him 66% off when I found out (the new 'owner' called wanting an owner's manual). He declared war on us instead and wrote some pretty nasty comments after that. I found out later that he had sold off samples belonging to a number of manufacturers, some who could afford it and some who could not. FWIW, that was the only time I ever ran into that.