If you were a HiFi Reviewer

Ajani

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So if you were a reviewer for a HiFi Mag or website (assuming you don't have to worry about appealing to the most viewers/readers) what kind of products would you review?

My preference would be what I consider to be modern HiFI: Headphone Setups, Active Speakers and the stuff most audiophiles label as Lifestyle Systems (Naim MuSo, B&W A7/Zeppelin, etc).

I'd also focus on more affordable (though not always dirt cheap) components... So no $$$$$$ components made out of exotic materials/rare stones.

Note: I have no issue with old school/traditional HiFi, but I'm just far more interested in seeing attempts to match modern convenience and aesthetics with excellent sound quality.
 

lindsayt

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I'd just do comparative reviews.

I'd write about what aspects were better and what was worse between the components being reviewed.

None of this wishy washy "Everything is awesome!" reviewing style.

If film critics can make ranting, highly critical reviews of films, I don't see why I can't do the same with hi-fi equipment.

I'd review new and old, cheap and expensive, small and huge and everything inbetween.
 

Blacksabbath25

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Ajani said:
So if you were a reviewer for a HiFi Mag or website (assuming you don't have to worry about appealing to the most viewers/readers) what kind of products would you review?

My preference would be what I consider to be modern HiFI: Headphone Setups, Active Speakers and the stuff most audiophiles label as Lifestyle Systems (Naim MuSo, B&W A7/Zeppelin, etc).

I'd also focus on more affordable (though not always dirt cheap) components... So no $$$$$$ components made out of exotic materials/rare stones.

Note: I have no issue with old school/traditional HiFi, but I'm just far more interested in seeing attempts to match modern convenience and aesthetics with excellent sound quality.
I think with the magazine there should be a mainstream hi fi magazine and a hi end magazine for the serous hi fi people who have lots of money and can afford the top finest hi fi . With the mainstream magazine it would have hi fi upto £2000 max and talk about the basics of hi fi like the magazine used to years ago before AV got onto the magazine but this magazine would have Good reviews from budget to midrange upto £2000 , tips , speaker placement , cables , sound , and so on . And speak in basic way so people will understand but also learn something at the same time in the reviews and use all kinds of music on the tests not just classical music . Then the hi end magazine I can not comment as I can not afford that kind of gear but sure someone will fill the gaps there on here lol .
 

jonathanRD

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I would concentrate on system matching, putting complementary components together at different price levels, and listing alternative items to mix & match, including the consideration of room size and conditions. Then again there are probably endless combinations and lists.
 

drummerman

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Not so much what but how.

I would like a bench test accompanying every review.

Whilst measurements are not everything they explain a lot and can back up a reviewers impressions.

Problem is they take up magazine space, time and money to conduct.
 

chebby

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I wouldn't want to review hi-fi equipment. It's onerous enough having to go through the ordeal of selecting new hi-fi on your own account let alone being responsible for influencing other people's decisions. I wouldn't want people thinking of me what I think of reviewers!

I am loath to even recommend items from my own system in case someone asks me to 'describe the sound'. (Aaarrgh, I can't do it! I don't know how to make that stuff up.)

I like insight and a good story (or a good history). So therefore I enjoy a review where we learn a lot about the company making the gear. I also like a talented writer. So - even if they are technically challenged - we get a good, entertaining, engaging read rather than a few desultory bullet points punctuated by spiffy photos. (You know, the ones with all the cables photoshopped out then plonked next a huge vase full of twigs.)

I'd also like some practical stuff like how flexible are the interconnects/loudspeaker cables? Do they drape over shelves and stands and go round corners, or do they stick out - ramrod straight - from the back of amp/speaker and have the same bending radius as the turning circle of an oil tanker? Does it weigh so much that it threatens to rip out the binding posts? Could an offcut make a serviceable murder weapon? Stuff like that.
 

jjbomber

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Ajani said:
So if you were a reviewer for a HiFi Mag or website (assuming you don't have to worry about appealing to the most viewers/readers) what kind of products would you review?

... I'd review whatever pays the most!!!

More system tests would be my forte. Best system at 2K, 4K, 6K, 10K etc. One price point every month.
 

