Why no mention of Schiit or ATI in What HiFi?

[TB303]

These are two of the most exciting and interesting companies in audio yet there's no mention of them?

Schiit makes (amongst others) a $99 Dac and a $99 Headpone amp, as well as a top of the line DAC (Schiit Yggy £2,000) that gets rave reviews everywhere - but no mention here?

The same goes for ATI - from the people who make the Mark Levinson amps (but without the badge and less than half the price).

Can it be taht this lack of coverage is because these are American companies? or perhaps they don't buy advertising on WHF?

I'm not affiliated with them or trying to be difficult just curious.

thanks,

 

[The_Lhc]

These are two of the most exciting and interesting companies in audio yet there's no mention of them?

Schiit makes (amongst others) a $99 Dac and a $99 Headpone amp, as well as a top of the line DAC (Schiit Yggy £2,000) that gets rave reviews everywhere - but no mention here?

The same goes for ATI - from the people who make the Mark Levinson amps (but without the badge and less than half the price).

Can it be taht this lack of coverage is because these are American companies? or perhaps they don't buy advertising on WHF?

I'm not affiliated with them or trying to be difficult just curious.

thanks,

Whether a company's products are reviewed by WHF has nothing to do with whether that company buys advertising and everything to do with whether that company bothers to send samples to WHF to review (did you think WHF buys everything they review? How much money do think they've got?). Being American companies that, to my knowledge, don't officially sell their products in the UK it's not really surprising they get no coverage.

 

[davedotco]

Schiit are available online from Electromod. http://www.electromod.co.uk/index.asp

This is run by Mark Dolbear, ex Path Premier and is a service lead company that prides itself on technical excellence and know how. They also sell a few other hard to find brands, Hi-Fi Man for instance.

Relatively new to retail, the company has a well established hi-end service business serving both trade and private customers.

 

[stevee1966]

Don't know if they still exist but i bought a Schiit Magni headphone amp from Highendworkshop.co.uk around 2 years ago.

Contact there was also Mark. Maybe the same guy under a different company name.

 

[davedotco]

Don't know if they still exist but i bought a Schiit Magni headphone amp from Highendworkshop.co.uk around 2 years ago.

Contact there was also Mark. Maybe the same guy under a different company name.

That is his original company specialising in servicing high end product, his retail efforts now go under the Electromod name.

 

[Al ears]

These are two of the most exciting and interesting companies in audio yet there's no mention of them?

Schiit makes (amongst others) a $99 Dac and a $99 Headpone amp, as well as a top of the line DAC (Schiit Yggy £2,000) that gets rave reviews everywhere - but no mention here?

The same goes for ATI - from the people who make the Mark Levinson amps (but without the badge and less than half the price).

Can it be taht this lack of coverage is because these are American companies? or perhaps they don't buy advertising on WHF?

I'm not affiliated with them or trying to be difficult just curious.

thanks,

Good and up-and-coming they may be but they are far from mainstream and that is WHFSAV main area, dealing with mister average.

If you really must read reviews of these things there are other publications.

WHF cannot cover everything and, as has been said, if things aren't sent to them for review then they probably will not be.

 

[jjbomber]

This is run by Mark Dolbear, and prides itself on technical excellence and know how.

Maybe if they pride themselves on sending out products to be reviewed they may get somewhere.

 

[The_Lhc]

These are two of the most exciting and interesting companies in audio yet there's no mention of them?

Schiit makes (amongst others) a $99 Dac and a $99 Headpone amp, as well as a top of the line DAC (Schiit Yggy £2,000) that gets rave reviews everywhere - but no mention here?

The same goes for ATI - from the people who make the Mark Levinson amps (but without the badge and less than half the price).

Can it be taht this lack of coverage is because these are American companies? or perhaps they don't buy advertising on WHF?

?

I'm not affiliated with them or trying to be difficult just curious.

thanks,

?

Good and up-and-coming they may be but they are far from mainstream and that is WHFSAV main area, dealing with mister average.

If you really must read reviews of these things there are other publications.?

WHF cannot cover everything and, as has been said, if things aren't sent to them for review then they probably will not be.

As far as I can tell, WHF will review anything that's sent to them, mainstream or not. If it's very expensive and esoteric than it might end up in the temptations section but I don't see much wrong with that, assuming it gets a decent review of course...

 

[Al ears]

These are two of the most exciting and interesting companies in audio yet there's no mention of them?

Schiit makes (amongst others) a $99 Dac and a $99 Headpone amp, as well as a top of the line DAC (Schiit Yggy £2,000) that gets rave reviews everywhere - but no mention here?

The same goes for ATI - from the people who make the Mark Levinson amps (but without the badge and less than half the price).

