Anyone else surprised by the forums members shortlist for the readers award?

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A lot of people seem to mis-understand the idea of a 'readers award'.

I think it is simple. People vote. Then a shortlist is arrived at. People vote for an item from the shortlist (or not) and then a Reader's Winner is announced.

What is so difficult?

Whether you or I 'approve' of the eventual choice (or the shortlisted items) is all irrelevant.

I voted for the Sony BDP-S370 because, since buying this cheap mass-market item, I have had a lot of pleasure from it and it gives astonishing value for £99.

If something else wins I don't really care.

(And if Joel doesn't like it then I KNOW I made the right choice and that pleases me even more!)
 
Andrew Everard:Some people did suggest Spotify, but unfortunately not in sufficient numbers...

And likewise the Naim Uniti, several Cyrus products, Unison Research, Monitor Audio speakers, Denon and Pioneer AV receivers, Panasonic TVs etc etc... but again, not in sufficient numbers.

We gave people plenty of time to nominate, so it seems a bit futile to complain about the results now. And I think chebby sums it up nicely in his post above.
 
To be fair I didn't think the OP was complaining about the democratic process, more expressing surprise at the result. Given what happened in May this year, perhaps it isn't so.
 
The whole awards thing is pretty meaningless anyway, whether it be this magazine or the Oscars. They are just excuses for pundits from various industries to get together, listen politely to boring, pointless (and in some cases seemingly endless) speeches, enjoy a whale of a party then wake up next morning having to hastily re-write their ad campaigns while battling with shocking hangovers.

Plus I never get invited any more.
 
the record spot:Vastly underwhelmed. A bunch of entry level product aimed at the mass market, with the exception of the ADM 9.1s and most of which has been out for a couple of years or more.

Good point. Perhaps a high-end section to the forum (as was done for turntables) - and the awards, would be of interest to some.
 
chebby:
A lot of people seem to mis-understand the idea of a 'readers award'.

I think it is simple. People vote. Then a shortlist is arrived at. People vote for an item from the shortlist (or not) and then a Reader's Winner is announced.

What is so difficult?

Whether you or I 'approve' of the eventual choice (or the shortlisted items) is all irrelevant.

I voted for the Sony BDP-S370 because, since buying this cheap mass-market item, I have had a lot of pleasure from it and it gives astonishing value for £99.

If something else wins I don't really care.

(And if Joel doesn't like it then I KNOW I made the right choice and that pleases me even more!)

I haven't said that I disagree with the result, I simply said that the more popular something is, the more likely it is to get votes. That doesn't mean it is the best piece of kit but it does entitle it to a 'readers award'.

Ask a million British holidaymakers in Spain whether chips or truffles were tastier and I bet I could predict the outcome, ask 10 chefs what they would prefer and you would get a different result.

FWIW I think the BDP-S370 sounds like incredible value and I have hovered over the buy button several times on one now. But it's black, unlike my other silver components. So I haven't. If I'd had black kit then I would now be a proud owner, it sounds perfectly good enough for my needs on BD/DVD. Likewise a £100 CDP would not suffice as I want more from music than one could possibly give.
 
chebby:
A lot of people seem to mis-understand the idea of a 'readers award'.

I think it is simple. People vote. Then a shortlist is arrived at. People vote for an item from the shortlist (or not) and then a Reader's Winner is announced.

What is so difficult?

Whether you or I 'approve' of the eventual choice (or the shortlisted items) is all irrelevant.

I voted for the Sony BDP-S370 because, since buying this cheap mass-market item, I have had a lot of pleasure from it and it gives astonishing value for £99.

If something else wins I don't really care.

(And if Joel doesn't like it then I KNOW I made the right choice and that pleases me even more!)

Fair points all Chebby and no doubt the Sony BR player is fine, perhaps my opinion reflects more of an expectation that went unrealised based on some of the material I read on here, and elsewhere on a wider scale.

I think I'd gone for the Cambridge 650BD as it offered everything the - for example Sony - did, but way over and above that for a terrific price (not least when you consider any other universal player - audio only at that - to date hasn't come in under the £800 barrier and yet the 650BD does all those, plus Hi Def audio and plays films as well!).

