Do magazines have too much influence?

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There are countless threads on here asking if one should purchase products x, y, and z. The same products seem to be mentioned frequently, so I suspected they have recently received some praise by a magazine. It seems that people compile their systems from the backpages of what HiFi and seek reassurance from the forum if they've listened to something that they really like the sound of, BUT it isn't an award winner, or heaven forbid, has received a dreaded four star review. What are people's views on this?Darren
 
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Anonymous

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Isn't this the point of magazine's like What Hi-Fi and these forums? There's perhaps and arguement that a mazine such as this can kill half-decent products dead in the water if they don't get a great review but then why would anyone buy a half-decent product if they know there is better out there (even if it is just one magazine's opinion).

I think the reality for most people (me certainly) is that you can't go into a hi-fi shop and audition hundreds of combinations of possible products so you have to build a short-list from somewhere. Given What hi-fi's position in the marketplace it usually ends up being the first place of call when building such a list. Sure auditioning is always a good idea but it isn't always possible to hear all the products you are interested in side-by-side to to some degree you have to work on the opinions of those who do have this luxury.

From my own experience there is also some truth in the fact that the differences between products are often so small, the knowledge that one got a better review than another is enough to swing things. Silly though it seems I would always worry that I could have got better sound by buying something else even if I was happy with a particular 4 star non-award winner! Sometimes perception is as important as reality.
 

Clare Newsome

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Well we make it very clear every issue - and online - that people should always hear/see products and buy what they like. We're here to help people understand the choices available to them, and to hopefully help edit down those choices slightly.

We also regularly stress that four-star products could be better for individual tastes/systems than some five-star ones, and both myself and others in the team have mentioned four-star products we use in our own systems for that very reason.

But with the comparative, group testing we do - always reviewing products against their rivals, and never relying on just one person's opinion - I am truly confident that we're providing an exceptional service.

So, if people do (against our audition-urging) buy blind based on our recommendations, they're going to get a product that performs excellently by the standards of its product/price class.
 
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Anonymous

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I do think that magazines such as What Hi Fi do a very good job in testing products to provide people with a shortlist to audition, also magazines such as this are vital to people such as the disabled who can't easily get to the dealers, they also provide a service to people who buy second hand off of auction sites.

I personally think the more relevant question is " do manufactures have an influence" on lesser magazine than this one to recommend their products.
 

crusaderlord

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I think the magazines do a good job to provide information and an opinion but its never the final statement............. Just compare reviews of one product across different magazines and you will get different opinion - the new Arcam A38 has one of the most glowing reports ever in one high profile hi-fi magazine calling it a 'Legend' but it didnt get quite the same report from What Hi-Fi...........So read the magazines for their opinions but make your own choice. What is 5 star to a magazine reviewer may be only 3 star to your ears and vice-versa.............I would like to see more of comparisons between older and newer products by a manufacturer (to see generationally the value of improvements) and also between machines of different price points. I think magazines could do more to enlighted us to the merits of upgrading say from a £350 speaker to a £750 one.
 

Clare Newsome

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[quote user="crusaderlord"] the new Arcam A38 has one of the most glowing reports ever in one high profile hi-fi magazine calling it a 'Legend' [/quote]

I think they may have written that "Legend" coverline before finishing their test of the product - they only give it four stars out of five for sound, and make by-and-large the same criticisms as ourselves.
 

fr0g

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IMO far too much influence. But it's the people who blindly follow reviews rather than testing themselves that are to blame, not the magazines.
I do find it a shame that a good product can be sentenced to death by a bad WHF review though.
 
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Anonymous

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It is not unknown for people to have WhatHiFi under their arm in a HiFi shop and flick to the back pages to see what the mag has said about a product the dealer is suggesting. I feel this is irrelevant because if you are in the shop you are able to listen to the product with your own ears anyway!

