HI-Fi Products of the year 2010...Were The Right Products Selected?

[admin_exported]

Hello Everyone,

I just saw the list of the Products of the year 2010 shortlist and i think there are a few surprises.
Let me kick-off by saying that i don't think the Sony BDP-S570 should be on it.
I prefer the Panasonic DMP-BD85. I don't know why the Sony was chosen, it's a very good blu-ray player,
but the Panasonic is simply better. And the Panny isn't much more expensive.

Furthermore i was surprised that What Hi Fi have chosen the expensive B&W speakers (MM-1).
Yes, i can imagine that they are pretty awesome, but it's price means only audiophiles are going to buy it.
And there are much cheaper sets available that offer the same fun and overall good audio performances, like
the Harman Kardon Soundsticks II which can be picked up for an astonishing 99 pounds! And they look better to!

Did anyone else think other products shoud have been selected?

 

[Andrew Everard]

The answer to the question posed in your thread title is, of course, yes.

 

[Anonymous]

Arvie88:
Hello Everyone,

I just saw the list of the Products of the year 2010 shortlist and i think there are a few surprises.
Let me kick-off by saying that i don't think the Sony BDP-S570 should be on it.
I prefer the Panasonic DMP-BD85. I don't know why the Sony was chosen, it's a very good blu-ray player,
but the Panasonic is simply better. And the Panny isn't much more expensive.

Furthermore i was surprised that What Hi Fi have chosen the expensive B&W speakers (MM-1).
Yes, i can imagine that they are pretty awesome, but it's price means only audiophiles are going to buy it.
And there are much cheaper sets available that offer the same fun and overall good audio performances, like
the Harman Kardon Soundsticks II which can be picked up for an astonishing 99 pounds! And they look better to!

Did anyone else think other products shoud have been selected?

Your compairing B&W 5.1 Home cinema to a small worthless set of soundsticks that are for a PC

?

My altec lansing THX 2.1 PC speakers would kill the soundsticks and it cost 60.00, Plus they do offer some choices on a budget, like the BX speakers.

I bought a sony BDP-370, I think that should be product of the year, since they were selling them in Costco for 81.00 about 3 weeks ago.

I also dont think 1000.00 for a full 5.1 system with awsome subwoofer is too much, and I dont have the best job in the world. Its an investment.

Ask me a year ago if I would have bought a Pioneer SC-LX 72 with a full RX6 front and RX1 rear, I would have laughed at you, but after getting a wicked deal on the RX6 and last years stock on the SC-LX72 then bargains can be had.

Yes I put it on my credit card, but I will be making full payments as its intrest free for 16 months. so should all be paid off in a year, and I have a banging system that is simply gob smacking which I will have for many many years,

 

[John Duncan]

No, he's comparing the mm-1, not the mt-25. []

 

[chebby]

I think these were the WHFS&V Awards 2010 and not the 'Arvie88 Awards 2010'.

 

[Anonymous]

JohnDuncan:No, he's comparing the mm-1, not the mt-25. []

oops my bad sorry

, still I have heard them both and the MM-1 have amazing sound, yes they are expensive, but you get what you pay for.

The soundsticks, yes they look cool, but the bass is terrible and the sound is as well.

 

[John Duncan]

...though obviously it's never too early to agree a sponsorship deal for the 2011s

 

[John Duncan]

canada16:
JohnDuncan:No, he's comparing the mm-1, not the mt-25. []

oops my bad sorry

, still I have heard them both and the MM-1 have amazing sound, yes they are expensive, but you get what you pay for.

The soundsticks, yes they look cool, but the bass is terrible and the sound is as well.

Good bigup for the mt-25s though

. I disagree with you I'm that I like the soundsticks a lot, but can't compare them to the mm-1s since I haven't heard them (despite a pair sitting temptingly on a desk close by)

 

[matthewpiano]

As Chebby intimated, these were the WHFS&V Awards and, consequently, represent the magazine's favourite products. This is not necessarily synonymous with the best products outright or the best products for a certain individual. Hi-Fi is personal and we are all going to have different opinions on these things.

 

[markyd]

I bought an S570 over the bd85 and I'm really glad I did. The net functionality on the panasonic is just lame - and for me this is the best feature on the sony unit. The Sony was probably chosen as it is a better all rounder. I think picture and sound wise you would be splitting hairs, so it comes down to the extras to make one stand out.

You cant just say something is 'simply better' without qualification. I argue the Sony is 'simply better' on the above grounds.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for your replies.@markyd, i acknowledge that i should have said more than ' simply better'.
A friend of mine has the Panasonic BD85 and i have the Sony S570, so i compared the two. The panny has
the better picture, but that is indeed splitting hairs. The extra's are not so relevant to me, but if that's a factor, then i
can assume the Sony is better, because Panasonic always focuses on the functionality of a product, and not for the
gadget factor.

As far as the HK speakers concerned, i know that they aren't a match for the MM-1's, but for 25% of the price you do
get a fantastic looking set of speakers that will not blow you away, but satisfy your need accordingly.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree that there is tons of stuff that is amazing value for money.

But the B&W's do sound sweet, sounds like a true 500.00 bookshelf system, heard them in the apple shop.

But I would not pay for it, for my PC,

I think the sony 370 should have one considering WHF banged on about how better it was than the 760, I think that was the model number, and that was 3 times the price of the 370.

