Reviewing Facilities

[admin_exported]

Gues someone may have asked this before but anyway.

You constantly advertise your £1,000,000 reviwing facility.

3 questions

1. Does What Hi Fi OWN this facility?

2. What kit is in their and what does it measure?

3. How come you seldom, if ever publish any data/measurements from the use of this equipment?

Thanks

 

[Clare Newsome]

Yes, our test rooms are in the same building as our offices - more information, including small sample of our reference kit here.

And re measurement - we don't publish such data as our reader research shows it's not of enough interest to majority of people.

There are magazines/websites that do publish technical measurements for those whom are interested (and we appreciate it's very important to some), but we prefer to use team testing using eyes and ears: the way all humans actually enjoy music, movies and TV.

This video includes more footage of our test suite, plus interviews with some of the test team re how they work.

 

[Anonymous]

Think I follow that. The mag shows testing equipment but do you actually use it?

If not then I assume that the reviews are, in effect, purely subjective one? I understand that real world testing is valid (i.e. eyes and ears only), but then also is objective testing and some sort of fusion of the two is preferable. Your reviewers are no more qualified or perfect than any of us in this respect, apart from the fact that they have listened to a lot more kit. That would confuse me as my head would be somewhat scrambled!

Its a continually controversial area of course, hi fi reviewing I mean. I was just trying to get to the philosophy behind What Hi Fi testing, it does on the face of it seem subjectively based but of course it also appears to be consistent as well whcih is no bad thing.

Like the fact you use ATC SCM50's as reference - best speakers on the planet and BRITISH too!

 

[Clare Newsome]

Yes, our tests are subjective opinions - but (as you note) also the very experienced opinions of people whom have seen and heard a lot of kit, and whom have access to a whole stack of products for direct comparative purpose. We're not relying on memory to tell us how two products would compare, or how products interact with others.

And it's never just one person's opinion, of course - we see that as vital for many reasons (the video goes into that in more depth).

What's also key, we feel, is the testing in a consistent environment, so all products get a fair hearing.

Certainly not ruling out the future publishing of technical measurement should we get a big enough consumer demand for it. Until then we'll continue to spend as much time as possible hands-on with products to discover their real-world potential.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Think I follow that. The mag shows testing equipment but do you actually use it?

The pictures in the magazine show equipment being tested, yes.

 

[Anonymous]

All seems reasonable to me. Yes not sure that anything can beat a good pair of eyes for TV testing, don't ask me to help though my eyesight is rubbish!