I also heard about a case of somebody looking at screens on the shop floor and when the retailer said to pop in the demo room to see another screen on the wall the customer refused because he hadn't read good things about it! FFS!
When a product receives a glowing review it is common to see a steady stream of customers come in to see that product. I expect the review process is as fair as it can be at assessing the products as broadly as possible, but many people come in asking for an award-winning Onkyo when they don't need all the functionality that amp offers and when something else that might better suit is available - but a four star review will give them cold feet...
Darren
 

Gerrardasnails

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[quote user="darrenwm1"]It is not unknown for people to have WhatHiFi under their arm in a HiFi shop and flick to the back pages to see what the mag has said about a product the dealer is suggesting. I feel this is irrelevant because if you are in the shop you are able to listen to the product with your own ears anyway!

I also heard about a case of somebody looking at screens on the shop floor and when the retailer said to pop in the demo room to see another screen on the wall the customer refused because he hadn't read good things about it! FFS!
When a product receives a glowing review it is common to see a steady stream of customers come in to see that product. I expect the review process is as fair as it can be at assessing the products as broadly as possible, but many people come in asking for an award-winning Onkyo when they don't need all the functionality that amp offers and when something else that might better suit is available - but a four star review will give them cold feet...
Darren[/quote] If you can see the wrong in following a magazine's review only, what is the problem? Surely finding something that you like and for a good price that has not been reviewed, is the ultimate. I've only been buying stuff for a year now and I've followed some advice on here and in the magazine but mostly made my own mind up. I bought the Jamo budget 5.1 system before it was reviewed and it then won an award. I then bought the CA 840A and love it only to find it got three stars. It didn't bother me in the slightest. My RS6s I love, the mag does too - they are hated by lots on this forum. Who cares? I also believe if people do follow the magazine's reviewing system, they won't go far wrong.
 
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Anonymous

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Your amp scored 92% in hifi choice. Extremely good for the money. As for me, when it comes to listening to reviews, i tend to buy hifi news and pay most attention to the measurements they do. That way i can get a good idea of the way a component sounds before going to listen to it. PS, in my opinion, whf don't know what they are talking about, they're mere journalists - if that remark gets me barred, so be it.
 

Gerrardasnails

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[quote user="The specialist"]Your amp scored 92% in hifi choice. Extremely good for the money. As for me, when it comes to listening to reviews, i tend to buy hifi news and pay most attention to the measurements they do. That way i can get a good idea of the way a component sounds before going to listen to it. PS, in my opinion, whf don't know what they are talking about, they're mere journalists - if that remark gets me barred, so be it.[/quote] Just read some of your other posts. I don't think you will have to try too much harder to get barred. Your last remark is bang out of order.
 
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Anonymous

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I like my 4 star Monitor Audio S8's - Bassy but good. Work well with my Cyrus stuff too.

You can't trust someone else's opinion wholesale but it a) helps you draw up a shortlist and b) trains your critical ability a little. Someone with an audiophile addiction of 20 years will be able to articulate their views on a product and pick up on flaws and merits far better than I. Hence, I like my Cyrus - when I first heard I liked it and it was hard to get past just how much I liked it, but because people say - that's a bit bright for me, I am able to tune a critical ear to it and recognise what they mean. Before reading the opinions of those who hear just about every product released I wouldn't have even thought of 'brightness'. The education What HiFi grants me allows me to listen and think "Bright, hmmm, see what you mean there, doesn't bother me though, I like it!!"

I understand Hi-Fi now better than 2-3 years ago when I bought my kit - when everything just sounded amazing in varying degrees, it's hard to make up your mind when your dealing with relative excellences and a little critical nose leading is no bad thing. The result, I'm still falling in love again with old discs.
 
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Anonymous

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I'm not on this site to ridicule, i'm here to help people who need advice. When i first started buying and researching hifi nine years ago i would have loved advice from knowledgeable people like those on this site. I just think people listen too much to certain magazine's, though i myslef am guilty of this as this is what i did years ago.
 
