Journalistic integrity, testing and Feb 2018 magazine

andrew killen

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I

have to ask, do your people actually test before giving advice? I reference the article published this month in the magazine and on the website by Kashfia Kabir:

https://www.whathifi.com/features/3-best-hi-res-audio-systems

It clearly suggests a combo of the samsung S8 + cyrus soundKey + AKG Y50 = greatness, and states that its great that the soundKey cable provided is so short.

This is clearly bunkum. I mean, I can handle incorrectly placed titles with a bit of a giggle, incorrect spelling as 'only human', but this blatant inaccuracy and lack of testing before giving advice is unacceptable.

How do I know she did not test it? Because the cable does not exist with the product to connect the Samsung S8 directly to the SoundKey. The soundkey comes with a usb micro (b) cable and the S8 is a USB C. You even state this in your own review https://www.whathifi.com/cyrus/soundkey/review
there is also a user review of the product saying he could not get the USB C cable anywhere and the product is now sat in a draw.

This leads me to severely question every time you guys have taken a 5 star product + 5 star product + 5 star product = Winner! , were they really tested to prove they were a winner or was it just A+B+C= expected result.
 

jjbomber

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andrew killen said:
This leads me to severely question every time you guys have taken a 5 star product + 5 star product + 5 star product = Winner! , were they really tested to prove they were a winner or was it just A+B+C= expected result.

A= Open envelope

B= Count cash

C= Award Stars

A+B+C = gullible readers.

It has actually been done on here several times before, the last time just before Christmas. You get used to their reviews after a while.
 

Gray

Well-known member
jjbomber said:
andrew killen said:
This leads me to severely question every time you guys have taken a 5 star product + 5 star product + 5 star product = Winner! , were they really tested to prove they were a winner or was it just A+B+C= expected result.

A= Open envelope

B= Count cash

C= Award Stars

A+B+C = gullible readers.

It has actually been done on here several times before, the last time just before Christmas. You get used to their reviews after a while.

See what I mean Andrew?
 
andrew killen said:
I

 have to ask, do your people actually test before giving advice?  I reference the article published this month in the magazine and on the website by Kashfia Kabir:

https://www.whathifi.com/features/3-best-hi-res-audio-systems 

It clearly suggests a combo of the samsung S8 + cyrus soundKey + AKG Y50 = greatness, and states that its great that the soundKey cable provided is so short.  

This is clearly bunkum. I mean, I can handle incorrectly placed titles with a bit of a giggle, incorrect spelling as 'only human', but this blatant inaccuracy and lack of testing before giving advice is unacceptable.  

How do I know she did not test it? Because the cable does not exist with the product to connect the Samsung S8 directly to the SoundKey.  The soundkey comes with a usb micro (b) cable and the S8 is a USB C. You even state this in your own review https://www.whathifi.com/cyrus/soundkey/review there is also a user review of the product saying he could not get the USB C cable anywhere and the product is now sat in a draw.  

This leads me to severely question every time you guys have taken a 5 star product + 5 star product + 5 star product = Winner! , were they really tested to prove they were a winner or was it just A+B+C= expected result.
I'm not sure what you mean by journalistic integrity. What's bunkum here? Nowhere has she said that shorter cable means better quality. In fact, she clearly mentions that shorter cable means no dangling, so more of a convenience factor. You also get micro-USB to USB-C adapter.
 

Joe Cox

Content Director, What Hi-Fi?
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jjbomber said:
<p>A= Open envelope</p>
<p>B= Count cash</p>
<p>C= Award Stars</p>
<p>A+B+C = gullible readers.</p>
<p>It has actually been done on here several times before, the last time just before Christmas. You get used to their reviews after a while. </p></div>

I'm worried right-minded people actually believe this happens... Never in all my years on What Hi-Fi?. I can't speak for other titles.
 

nick8858

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I'm worried right-minded people actually believe this happens... Never in all my years on What Hi-Fi?. I can't speak for other titles.
Any independantly verified, empirical evidence on this statement at all?
 
nick8858 said:
I'm worried right-minded people actually believe this happens... Never in all my years on What Hi-Fi?. I can't speak for other titles.

