Why all the bad press for What HI-FI?

[True Blue]

Andrew Everard:PPS that grammar need some brush up

Had just finished a 14hour shift and was a tad tired. Wrist slapped, sorry Andrew it will not happen again.

Last week I could not even spell Engineer now I is one

 

[rendu]

My experience normally is very good with the products they give good rating. I have no doubt that when they test something, they give their independent expert opinion. The question I make myself sometimes is why magazines in general test a certain product/brand and not others.

I mean, what is the criteria that magazines use to select the brands and products that they test? There are many brands out there and some which may not be so popular (ex. Yaqin, Luxman, JungSon, advent, apogee, cabase, etc.). However, most magazines normally focus on the same brands in 90% of their reviews.

As final consumers, the ideal situation would be that when we see a test of 5 speakers between 400-500 Eur, it means that they have tested many, many speakers and have selected those 5 for the final test.... Of course, I understand it may not be feasible... I just feel that sometimes we may be making decissions based on a very narrow slot of the maket if magazines only test the products that the companies send to them.

So, bottom line question is, do they go out in the market and decide what they test or, do the brands actually decide what they test?

Thi is my reflexion to this very intesting post.
Saludos coordiales, Pablo.

 

[Andrew Everard]

No, we decide what we test, but there are some criteria regarding availability, distribution, etc., governing the products we choose to review

 

[Anonymous]

Just wondering, is there a reason why more of the BK subs have not been reviewed?

 

[Andrew Everard]

Not sure: I know samples were requested...

 

[John Duncan]

Mmm...BK Bacon Double Cheeseburger...mmm

 

[Andrew Everard]

Oh dear, Mr Duncan has gone all Homererotic again...

 

[rendu]

Andrew Everard:No, we decide what we test, but there are some criteria regarding availability, distribution, etc., governing the products we choose to review

OK, I suppose that makes sense, there has to be some criteria. Now with the internet and ebay possibilities the market is just too broad.

 

[Anonymous]

I think the problem is WHF rating system. Most products get 4 or 5 stars. A few get three and very few get two. I've got no problem with this but people then assume that brand X who happen to advertise in the magazine got 5 stars for their new product so there must be something wrong. Of course many products get 5 stars and most big name brands advertise in the magazine so it's not surprising.

This is not a criticism of WHF and it would be difficult to change the rating system now (4 stars now is equivalent to 5 stars from last week would confuse the hell out of people!). Of course 5 stars is different from being a best buy or even product of the year.

The other possible reason is that companies who don't get five stars are less likely to send products to WHF for testing. These companies are also less likely to advertise in the magazine - what's the point of paying to say your product is great if on the next page WHF are saying it isn't?

Personally I doubt if a magazine as big as WHF could get away with the alleged corruption - nobody would buy it for a start not to mention the lawsuits and criminal charges!

 

[kinda]

I don't really think there's corruption, but I do think the single award winner system makes things seem, and maybe actually be, a bit unfair.

When you've got a cluster of 5 star devices or systems, they're all very closely matched, and any might suit some people, depending on their precise needs. Elevating a single one as the best and mostly taking only it forward to battle newcomers I don't think gives readers the most rounded view of current products available.

I've certainly demod 5 and even 4 star products and found them better than an award winner, for me. I know that the historical reviews are always there, as is the advice to demo, but I still think the approach is not the best.

Maybe an established group of very good products with specific strengths noted, and newcomers trying to break into the group would be better?

Also, I'm not sure the consistency is always there. The MT-30 and 3005SE have been long standing award winning all rounders, and the best at the price. However, in its first review the MT-30 was stated to have some weaknesses, and recently a review has appeared where the 3005SE was said to not be great with music IIRC, (which I found out from demoing), but this has never been mentioned before.

Another thing I'd like to see, and this does seem to be coming in more, is battles based on average easily available real world pricing rather than RRP.

 

[carter]

the star system is a guide and the best example is the ps3,it lost a star as better bluray players came out in its price bracket but that is being rated as a bluray player if you need bbci player or quick load times or to save music files pictures and so on it could still be the player for you but it has to be rated as a bluray player.and i think that was clear in the review.

 

[landzw]

I kept marine fish for many years and spent a lot of times on forums learning about many things , and it didn't matter what forum you went to they all had there ways of working . Not one forum provide 100% accurate knowledge across the board , but of course you get you'r die hard fans of the sites who follow every word of there chosen forums

It was never unusual to hear forums saying things about each other not from the forum moderators but by the guys who think they know everything by what they have read

Forums are hear because our interests and us who want to learn or share our views , not everyone see's everything the same , what one may think is important another may not , but it doesn't mean either is right or wrong . I just think its funny when people just can't see beyond the lines

Don't forget even sites like this which i haven't seen any slating of other sites, apart from the gadget show for not being to informative , were does that leave Top Gear with all its show boating and loads of fast cars ?

 

[carter]

thing is i dont think top gear pratends to be anything its not.

oh and i like the gadget show

 

[lee37]

in the mag you sya the new sony blu ray models are 370, 570 and 770

on this site you now say the 3 models are 470 570 and 770

whats going on

 

[aliEnRIK]

kaotician:

This ridiculous idea keeps cropping up every so often. Over a period of 30-odd years not one single disgruntled reviewer has ever been found to say that in their time with the mag they were 'on the take', or that the mag itself generally was. In the fifteen years of 'net life, not one single person associated with the mag has ever posted such a contention anywhere on the web, under any circumstance. The idea that in 30 years, with the best will in the world, not one single person has had an axe to grind such that they've blown the whistle, however anonymously, on any dodgy goings-on behind the scenes, anywhere at all, should tell you everything you might need to know about the worth of WHF's integrity.

