Time to review the rating System?

[Andrew Everard]

Tarquinh:My point was that you were inadvertently being elitist by effectively assuming you know what's best for the likes of us, but, hey, it really isn't important.

Ah right - saying something by saying exactly the opposite...

 

[Ravey Gravey Davy]

Tarquinh:

My point was that you were inadvertently being elitist by effectively assuming you know what's best for the likes of us, but, hey, it really isn't important.

As yet I have not seen a single sentence in the mag or the forum where any member of the WHF team has assumed they know whats best for you, the humble peasant in your words.What I have seen is a huge number of people failing to read posts correctly and seeing only what they want to see or think they are going to see to match their mindset.Try reading the thread again.

 

[Anonymous]

Er - think you might have missed the point. I was just poking gentle fun at a possible interpretation of Andrew's words, that's all, not accusing anyone of anything. I have read all the posts in the thread, by the way. I started it.

Would have put one of those smiley things on but don't know how to do it.

 

[The_Lhc]

Tarquinh:
Er - think you might have missed the point. I was just poking gentle fun at a possible interpretation of Andrew's words, that's all, not accusing anyone of anything. I have read all the posts in the thread, by the way. I started it.

Would have put one of those smiley things on but don't know how to do it.

The toolbar above the text box that you type your reply in, it has a smiley face button on it, click on that and you get an assortment of smileys that you can use.

 

[Anonymous]

EDITED by Moderators I'm dumb! Thanks - all I need to do now is get to grips with the quote and edit functions

 

[Ravey Gravey Davy]

Tarquinh:all I need to do now is get to grips with the edit functions

Plenty of scope to practise on this thread.

 

[plastic penguin]

Clare Newsome:margetti:

the star system gives you a starting point from which to research further, and ideally whittle down your choices to 2 or 3 and then listen for yourself.

Bingo! And as said, we're here online to help further - whatever your intended budget or aspirations....

Am I dreaming - I thought I expressed the same seniments?

 

[Andrew Everard]

plastic penguin:Am I dreaming - I thought I expressed the same seniments?

Could've sworn I just heard someone say something... Nah, must've imagined it...

 

[plastic penguin]

Andrew Everard:

plastic penguin:Am I dreaming - I thought I expressed the same seniments?

Could've sworn I just heard someone say something... Nah, must've imagined it...

Sorry. . . .what is your name again?

 

[Thaiman]

I love percentage rating that some other mags use to do. I suppose you could have swap rating ways

 

[Andrew Everard]

Thaiman:I love percentage rating that some other mags use to do. I suppose you could have swap rating ways

I think the clue's in the 'used to do'...

 

[the record spot]

Must admit, I think the star system is fine as it stands. I like the idea of slightly more detailed reviews, but that's a small quibble. It's useful to know what's good at a certain price but also I wouldn;t expect a pair of Tannoy Mercury F1s to come anywhere near the performance of a pair of Leema Xeros at about 6 times the price. Both enjoy 5 stars, but there's going to be a difference.

That said, it doesn't make the Tannoy rubbish, it just means that if you've got £120 to spend on a pair of speakers, then Roth, Tannoy and Q Acoustics should maybe be on your shortlist.

 

[coolaboola]

Have to say I found the star system fairly idiot proof.Reading the article from which they arrived at the rating is more relevant.My amp got a 4star rating when tested and £750.However I bought it for £500.This encouraged me to try it with my own ears , liked it and kept it.Its a guide.Proof of this is that throwin a few 5 star rated products together doesn't always amount to a flawless system.Synergy has a lot to do with decisions.All I.M.H.O.A lot of these arguments against the rating system frankly are 2 star.

 

[fido87456]

I think the star rating is fine as it is, its enough to tell you that the product is very good for the price. For more information, you need to read the reviews and group tests. Which is after all why the magazine exists, so people can buy it and read it to help them decide which shiny toys they should put on their short list, and which they should avoid completely.

 

[idc]

Clare Newsome:

However, all feedback taken on board - we know it's not a perfect system. However, the basic five-star system is taken further with Best Buys and Awards, where we aim to make it clear where we feel the natural progressions are, in terms of the best-value items at each price point/of each specific product type.

So in effect it is a 7 star rating, with three or less poor, 4 and 5 worth considering and best buys and awards the ones to really listen to/look at. That way there is a broader range of ratings to consider. Any ratings system will end up statistically as a bell curve, with the majority somewhere in the middle, with only a small difference between them.

 

[Andrew Everard]

idc:So in effect it is a 7 star rating

No, it's five. Best Buys and Awards are just icing on the cake, the real no-brainer buys. But of course, it's just an opinion, albeit one informed by decades of collective experience.

 

[idc]

A lot of the kit I have bought over the years has been down to taking What Hifi advice, which I really value. Some items, such as the Denon TU 280 tuner I had, was bought purely because it was a multiple award winner. But if you only use the star ratings to get a recommendation, the vast majority of products are either 4 or 5 stars. So it is hard to narrow the field down to what is going to be practical to audition, especially for the likes of speakers where there are loads at the same price point. That is why I consider best buy and awards along side the stars. A rating system with very limited range makes it very difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff. By having best buys and awards you have seven ratings available to give a product. The broader the range the more informative a rating system will be.