Omitting some brands by WHF

[shadders]

Hi,

It must be worrying for new vendors to send in a product to the press, knowing that a 3 star review for example, could cause a severe detrimental impact for what is, a subjective review. It is, to quote a well known amplifier designer, just a throw of the dice.

Regards,

Shadders.

 

[Andy Clough]

WHF relies on manufacturers sending them products for reviews. Also not much point in reviewing products that have limited availability in uk hifi dealers. Its all tied in, reviews, dealers and advertising. Reviews are part of marketing the product, some manufacturers don't want to use WHF for that purpose. Other mags buy the products and then test, much better way of doing it IMO.

Just to clarify a couple of points here: yes, we do largely rely on manufacturers supplying products for review, but if they choose not to supply, we do when necessary go out and buy the products we want to test or borrow them from a dealer.

We don't wait for manufacturers to send us product, we actively decide which products we want to review and ask for them. What Hi-Fi? has always been, and always will be, a mainstream buying guide so we tend to focus on the more affordable end of the market. But we do have our Temptations section for the more esoteric stuff.

There's also little point in reviewing products that aren't available in the UK market, so we also tend to go for products that have reasonably good distribution wherever possible. And we review as a team, so the test and verdict is not the opinion of an individual reviewer (which can lead to a certain bias creeping in) but the view of several people.

As for advertising, some companies choose to advertise with us, some do not, but that makes absolutely no difference as to whether or not we decide to review a particular product.

 

[Andy Clough]

WHF relies on manufacturers sending them products for reviews. Also not much point in reviewing products that have limited availability in uk hifi dealers. Its all tied in, reviews, dealers and advertising. Reviews are part of marketing the product, some manufacturers don't want to use WHF for that purpose. Other mags buy the products and then test, much better way of doing it IMO.

Just to clarify a couple of points here: yes, we do largely rely on manufacturers supplying products for review, but if they choose not to supply, we do occasionally go out and buy the products we want to test or borrow them from a dealer.

We don't wait for manufacturers to send us product, we actively decide which products we want to review and ask for them. What Hi-Fi? has always been, and always will be, a mainstream buying guide so we do tend to focus on the more affordable end of the market. But we do have our Temptations section for the more esoteric stuff.

There's also little point in reviewing products that aren't available in the UK market, so we do tend to go for products that have reasonably good distribution wherever possible. And we review as a team, so the test and verdict is not the opinion of an individual reviewer (which can lead to a certain bias creeping in) but the view of several people.

 

[Native_bon]

Product reviews invariably add publicity to the product, and it is either laziness on part of the manufacturers or if they themselves don't think their products will get a favourable review, that they don't submit their products for reviews. There may be other reasons but these are the main.

A case in the point: since Onkyo dropped Audyssey in favour of in-house AccuEQ calibration to cut costs, which is far inferior, it stopped providing their AV receivers for review.

Or it may just be if you dnt sound like what WHF considers to be the right sound your product gets marked down?. It's a bloody 5* world with no real world measurements.

I think it's all subjective and some people may even prefer 4 or even 3* products

 

[Al ears]

Product reviews invariably add publicity to the product, and it is either laziness on part of the manufacturers or if they themselves don't think their products will get a favourable review, that they don't submit their products for reviews. There may be other reasons but these are the main.

A case in the point: since Onkyo dropped Audyssey in favour of in-house AccuEQ calibration to cut costs, which is far inferior, it stopped providing their AV receivers for review.

Or it may just be if you dnt sound like what WHF considers to be the right sound your product gets marked down?. It's a bloody 5* world with no real world measurements.

My opinion is somewhat different. All reviews are subjective whether performed by one person or a group. There is no substitute for going to audition yourself.

'No real world measurements' is just fine they are not overly important and if you want them just go to the manufacturers website. Even if they did throw a lot of measurements at you they would not help you determine what a piece of equipment is going to sound like in your room.

 

[BigH]

Its a good point about rooms. One speaker manufacturer commented the other week about WHF room, this is fully treated however they design speakers for a normal living room, so in a treated room they may sound a bit dull. Bass canbe a problem in some rooms. So a home audition is best.

 

[Native_bon]

Product reviews invariably add publicity to the product, and it is either laziness on part of the manufacturers or if they themselves don't think their products will get a favourable review, that they don't submit their products for reviews. There may be other reasons but these are the main.

A case in the point: since Onkyo dropped Audyssey in favour of in-house AccuEQ calibration to cut costs, which is far inferior, it stopped providing their AV receivers for review.

Or it may just be if you dnt sound like what WHF considers to be the right sound your product gets marked down?. It's a bloody 5* world with no real world measurements.

My opinion is somewhat different. All reviews are subjective whether performed by one person or a group. There is no substitute for going to audition yourself.

'No real world measurements' is just fine they are not overly important and if you want them just go to the manufacturers website. Even if they did throw a lot of measurements at you they would not help you determine what a piece of equipment is going to sound like in your room.