Like you, my day won't be won or lost by who wins the Readers Award, but I was surprised to see the shortlist. Equally, 12 months hence, I think we'll see a significantly differently list as people get round to changing from the first round of BR DVD players and perhaps new digital music options come through. Time will tell.
 
But we will still see PS3, albeit ultrathin, the latest cheap BDP, albeit great value, the latest plastic squeezy Heinz tomato ketchup etc etc.
 
yes the readers shortlist is very underwhelming indeed - some products are around 2 years old now

where are the more groundbraking items such as NaimUnity and Arcam Solo Neo

the fact that just a few votes can make it a shortlist seems a bit of a waste of time - better for WHF to shortlist some of the better and more groundbreaking products of the last year for everyone to vote for
 
Don't knock the squeezy ketchup bottle. Granted, it doesn't half make a mess of your bacon sandwich if you're a bit keen with the grip and it's maybe got a bit too much functionality for the minimalists out there, but it's a top product and deserves the recognition.

Incidentally, I see some retailers have it for less than £2 for the 750g bottle as well - top deal! Great after-sales support too by all accounts.
 
JoelSim:But it's black, unlike my other silver components. So I haven't. If I'd had black kit then I would now be a proud owner, it sounds perfectly good enough for my needs on BD/DVD. Likewise a £100 CDP would not suffice as I want more from music than one could possibly give.
I don't care if it was housed in a Tartan enamelled shortbread tin. (Actually I might prefer it!) It was £99, it fitted easily into the shopping trolley - with the truffles and chips - and it allows me to watch BBC iPlayer on the TV. (Oh yes, it has a good BluRay/DVD player built in too.) All I needed was a 5m network cable which cost me £9.99 for a good Belkin one from Argos on the way to Tesco.

I'm not a snob. If the Naim UnitiQute were on special offer at Tesco I would far rather get it there instead. (Clubcard points!) The service is only marginally different to our local Audio-T (less attitude* for one thing) but Tesco's opening hours are much more convenient and it has better parking and a cafe.

*When will hifi dealers realise they are

EDITED BY MODS

shop assistants?!
 
crusaderlord:yes the readers shortlist is very underwhelming indeed - some products are around 2 years old now

where are the more groundbraking items such as NaimUnity and Arcam Solo Neo

the fact that just a few votes can make it a shortlist seems a bit of a waste of time - better for WHF to shortlist some of the better and more groundbreaking products of the last year for everyone to vote for

NaimUniti got some votes, as did the Solo Neo, but not enough. And of course if we'd created a shortlist there'd be just as many posts asking 'why couldn't we vote for...?'
 
chebby:JoelSim:But it's black, unlike my other silver components. So I haven't. If I'd had black kit then I would now be a proud owner, it sounds perfectly good enough for my needs on BD/DVD. Likewise a £100 CDP would not suffice as I want more from music than one could possibly give.
I don't care if it was housed in a Tartan enamelled shortbread tin. (Actually I might prefer it!) It was £99, it fitted easily into the shopping trolley - with the truffles and chips - and it allows me to watch BBC iPlayer on the TV. (Oh yes, it has a good BluRay/DVD player built in too.) All I needed was a 5m network cable which cost me £9.99 for a good Belkin one from Argos on the way to Tesco.

I'm not a snob. If the Naim UnitiQute were on special offer at Tesco I would far rather get it there instead. (Clubcard points!) The service is only marginally different to our local Audio-T (less attitude* for one thing) but Tesco's opening hours are much more convenient and it has better parking and a cafe.

*When will hifi dealers realise they are

EDITED BY MODS

shop assistants?!

You see, I do. It's black.

And from Tesco...er no thanks. One of the most obnoxious retailers in the country. Fact.
 
idc:I contributed to the original thread and have cast my vote, but what I really want is the vouchers for £300.

Think I've just found the way to get more people to take a part in the democratic process: stuff AV, stuff proportional representation - offer a few prizes...
 
Andrew Everard:

idc:I contributed to the original thread and have cast my vote, but what I really want is the vouchers for £300.

Think I've just found the way to get more people to take a part in the democratic process: stuff AV, stuff proportional representation - offer a few prizes...

i wish the magazine would stuff av
 
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