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Anonymous

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[quote user="The specialist"]Your amp scored 92% in hifi choice. Extremely good for the money. As for me, when it comes to listening to reviews, i tend to buy hifi news and pay most attention to the measurements they do. That way i can get a good idea of the way a component sounds before going to listen to it. PS, in my opinion, whf don't know what they are talking about, they're mere journalists - if that remark gets me barred, so be it.[/quote]

LOL. I can hear the thin ice cracking under your feet! IMO you can get cracking value for money by going for 4 star products which you like, and I have disagreed with WHF rating on many 5 star products. That said though they do provide good advice and if I didn't want their opinion I wouldn't buy the mag.
 
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Anonymous

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Obviously, hence i don't subscribe. If ever i buy it, it is to see what new equipment is coming out. The only thing i have against what hifi is, if you don't measure a product you may be missing vital information about it. Like some early cd players which out-putted huge amounts of ultrasonic noise. When combined with certain amps this would cause the input stage to overload. Besides, i like to know an amps true wattage rating, peak current, output impedance etc. All these things help when buying - in my opinion
 

Andrew Everard

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[quote user="JohnDuncan"][quote user="The specialist"]whf don't know what they are talking about[/quote]

Why are you here then? Serious question.[/quote]

John has a point: if we are as useless as you suggest, why are you frequenting this forum?

Don't see much point in banning you, as you seem to be doing a very good job of undermining yourself as it is.
 
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Anonymous

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Not a trader. I suppose you're talking about me mentioning atc alot? I just wish more people would shortlist them. As for why i'm here, as i previously mentioned, i want to give advice. Nothing more
 

Andrew Everard

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[quote user="fr0g"]I do find it a shame that a good product can be sentenced to death by a bad WHF review though.[/quote]

It shouldn't be a sentence to death, if only retailers could be bothered to get behind and demonstrate products they really believed in, rather than just following the reviews.
 

professorhat

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[quote user="The specialist"]The only thing i have against what hifi is, if you don't measure a product you may be missing vital information about it. [/quote]

But most of this information is absolutely useless to the ordinary person looking to buy hi-fi / AV kit. As Clare has said elsewhere, there are plenty of magazines out there which provide this info for you so if this is what you're looking for, buy those. WHF is designed for people like me who couldn't care less about all the measurements, just how it sounds.

Your point on the huge amounts of ultra sonic noise is clearly a design fault and can't be particularly common.
 

Andrew Everard

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[quote user="The specialist"]Not a trader. I suppose you're talking about me mentioning atc alot? I just wish more people would shortlist them. As for why i'm here, as i previously mentioned, i want to give advice. Nothing more[/quote]

OK sorry, realised that, hence my edit of the my previous post. Was confusing you with darrenwm1 - must be something to do with the same hymn-sheet.
 
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Anonymous

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I don't think The Specialist's comments are out of order. I have never seen measurements in What HiFi.
For example the Kef iQ5 received glowing reviews but I don't think I read that it is rated at 8 ohms but drops to 3.2 ohms, which can present problems with many amps! That info is useful to know.
What HiFi isn't really marketed at that customer though as far as I can see. It features broader product ranges such as phones and gadgets, which is useful if you're interested in the consumer electronics market in general.
 

John Duncan

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[quote user="The specialist"]Not a trader. I suppose you're talking about me mentioning atc alot? I just wish more people would shortlist them. As for why i'm here, as i previously mentioned, i want to give advice. Nothing more[/quote]

Understood, though I have found that walking into a bar full of motorcyclists and shouting "Which of you ------s is blocking my Prius in?" is not always the best way to gain their trust and acceptance.
 
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Anonymous

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Agreed. Some b&w's impose an amplifier output stage dissipation equivalent to a 1.2ohm resistor. Ouch! Almost any amp will momentarily clip at this point. In this case, at 75hz (803D)
 

Andrew Everard

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[quote user="JohnDuncan"]Understood, though I have found that walking into a bar full of motorcyclists and shouting "Which of you ------s is blocking my Prius in?" is not always the best way to gain their trust and acceptance.[/quote]

Or more to the point saying 'None of you ------s has got the first clue about real bikes; you're mere moped-boys'
 

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