A flat sounding speaker will certainly sound good in any room taking speaker and room size into consideration. Manufacturers are know to give inaccurate product measurements.

 

[Al ears]

Product reviews invariably add publicity to the product, and it is either laziness on part of the manufacturers or if they themselves don't think their products will get a favourable review, that they don't submit their products for reviews. There may be other reasons but these are the main.

A case in the point: since Onkyo dropped Audyssey in favour of in-house AccuEQ calibration to cut costs, which is far inferior, it stopped providing their AV receivers for review.

Or it may just be if you dnt sound like what WHF considers to be the right sound your product gets marked down?. It's a bloody 5* world with no real world measurements.

My opinion is somewhat different. All reviews are subjective whether performed by one person or a group. There is no substitute for going to audition yourself.

'No real world measurements' is just fine they are not overly important and if you want them just go to the manufacturers website. Even if they did throw a lot of measurements at you they would not help you determine what a piece of equipment is going to sound like in your room.

A flat sounding speaker will certainly sound good in any room taking speaker and room size into consideration. Manufacturers are know to give inaccurate product measurements.

I quite agree with your last statement however their figures, compared with actual measurements, are such that in most cases is likely to be inaudible and unlikely to effect system building..

 

[Native_bon]

Product reviews invariably add publicity to the product, and it is either laziness on part of the manufacturers or if they themselves don't think their products will get a favourable review, that they don't submit their products for reviews. There may be other reasons but these are the main.

A case in the point: since Onkyo dropped Audyssey in favour of in-house AccuEQ calibration to cut costs, which is far inferior, it stopped providing their AV receivers for review.

Or it may just be if you dnt sound like what WHF considers to be the right sound your product gets marked down?. It's a bloody 5* world with no real world measurements.

My opinion is somewhat different. All reviews are subjective whether performed by one person or a group. There is no substitute for going to audition yourself.

'No real world measurements' is just fine they are not overly important and if you want them just go to the manufacturers website. Even if they did throw a lot of measurements at you they would not help you determine what a piece of equipment is going to sound like in your room.

A flat sounding speaker will certainly sound good in any room taking speaker and room size into consideration. Manufacturers are know to give inaccurate product measurements.

I quite agree with your last statement however their figures, compared with actual measurements, are such that in most cases is likely to be inaudible and unlikely to effect system building..

I do beg to differ when it applies to speakers.

 

[Al ears]

Product reviews invariably add publicity to the product, and it is either laziness on part of the manufacturers or if they themselves don't think their products will get a favourable review, that they don't submit their products for reviews. There may be other reasons but these are the main.

A case in the point: since Onkyo dropped Audyssey in favour of in-house AccuEQ calibration to cut costs, which is far inferior, it stopped providing their AV receivers for review.

Or it may just be if you dnt sound like what WHF considers to be the right sound your product gets marked down?. It's a bloody 5* world with no real world measurements.

My opinion is somewhat different. All reviews are subjective whether performed by one person or a group. There is no substitute for going to audition yourself.

'No real world measurements' is just fine they are not overly important and if you want them just go to the manufacturers website. Even if they did throw a lot of measurements at you they would not help you determine what a piece of equipment is going to sound like in your room.

A flat sounding speaker will certainly sound good in any room taking speaker and room size into consideration. Manufacturers are know to give inaccurate product measurements.

I quite agree with your last statement however their figures, compared with actual measurements, are such that in most cases is likely to be inaudible and unlikely to effect system building..

I do beg to differ when it applies to speakers.

To my knowledge the main culprit with speakers is the quoted dB figure, which isn't going to matter a damn if you have a decent amplifier to start with.

 

[CnoEvil]

This means that over time, you get to know which reviewers particularly chine with you 

This is how I feel, as it helps me decide if a particular item is worth checking out (or not).

 

[chebby]

Let's read about the review team members. What music is important to them individually, how loud they prefer to listen, examples of all-time favourite kit, what systems they enjoy at home, their background in hi-fi etc.

 

[Native_bon]

This means that over time, you get to know which reviewers particularly chine with you

This is how I feel, as it helps me decide if a particular item is worth checking out (or not).

+1

 

[nopiano]

This means that over time, you get to know which reviewers particularly chine with you

This is how I feel, as it helps me decide if a particular item is worth checking out (or not).

+1

Very pleased to have found some consensus there. Apologies that I mispelt chime!

 

[Edbo2]

I have noticed that when Which? Magazine review, for example DAB radios or midi systems their best buys do not necessarily reflect the findings of What Hi-Fi.

 

[bigboss]

I have noticed that when Which? Magazine review, for example DAB radios or midi systems their best buys do not necessarily reflect the findings of What Hi-Fi.

You will find that all reviews can differ from one another, not just Which and What Hi Fi.