Review selling

[amarocknrollstar]

Okay, at the risk of being booted and mooted....

Can anyone confirm whether or not some or all hi-fi magazines simply "sell" good reviews to the highest bidders? (E.g - reviews in exchange for buying ad space.)

For example, I have NEVER yet heard a marantz amplifier that I enjoy the sound of and back in the day, I niavely purchased a pair of TDL's only to return them the following day.

Don't even get me started on Mission speakers.

Yes, I hear you say that obviously I do not speak for the masses. However, I have canvassed many on this topic and we are of the same opinion.

I throw it open...

Stevie

 

[drummerman]

You won't get any favorable replies to your posting here, a forum hosted and financed by a publisher and some advertisers.

However, whilst I disagree with your comment in principal, ie. I think reviews on the whole are honest, there are a number of occasions, I've mentioned them before, where I think reviews are 'biased' to say the least;

One well known (very good) publication, HIFI News & RR, tends to let certain reviewers review certain brands ie. KK ... MF/Audio Research/Nagra etc with rather obvious results. I'm certain he's not 'paid off' or whatever you want to call it but it makes reading his articles a rather predictable affair if still interesting.

 

[amarocknrollstar]

Thanks drummerman, very interesting. I'll have little sqiz at that.

Stevie

 

[Clare Newsome]

Well I can give you 100 percent assurance that What Hi-fi? Sound and Vision certainly doesn't - our editorial independence is total. We sit on separate floors to our ad teams, who don't even know which products we're reviewing in any given issue, let alone what the star rating is (and the manufacturers don't get to know that in advance, either).

Take the current, March issue - lovely big advert on the back cover (premium ad spot) for Audiolab AV pre/power. Same product gets a three-star rating in the First Test section of the same issue.

Another example? Rega - never advertise with us, yet picked up two Product of the Year Awards last year.

And you mention Marantz - yes, we love the current budget amp and CD player, but it's the first time their kit has featured on our hi-fi best buy list for ages. And their recent range of AV receivers has managed four stars at best.

I can give you many, many more examples than that, but you get the gist.

We don't have to sell reviews, as we are the market-leading publication - manufacturers know we reach more buyers than anyone else, and that's why they advertise with us. Simple economics, no conspiracy theories.

Obviously I can't speak for other publications, but you can trust What Hi-fi? Sound and Vision to bring you the results of team-based testing with a single aim: to find you the very best kit for your cash.

You may disagree with our opinions - which is why we also urge everyone to try before they buy - but there is no justification for doubting our integrity.

 

[Andy Clough]

Now let's be very, very clear about this: I can't speak for other magazines, but I can most certainly speak for What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision, having been the Editor for five years and now being Editor of the website.

We have never, and never will, allow our advertisers to 'buy' a good review. WHF?SV has built its credibility over 30 years on the fact that we are the only UK magazine to have a dedicated team of in-house reviewers (not freelances) all working from the same suite of dedicated, acoustically treated listening rooms.

What's more, no advertiser, PR or manufacturer is EVER shown a review prior to publication. The only people who decide what star rating a product gets are the editorial team. The final decision is a collective one (not the opinion of just a single reviewer), and a minimum of two people from the test team will hear/view every product tested.

Result? Our reviews are honest, fair and accurate. Inevitably we upset our advertisers when they get a poor review, and that's something we're not afraid of. From time to time they may pull their advertising, but the review stands. Everyone, from the senior directors and editors downwards, supports this policy.

So if you're told by a friend down the pub or dealer that manufacturers can 'buy' a good review in WHF?SV, then I'm here to tell you it ain't so. If any member of the editorial team was ever caught showing a manufacturer or their PR a review prior to publication, they'd be out of a job. Simple as that.

 

[Andy Clough]

Ah, seems Clare was on this one at the same time as me, but obviously we agree!

 

[amarocknrollstar]

Thanks Clare. I didn't expect anything else - you'd make a fantastic What Hi-Fi Ambassador! (Or even a lawyer - good case reference there!)

I have been a keen What Hi-fi reader for many a year and find the magazine to be both interesting and educational.

