What HiFi Awards 2014

[Hi-FiOutlaw]

The problem in my opinion is that WHF is becoming more and more a gadget test magazine and less and less hi fi equipment!

Adding a malfunction site where posting is a nightmare...

 

[bigboss]

Interesting to note that the winners in each category are generally not the most expensive ones. The cheaper products certainly seem to offer astonishing quality for the price, and law of diminishing returns quickly sets in. TVs for example.

 

[The_Lhc]

The problem in my opinion is that WHF is becoming more and more a gadget test magazine and less and less hi fi equipment!

Define "hi-fi equipment".

And don't forget the name of the magazine is What Hi-Fi Sound and Vision.

 

[BigH]

The problem in my opinion is that WHF is becoming more and more a gadget test magazine and less and less hi fi equipment!

Adding a malfunction site where posting is a nightmare...

Yes quite agree, where is the HiFi seems to be getting lost in all the other products, as WHF say "Whathifi.com is the No.1 site for advice on which tech products to buy – impartial, expert reviews, latest news and blogs, plus video news, reviews,"

 

[The_Lhc]

The problem in my opinion is that WHF is becoming more and more a gadget test magazine and less and less hi fi equipment!

Adding a malfunction site where posting is a nightmare...

Yes quite agree, where is the HiFi seems to be getting lost in all the other products,

If you look at the Awards page there's two categories at most that could be regarded as "not Hi-fi", smartphones and tablets, everything is solidly within the remit of "What Hi-Fi, Sound and Vision".

And if you're going to complain about TVs and projectors then, frankly, you're reading the wrong magazine and website.

as WHF say "Whathifi.com is the No.1 site for advice on which tech products to buy – impartial, expert reviews, latest news and blogs, plus video news, reviews,"

What's wrong with that? Or are you trying to suggest that hi-fi isn't a "tech product"?

 

[Dave_]

HiFi is irrelevant (as is A/V to a degree. TVs excepted).

If they didn't adapt they'd probably sell 5 copies a month and be out of business by now

 

[Hi-FiOutlaw]

The problem in my opinion is that WHF is becoming more and more a gadget test magazine and less and less hi fi equipment!

Define "hi-fi equipment".

And don't forget the name of the magazine is What Hi-Fi Sound and Vision.

I know that for many a mobile phone and a portable speaker is a "hi fi" system.

But maybe the forum give us a bias view but i really see more and more topics on help to buy a TT and how setup one that i see on helping on gadgets, maybe that help is found some where else, and maybe those people people buy the WHF mag for gadget advice, or maybe WHF want to became a gadget review mag...

I dont see any tt article for exemple, teaching how to set up a tt...

And the vinyl market is on the growing

 

[BigH]

The problem in my opinion is that WHF is becoming more and more a gadget test magazine and less and less hi fi equipment!

Adding a malfunction site where posting is a nightmare...

Yes quite agree, where is the HiFi seems to be getting lost in all the other products,

If you look at the Awards page there's two categories at most that could be regarded as "not Hi-fi", smartphones and tablets, everything is solidly within the remit of "What Hi-Fi, Sound and Vision".

And if you're going to complain about TVs and projectors then, frankly, you're reading the wrong magazine and website.

as WHF say "Whathifi.com is the No.1 site for advice on which tech products to buy – impartial, expert reviews, latest news and blogs, plus video news, reviews,"

What's wrong with that? Or are you trying to suggest that hi-fi isn't a "tech product"?

No I did not say that HiFi was not a tech product. Im saying this mag. has gone from a HiFi mag. to something else, the HiFi element is getting rather lost.

Yes you are probably right.

And no I don't consider TVs or projectors as hifi.

 

[Al ears]

I agree that tablets and smartphones have little place here and even less interest to me. Perhaps tablets / phones are included as there seems to be a growing number of manufacturers offering 'half-built' items that actually require the use of third party items (such as a tablet + an app) to function adequately .... a sorry state indeed.

Televisions and projectors, although not hifi, do fall under the remit of 'What Hifi Sound and Vision', however.

 

[gowiththeflow]

The problem in my opinion is that WHF is becoming more and more a gadget test magazine and less and less hi fi equipment!