Any independantly verified, empirical evidence on this statement at all?
Actually, have you got any evidence? Innocent until proven guilty remember...
 

Joe Cox

Content Director, What Hi-Fi?
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nick8858 said:
I'm worried right-minded people actually believe this happens... Never in all my years on What Hi-Fi?. I can't speak for other titles.
Any independantly verified, empirical evidence on this statement at all?

I presume nobody really thinks we get brown envelopes but they think we favour advertisers. In which case there's the fact we give five-star reviews every month, and Awards every year, to people who never advertise. Some of whom never even collect the Award, let alone attend the Awards ceremony.
 

andrew killen

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bigboss said:
What's bunkum here? Nowhere has she said that shorter cable means better quality. In fact, she clearly mentions that shorter cable means no dangling, so more of a convenience factor. You also get micro-USB to USB-C adapter.

Its the implied nature that through experience of usage that writer makes, says the cable was a) short, b) came out of the box. Both do not exist. I am not sure if there is an OTG rated micro B to C connector for converting, certainly I can't find, or can anyone else, a direct cable OTG (no matter what length, or even on that is not OTG from my research) for micro b to USB-C.
 

andrew killen

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Joe Cox said:
I presume nobody really thinks we get brown envelopes but they think we favour advertisers.

From my point of view, this is not in question. While it is true that you work substantially with manufactures, I am lead to believe that this is to help them understand the marketplace better, so that in turn we the end users get more of what we want in a timely manner.

As the OP, my questioning was purely to raise that recommendations should not be made without proof via actual testing.

Some of us, like me, live in out of the way places where I can't *** down the road to try stuff out with my local dealer. I have to rely on a trusted expert to help me make informed choices and purchase off those. For lower priced items, I'm willing to take the risk of blindly buying with that trust behind me. Shame that for my next big purchase I have to travel 350km just to see if I like it.
 
andrew killen said:
bigboss said:
 What's bunkum here? Nowhere has she said that shorter cable means better quality. In fact, she clearly mentions that shorter cable means no dangling, so more of a convenience factor. You also get micro-USB to USB-C adapter.

Its the implied nature that through experience of usage that writer makes, says the cable was a) short, b) came out of the box. Both do not exist.  I am not sure if there is an OTG rated micro B to C connector for converting, certainly I can't find, or can anyone else, a direct cable OTG (no matter what length, or even on that is not OTG from my research) for micro b to USB-C.
Have you seen this review?

http://www.avhub.com.au/product-reviews/sound-image/cyrus-soundkey-portable-headphone-dac-amp-review-480655

"We used the Pixel 2 mentioned — we had to use a generic USB Type-C to Micro-B USB cable for this — and a Samsung Galaxy S7, and a Samsung Galaxy Tab A tablet. All worked perfectly well, recognising the DAC and routing their audio to it."
 
bigboss said:
andrew killen said:
bigboss said:
 What's bunkum here? Nowhere has she said that shorter cable means better quality. In fact, she clearly mentions that shorter cable means no dangling, so more of a convenience factor. You also get micro-USB to USB-C adapter.

Its the implied nature that through experience of usage that writer makes, says the cable was a) short, b) came out of the box. Both do not exist.  I am not sure if there is an OTG rated micro B to C connector for converting, certainly I can't find, or can anyone else, a direct cable OTG (no matter what length, or even on that is not OTG from my research) for micro b to USB-C.
Have you seen this review?

http://www.avhub.com.au/product-reviews/sound-image/cyrus-soundkey-porta...

"We used the Pixel 2 mentioned — we had to use a generic USB Type-C to Micro-B USB cable for this — and a Samsung Galaxy S7, and a Samsung Galaxy Tab A tablet. All worked perfectly well, recognising the DAC and routing their audio to it."
You also missed this:

Joe Cox said:
Yes, we did do the test - the S8 comes with an adapter in the box. Hence the system.

Samsung Galaxy S8 comes with micro USB to USB C adapter. I've got an S8+ and my wife has an S8. I can confirm this to be true.
 

andrew killen

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@bigboss

Thanks for pointing out the solution. Shame it was not so clearly detailed in the magazine feature on how to use it as it was for lightning based connections. This whole thread would have never happened.

I guess I should be eating humble pie.
 

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