Whilst I understand that different people have different opinions, I do find it interesting that that not all "experts" agree on the same product conclusions.

For the most part I have when auditioned products agreed with what the expets say but there are those occassions when something smells funny.

Whilst not targeting your magazine directly Clare (as I stated, I have been a keen reader for some time), just because a product doesn't get 5 star,s does not mean it did enough to justify a 3 star rating!

 

[amarocknrollstar]

[quote user="Andy Clough"]
Now let's be very, very clear about this: I can't speak for other magazines, but I can most certainly speak for What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision, having been the Editor for five years and now being Editor of the website.
We have never, and never will, allow our advertisers to 'buy' a good review. WHF?SV has built its credibility over 30 years on the fact that we are the only UK magazine to have a dedicated team of in-house reviewers (not freelances) all working from the same suite of dedicated, acoustically treated listening rooms.
What's more, no advertiser, PR or manufacturer is EVER shown a review prior to publication. The only people who decide what star rating a product gets are the editorial team. The final decision is a collective one (not the opinion of just a single reviewer), and a minimum of two people from the test team will hear/view every product tested.
Result? Our reviews are honest, fair and accurate. Inevitably we upset our advertisers when they get a poor review, and that's something we're not afraid of. From time to time they may pull their advertising, but the review stands. Everyone, from the senior directors and editors downwards, supports this policy.
So if you're told by a friend down the pub or dealer that manufacturers can 'buy' a good review in WHF?SV, then I'm here to tell you it ain't so. If any member of the editorial team was ever caught showing a manufacturer or their PR a review prior to publication, they'd be out of a job. Simple as that.
[/quote]Good policy.

That answers that then!

Stevie

 

[Clare Newsome]

[quote user="amarocknrollstar"]
Whilst I understand that different people have different opinions, I do find it interesting that that not all "experts" agree on the same product conclusions.

For the most part I have when auditioned products agreed with what the expets say but there are those occassions when something smells funny.

Whilst not targeting your magazine directly Clare (as I stated, I have been a keen reader for some time), just because a product doesn't get 5 star,s does not mean it did enough to justify a 3 star rating!

[/quote]

Glad you like the mag. And like Andy says above, you can be sure our reviews are on a level, as all products are tested in the same environment - and tested comparatively, too, not in isolation. I believe the latter is the main cause of any differences between our reviews and those of others - we're not relying on one reviewer's judgement/preference, nor are we dependent on remembering what a product's rivals sound/look like: our vast storeroom of kit holds the kit we need to compare class-leaders with anything new.

Not sure what you mean by your last comment re five/three stars. We certainly show no special dispensation to certain brands - I remember all too well the furore of giving advertisers like Meridian and NAD two-star ratings, and Sony has received some stinking reviews, too (a one-star rating springs to mind). We may (and do) get called every name under the sun, but it doesn't change the rating.

 

[drummerman]

[quote user="Clare Newsome"] I believe the latter is the main cause of any differences between our reviews and those of others - we're not relying on one reviewer's judgement/preference[/quote]

I read magazines occasionally rather than on a regular basis and I dont have a copy of WH to hand so I have to ask you this; Do you put writers names to reviews?

 

[Clare Newsome]

No, we don't - as we team test, everything in the magazine is a collective opinion.

 

[Andrew Everard]

[quote user="drummerman"]I read magazines occasionally rather than on a regular basis and I dont have a copy of WH to hand so I have to ask you this; Do you put writers names to reviews?[/quote]

No, since all the reviews are panel verdicts from several of the review team.

 

[Clare Newsome]

You see - two minds with but a single thought

 

[Andrew Everard]

I am not a number, I am an individual!

 

[drummerman]

[quote user="Andrew Everard"] I am not a number, I am an individual![/quote]

Are'nt you just. Am I wrong or does gramophone have a small hardware review section thats normally a single editor contribution? Why choose one over the other?

 

[Anonymous]

I have one of my class D amplifiers currently being reviewed by TNT, and I would want their honest opinion on the product simply because no one benefits for 'buying' a review, and no, you don't know what the review says beforehand.