WHF is the mag you can trust, and employs people you can trust. I'd love to work for it myself, in all honesty.

Are you sure you DONT work for them?

 

[Andrew Everard]

lee37:speaking of sony in the mag you sya the new blu ray models are 370, 570 and 770

on this site you now say the 3 models are 470 570 and 770

whats going on

Basically what's going on is that Sony doesn't seem to have a clue on its PR side, and keeps changing its mind which models it will be bringing to the UK. We initially reported that it would be launching the 470 and 570, based on a Sony Europe press release, then got told by Sony UK that we shouldn't be following press releases put out by Sony Europe PR, which is also based in the UK, and that the 470 wouldn't be coming to the UK.

Then some time later comes a press release from a PR company employed by Sony's UK PR department - I hope you're still following this - announcing the launch of the 470 and 570. So we again updated the news on the website.

Latest information is that all four models - 370, 470, 570 and 770 - are coming to the UK, but of course that could all change next time either Sony or one of the many PR companies it retains sends out its next press release.

 

[John Duncan]

Let's call the whole thing off...

 

[Andrew Everard]

At least Fred and Ginger were usually dancing to the same tune and pretty well synchronised, which is more than can be said for the PR teams in question...

 

[Anonymous]

The people who peddle these lazy lies are insulting the intelligence of an awful lot of people - namely, YOU, the magazine readers, and website users. The truth is that if What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision ever for a single second stopped having the very highest standards of journalistic integrity, our readers (you!) would cotton on very quickly, and our entire modus operandi would be defunct.

We retain the best team in the world of expert, impartial reviewers, who work as a team, reviewing all products together, on site and with no regard whatsoever for advertisers, and we do so for the simple reason that this ethos is what brings us our wonderful readers in the first place. Everything else follows from that. As William Randolph Hearst once said: "We serve our advertisers best, by serving our readers first." And that means telling you the truth about the products we review.

Simple, really.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

I have never read any bad press about you anywhere period, so don't worry about it.

 

[Alec]

dominic dawes:

The people who peddle these lazy lies are insulting the intelligence of an awful lot of people - namely, YOU, the magazine readers, and website users. The truth is that if What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision ever for a single second stopped having the very highest standards of journalistic integrity, our readers (you!) would cotton on very quickly, and our entire modus operandi would be defunct.

Thats the one!

 

[Anonymous]

Apologies - I'd meant to quote Alien Rik's post above, and my post was intended to answer it.

No, I don't work for them, but I have read the mag since about 1984 or so. I was trying to get across the idea that in literally decades of time if any solid proof ever existed for such allegations, that something would have appeared by now ie a disgruntled former employee or freelance reviewer etc. Also, if any manufacturer who advertised with the mag felt they weren't getting a fair crack, as it were, in favour of other companies who may have 'bunged' the WHF team something, they would of course have played merry hell, and I think it likely it would be something we'd all know about too.

 

[Anonymous]

As a new comer, hello to all.I wished I had seen a review done here before i bought something else a while ago but what i wanted to say is that i don't understand some of the ratings specificaly for the Yamaha 1065 receiver. I have the 2065 and its the biggest load of rubbish I've had the dispeasure of owning in a long time. My old 85w Rx-V640 beats this so called 130w 2065 hands down so how What Hifi in all honesty could give 5 stars is beyond me. I've even spoken to high up actual Yamaha techs who agree with me and say that this series 65 bunch are pathetic gutless and feature ridden instead of getting the basics right. Now i don't know anything about whats been discussed on here in relation to this forum thread particularly but it caught my eye, having now owned a 65 receiver and also reading about a lot of others even on this site that the 65 series is a joke. Take for example AVS now onkyo's 707/807 etc thread is 80 odd pages long! but the 2065 is 6 pages!!! That has to count for something! The more pages the more people owning one etc and taking an interest. ....sorry for rambling on am just a bit depressed atm in regards to HT and the amount of money i've spent lately to have sub par sound and equipment. Regards, Matt

 

[Andrew Everard]

Mattrix:I've even spoken to high up actual Yamaha techs who agree with me and say that this series 65 bunch are pathetic gutless and feature ridden instead of getting the basics right.

Would be interested to know who these 'high up actual Yamaha techs are': it seems a very strange thing for employees of a company to say to a consumer regarding their products.

 

[Anonymous]

dominic dawes:

The people who peddle these lazy lies are insulting the intelligence of an awful lot of people - namely, YOU, the magazine readers, and website users. The truth is that if What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision ever for a single second stopped having the very highest standards of journalistic integrity, our readers (you!) would cotton on very quickly, and our entire modus operandi would be defunct.

We retain the best team in the world of expert, impartial reviewers, who work as a team, reviewing all products together, on site and with no regard whatsoever for advertisers, and we do so for the simple reason that this ethos is what brings us our wonderful readers in the first place. Everything else follows from that. As William Randolph Hearst once said: "We serve our advertisers best, by serving our readers first." And that means telling you the truth about the products we review.

Simple, really.

A salesman from England was making a pitch to the furniture buyer of a Glasgow Hi-Fi store.
"And if you carry our new line of Hi-Fi units, I'll have the pleasure of presenting you personally with a case of malt whiskey," the salesman said.
"Oh, we're not allowed to accept gifts," said the buyer. "That would be a form of bribery."
"I'11 tell you what," said the salesman. "Just to keep it all above board, I'll sell you the whiskey." "How much for?"
"Say, a pound for the case."
"Oh, well," said the buyer, writing out the pur­chase order. "At that price, I'll take two cases."