Vladimir

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At first I would mainly do fiction. You know, Russ Andrews type of products. Analogue and digital cables, crystals, power bricks, sockets, plinths, resonators... I may need to spice up my coffee with LSD to help the muse speak to me in a way so audiophiles find it engaging.

As soon as I'm done filling up my pockets by spewing lies, pardon, subjective reviews, then I'll do reviews of classical statement products, with interviews and genealogy of the heritage involved (companies, founders, engineers, ideas, pioneers, milestone products, media reception etc.) I can do the same with new products but still, I really enjoy the history of audio best. 100 years of audio industry! In 2007 was the centenial of the first radio broadcast and also the year when Kongo Gumi went bancrupt. History is important for understanding the present and looking in the future.

I'd love to have a chat with that KEF head of acoustics that stopped by on the forum and do an insightfull interview as part of a KEF review. A bit more insight why things were done the way they were, and not coming from the marketing department.

At the sunset of my reviewers career, to close the circle, I'd write bitter and facetious audiophile myths debunking. The steady flow of Naim hate mail should steer me away from feeling lonely in the evenings.
 

Vladimir

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Oh. And I would definitely interview Dave DDC as an industry veteran. Men like him were the mortar that held everything together but never went under the spotlight (mostly because they were the ones holding the spotlight).
 

tino

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lindsayt said:
I'd just do comparative reviews. ... None of this wishy washy "Everything is awesome!" reviewing style ...

Bingo. I would like to se a more meaningful scale of absolute performance against some reference system as well as a category (star) rating. And more discussion on general features and usability of a product, especially with digital products that live or die by the user experience they offer.
 

davedotco

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I have written and had published a few reviews in my time, mostly of mid to high end products.

They were mostly fairly well written bullsh!t, subjective reviews that were as much a reflection on my own prejudices as the products themselves.

If I was able to review product now, I would organise blind tests with about 3-4 people, including myself listening. Then some hands on, sighted tests to see what happens.
 

Gaz37

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Personally I'd love to be able to do comparisons on a wide range of Hifi having no idea whatsoever what I was listening to, a total mixture from £99 Dixons one box stuff right up to mega bucks high end stuff.
 
I wouldn't. Imagine all the blood, sweat and tears of rummaging through all the boxes. The cat would scarper, Mrs. P would file for divorce and hand in a compensation claim.

In addition, the eventual review would be a prime candidate for further analysis so the Medical Council could use them as a cure for insomnia.
 

Ajani

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drummerman said:
Not so much what but how.

I would like a bench test accompanying every review.

Whilst measurements are not everything they explain a lot and can back up a reviewers impressions.

Problem is they take up magazine space, time and money to conduct.

The most popular US mag (Stereophile) does that. I'm a big fan of having objective measurements to support/conflict subjective listening tests.
 

spiny norman

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Ajani said:
The most popular US mag (Stereophile) does that. I'm a big fan of having objective measurements to support/conflict subjective listening tests.

As does one of the British magazines, IIRC. Can't remember which one, though, as it's ages since I've bought any of them.
 

hg

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Ajani said:
So if you were a reviewer for a HiFi Mag or website (assuming you don't have to worry about appealing to the most viewers/readers) what kind of products would you review?

Speakers. It is remarkable how little relevant information is provided in reviews of speakers and yet they dominate perceived sound quality given reasonable upstream components. Even an utterly fundamental performance parameter such as how loud the speakers play before they start distorting is not considered relevant information even by publications that show measurements. Sorting out what a competent speaker review should contain would be an interesting task.
 

Ajani

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spiny norman said:
Ajani said:
The most popular US mag (Stereophile) does that. I'm a big fan of having objective measurements to support/conflict subjective listening tests.

As does one of the British magazines, IIRC. Can't remember which one, though, as it's ages since I've bought any of them.

HiFi News?

I like objective measurements because it makes it easier to determine whether a manufacturer has done something to make a product sound more accurate rather than just colouring the sound to suit specific listening preferences.
 

spiny norman

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Ajani said:
HiFi News?

I like objective measurements because it makes it easier to determine whether a manufacturer has done something to make a product sound more accurate rather than just colouring the sound to suit specific listening preferences.

Yes, that might be the one.

Agreed on the measurements, but their relevance does depend on the measurer's ability a) to understand the product, b)to do the mesuring correctly, and c) to interpret the effect of what the measurements show on the sound.
 

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