Yes quite agree, where is the HiFi seems to be getting lost in all the other products...............

WHF is not really the place for HiFi interest anymore.

There are other magazines that are 90% or more, pure HiFi and cover a much broader spread of products and price ranges. Admitedly, those other magazines are more biased towards the mid-priced and more expensive end of the market, but then that's a flourishing area in audio and that's where most of the innovation and new products are.

There are also quite a few excellent web sites covering HiFi, either in the form of online versions of their printed magazines, or as stand-alone online HiFi magazines or news/reviews sites. They all make WHF's efforts look very pale and superficial in comparison.

Then there are the major HiFi forums, of which this one is more and more a minor force.

None of it bodes well for WHF. Why am I still here? Who knows? Why are all you still here?

There's still plenty left in this forum, but that comes from its participants. The magazine itself is finished from my own perspective. Your mileage may vary, using the current trendy and awful parlance.

.

 

[tinkywinkydipsylalapo]

And don't forget the name of the magazine is What Hi-Fi Sound and Vision[/b].

Except as the magazine continues to reinvent itself as a 'tech' magazine, it seems to be slowly dropping the 'Sound and Vision' bit, unless I'm mistaken. It's still on the front of the magazine, but it's all but vanished from the website, the branding of the awards and so on.

Though I'm not too sure how dropping 'S+V' and just being 'WHF?' will indicate to new readers the wider 'tech' remit: I would of thought it made it look more like a purely hi-fi magazine, which clearly isn't where its intentions lie.

It's abit confusing, in my opinion

 

[The_Lhc]

I agree that tablets and smartphones have little place here and even less interest to me. Perhaps tablets / phones are included as there seems to be a growing number of manufacturers offering 'half-built' items that actually require the use of third party items (such as a tablet + an app) to function adequately .... a sorry state indeed.

You mean they offer a control app instead of a dedicated remote control? That would seem to make sense to me and must surely be cheaper for the customer (Sonos' last dedicated remote was almost £300 for example, which is frankly a ludicrous amount of money).

 

[Vladimir]

Technically smartphones with CD quality digital playback are more High Fidelity (Hi-Fi) transports than the best turntables out there.

If vinyl is hi-fi, then mp3 is hi-fi, youtube and spotify is hi-fi and BOSE, Naim Mu-So, Denon mini systems and 50W integrateds all are hi-fi. Everything is hi-fi. High fidelity sound for pennies!

 

[Vladimir]

BTW last year IIRC Cyrus hoarded a lot of awards, yet no one except Drummerman recommends Cyrus on this forum. Weird stuff.

 

[plastic penguin]

BTW last year IIRC Cyrus hoarded a lot of awards, yet no one except Drummerman recommends Cyrus on this forum. Weird stuff.

No they didn't. In 2013 they had no amps or CDP winners. Although I'm not a big fan of Cyrus I do recommend them if the rest of the system warrants it. True, though, they don't get the backing to match the awards. That's mainly because a number of forumites like valve or class A which is the polar opposite of Cyrus.

 

[Vladimir]

BTW last year IIRC Cyrus hoarded a lot of awards, yet no one except Drummerman recommends Cyrus on this forum. Weird stuff.

No they didn't. In 2013 they had no amps or CDP winners. Although I'm not a big fan of Cyrus I do recommend them if the rest of the system warrants it. True, though, they don't get the backing to match the awards. That's mainly because a number of forumites like valve or class A which is the polar opposite of Cyrus.

Ah, my bad. They had all 5 star products and had no awards. Their product of the year was in 2010. Even weirder. The shoebox size can't be the deal breaker since everyone rages over the Rega Brio-R. People loved Naim Olives etc.

No valve and class A in sub 2k that I know of. It's a niche and expensive fetish that few would go for.

 

[Hi-FiOutlaw]

Technically smartphones with CD quality digital playback are more High Fidelity (Hi-Fi) transports than the best turntables out there.

If vinyl is hi-fi, then mp3 is hi-fi, youtube and spotify is hi-fi and BOSE, Naim Mu-So, Denon mini systems and 50W integrateds all are hi-fi. Everything is hi-fi. High fidelity sound for pennies!