But I belive this must have been voted for by members and readers ect. So I dont think it was all WHF. Its a good list, , , Could have it been better, yes in my eyes, but its the same as the oscars, there are certain films that one, and when I watched them I felt like slitting my wrists.

 

[John Duncan]

I agree that there were some surprises - the Sony 370 always struck me as a shoo-in, for example - but I have veryt little warning of the awards so it's always exciting to see what happens. Surprises of the nice variety for me were Audiolab upsetting the Cyrus CD Player hegemonyonyony and Yamaha getting hifi right for the first time in yeeeeeeeeeeeears.

 

[chebby]

JohnDuncan:Surprises of the nice variety for me were Audiolab upsetting the Cyrus CD Player hegemonyonyony and Yamaha getting hifi right for the first time in yeeeeeeeeeeeears.

Or 'hegemoneymoneymoney' in the case of Cyrus

Yamaha have been getting getting hifi 'right' for many years (decades) and for many people. The new A-S300 and A-S500 stereo amps are only stepping in where the discontinued (and well thought of) AX397 and AX497 models left a vacuum at the budget end of the range.

Worth noting too that the A-S700/CD-S700 - A-S1000/CD-S1000 and A-S2000/CD-S2000 models are not too shabby having received many excellent reviews and awards between them over the last couple of years.

 

[D3CYPH3R]

Arvie88:Thank you all for your replies.@markyd, i acknowledge that i should have said more than ' simply better'.
A friend of mine has the Panasonic BD85 and i have the Sony S570, so i compared the two. The panny has
the better picture, but that is indeed splitting hairs. The extra's are not so relevant to me, but if that's a factor, then i
can assume the Sony is better, because Panasonic always focuses on the functionality of a product, and not for the
gadget factor.

As far as the HK speakers concerned, i know that they aren't a match for the MM-1's, but for 25% of the price you do
get a fantastic looking set of speakers that will not blow you away, but satisfy your need accordingly.

So because you believe the pana to be the better PQ over the Sony then WHF are wrong? Everyone is welcome to their own opinion and that's all WHF give, doesn't make them right or wrong.

they always state to audition equipment yourself and end of the day you are the one watching/listening to it so you pick which you perceive to be the best for you.

 

[John Duncan]

chebby:Yamaha have been getting getting hifi 'right' for many years (decades) and for many people.

Chebby, you're absolutely right, and I apologise for not conveying wholly what I was trying to say. I love Yamaha, and it's good to see their two-channel products - which have never been award winners on the whole - finally receiving the recognition which their capability as a company has always suggested.

 

[Clare Newsome]

What's interesting about this particular Yamaha amp - and this is mentioned in the issue - is how its development was benchmarked against its best budget rivals (Rotel, Marantz, Cambridge Audio, NAD etc). So the engineers weren't merely trying to make it better than previous Yamaha products, but better than anything else the market had to offer. Sound a simple strategy, but you'd be surprised how many manufacturers overlook it

 

[John Duncan]

A question for you, Clare - (I could just ask you tomorrow, but it might be interesting to other people) - why on earth would a manufacturer *not* do that?!?!?

 

[Clare Newsome]

You'd need to ask them that

But generally there are some manufacturers that want to develop on their 'house' sound/aims - without reference to rivals

 

[matthewpiano]

...and someone with a business head on at Yamaha has realised it might be possible to get a bigger market share by creating an amp that sounds more fashionable.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Or simply better. I'm not sure a company the size of Yamaha is overly concerned with passing fashions...

 

[John Duncan]

matthewpiano:more fashionable

whatever that means

 

[PJPro]

JohnDuncan:A question for you, Clare - (I could just ask you tomorrow, but it might be interesting to other people) - why on earth would a manufacturer *not* do that?!?!?
Isn't it a tricky thing to try and make something sound better. Several posts in this thread have stated that preference is a personal thing. So, whose judgement are the manufacturers using to make it better?

Their engineers may like a different sound to WHFS&V. We (the punters) might like a different sound again (this is backed up by the frequent advice not to take a rating for granted but to audition the kit personally).

If I were a manufacturer, I think I would build my kit to achieve the best rating rather than necessarily what I thought was the best sound. The trouble is, the preference of the review team may change over time due to age, attrition/replacement and, yes, possibly fashion?

 

[Clare Newsome]

But hence my reference to Yamaha listening to a range of rival amps- and I mean rivals in a really wide sense; highly rated (by range of reviewers); strong in dealership; strong in sales - to see what each of those products has to offer. Not just against a singular rival.

 

[John Duncan]

PJPro:Isn't it a tricky thing to try and make something sound better. Several posts in this thread have stated that preference is a personal thing. So, whose judgement are the manufacturers using to make it better?

Their engineers may like a different sound to WHFS&V. We (the punters) might like a different sound again (this is backed up by the frequent advice not to take a rating for granted but to audition the kit personally).

If I were a manufacturer, I think I would build my kit to achieve the best rating rather than necessarily what I thought was the best sound. The trouble is, the preference of the review team may change over time due to age, attrition/replacement and, yes, possibly fashion?

Yes to all of that. But if I were an amp manufacturer, the first thing I would do is buy a whole load of highly regarded amps and 1) listen to them and 2) tear them apart and find out what makes them tick. I'm inferring from what Clare's saying that that wasn't the kind of thing Yamaha used to do (correct me if I'm wrong)!