Vinyl is the only true hi fi you will ever get. The rest is just trying catching up, like hi res files, trying to create the sound quality of vinyl.

 

[Vladimir]

Technically smartphones with CD quality digital playback are more High Fidelity (Hi-Fi) transports than the best turntables out there.

If vinyl is hi-fi, then mp3 is hi-fi, youtube and spotify is hi-fi and BOSE, Naim Mu-So, Denon mini systems and 50W integrateds all are hi-fi. Everything is hi-fi. High fidelity sound for pennies!

Vinyl is the only true hi fi you will ever get. The rest is just trying catching up, like hi res files, trying to create the sound quality of vinyl.

Oh really? Science would disagree. Clicky *biggrin*

 

[Hi-FiOutlaw]

Technically smartphones with CD quality digital playback are more High Fidelity (Hi-Fi) transports than the best turntables out there.

If vinyl is hi-fi, then mp3 is hi-fi, youtube and spotify is hi-fi and BOSE, Naim Mu-So, Denon mini systems and 50W integrateds all are hi-fi. Everything is hi-fi. High fidelity sound for pennies!

Vinyl is the only true hi fi you will ever get. The rest is just trying catching up, like hi res files, trying to create the sound quality of vinyl.

Oh really? Science would disagree. Clicky *biggrin*

Thats one opinion only, in my country we have a say:

"One swallow does not make spring..."

 

[relocated]

I agree that tablets and smartphones have little place here and even less interest to me. Perhaps tablets / phones are included as there seems to be a growing number of manufacturers offering 'half-built' items that actually require the use of third party items (such as a tablet + an app) to function adequately .... a sorry state indeed.

You mean they offer a control app instead of a dedicated remote control? That would seem to make sense to me and must surely be cheaper for the customer (Sonos' last dedicated remote was almost £300 for example, which is frankly a ludicrous amount of money).

It makes perfect sense, if those manufacturers maintain the app through new operating systems, otherwise you end up with a limited or useless piece of kit. And yes £300 for a remote control is taking the ..............

 

[Vladimir]

Technically smartphones with CD quality digital playback are more High Fidelity (Hi-Fi) transports than the best turntables out there.

If vinyl is hi-fi, then mp3 is hi-fi, youtube and spotify is hi-fi and BOSE, Naim Mu-So, Denon mini systems and 50W integrateds all are hi-fi. Everything is hi-fi. High fidelity sound for pennies!

Vinyl is the only true hi fi you will ever get. The rest is just trying catching up, like hi res files, trying to create the sound quality of vinyl.

Oh really? Science would disagree. Clicky *biggrin*

Thats one opinion only, in my country we have a say:

"One swallow does not make spring..."

It's not an opinion. It's an oscilloscope.

 

[Craig M.]

It's not an opinion. It's an oscilloscope.

*biggrin*

 

[Hi-FiOutlaw]

Technically smartphones with CD quality digital playback are more High Fidelity (Hi-Fi) transports than the best turntables out there.

If vinyl is hi-fi, then mp3 is hi-fi, youtube and spotify is hi-fi and BOSE, Naim Mu-So, Denon mini systems and 50W integrateds all are hi-fi. Everything is hi-fi. High fidelity sound for pennies!

Vinyl is the only true hi fi you will ever get. The rest is just trying catching up, like hi res files, trying to create the sound quality of vinyl.

Oh really? Science would disagree. http://www.audioholics.com/editorials/analog-vinyl-vs-digital-audio

 

[Vladimir]

I like my flac files, but I like my vinyl better, be open minded, enjoy the ride!

Try not to get to your conclusinos only by reading tech sheets, use your ears more...

http://www.audioholics.com/editorials/analog-vinyl-vs-digital-audio

I'm an audiophile since I was 12. I couldn't read and understand "tech sheets" and psychoacoustics untill few years ago. I owned turntables, vinyl, cassettes, CDs, DATs... Now I use my rational mind AND my hearing.

Don't worry. You'll get there. *biggrin*

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Which members have we lost this year? MajorFubar is one, RecordSpot, can't think of others you?