Can it be taht this lack of coverage is because these are American companies? or perhaps they don't buy advertising on WHF?

I'm not affiliated with them or trying to be difficult just curious.

thanks,

Good and up-and-coming they may be but they are far from mainstream and that is WHFSAV main area, dealing with mister average.

If you really must read reviews of these things there are other publications.

WHF cannot cover everything and, as has been said, if things aren't sent to them for review then they probably will not be.

As far as I can tell, WHF will review anything that's sent to them, mainstream or not. If it's very expensive and esoteric than it might end up in the temptations section but I don't see much wrong with that, assuming it gets a decent review of course...

I do realise that and the temptations section is relatively new but what I meant was if you want reviews of America kit then the best place to look is an American publication, if you want reviews of exotica the buy HiFi+, etc.

WHFSAV cannot be your sole point of reference.

 

[davedotco]

This is run by Mark Dolbear, and prides itself on technical excellence and know how.

Maybe if they pride themselves on sending out products to be reviewed they may get somewhere.

Perhaps they are not interested in reviews, some manufacturers and distrubuters are not, prefering a different business model.

BTW Although I am pretty sure I have spoken to and met Mr Dolbear in his days at Path, I do not 'know' him but he has an enviable reputation as an engineer and all round helpful guy.

I would be happy to deal with him should the situation arise.

 

[TB303]

I'm not sure I agree with the line saying WHF is a British publication so it should only cover British Hifi.. (what about Focal/Naim now?)

I totally agree that WHF focuses on the more 'affordable' end of HiFi - that's why I'm surprised that a company like Schiit taht make products like the Gungnir Multibit Dac (£1000) - that smokes WHF's favorite British DAC brand while also being *upgradable* - doesn't get any coverage.

The question is does WHF works for its readers or advertisers?

 

[spiny norman]

The question is does WHF works for its readers or advertisers?

Always good to have an agenda.

 

[Al ears]

I'm not sure I agree with the line saying WHF is a British publication so it should only cover British Hifi.. (what about Focal/Naim now?)

I totally agree that WHF focuses on the more 'affordable' end of HiFi - that's why I'm surprised that a company like Schiit taht make products like the Gungnir Multibit Dac (£1000) - that smokes WHF's favorite British DAC brand while also being *upgradable* - doesn't get any coverage.

The question is does WHF works for its readers or advertisers?

'Smokes' is debatable. Why would you make a product that needs to be upgradable to compete?

It simply doesn't get coverage because it doesn't send out samples for review.

 

[The_Lhc]

I'm not sure I agree with the line saying WHF is a British publication so it should only cover British Hifi.. (what about Focal/Naim now?)

I totally agree that WHF focuses on the more 'affordable' end of HiFi - that's why I'm surprised that a company like Schiit taht make products like the Gungnir Multibit Dac (£1000) - that smokes WHF's favorite British DAC brand while also being *upgradable* - doesn't get any coverage.

The question is does WHF works for its readers or advertisers?

If you're going to ask a question, listen to the answers. You want WHF to review this schitt, tell them to send WHF a sample. Otherwise get lost.

 

[TB303]

Right,

So WHF journalistic mission consists of sitting on a sofa waiting for products to literally 'come through the door'. I was under the impression that the people behind some of the most credible 'Best Buy' reccomendations would actually go out and seek good or interresting productsto recomenmd their readers...

Also, what's so great about an upgradable DAC is that you don't need to throw it in a few years when new technology comes out - that's quite a revolution in this industry - at least as far as consumers are concerned, I think.

 

[davedotco]

Right,

So WHF journalistic mission consists of sitting on a sofa waiting for products to literally 'come through the door'. I was under the impression that the people behind some of the most credible 'Best Buy' reccomendations would actually go out and seek good or interresting productsto recomenmd their readers...

Also, what's so great about an upgradable DAC is that you don't need to throw it in a few years when new technology comes out - that's quite a revolution in this industry - at least as far as consumers are concerned, I think.

Then your impression would be quite wrong.

They may well ask for some product, on occasion but mostly "it just comes through the door".

Some suppliers simply are not interested in reviews, whether WHF or anyone else.

Reviews are simply one part of a huge marketing machine in a business dominated by the 'big' players. Reviews, advertising, dealer promos are a big commitment, particularly as it needs to be done every month, month after month, often for years.

Small companies simply can not afford that so they choose a different strategy.

 

[expat_mike]

Small companies simply can not afford that so they choose a different strategy.

Also some small companies (especially the one-man size of companies) could not cope with the customer demand that can be generated by a large scale marketing campaign. On this forum, you see a thread appear every few months, from enthusiasts who have ordered hifi gear from small companies, but are still waiting for delivery after 12 months.

For the remaining smaller companies, there are plenty of relatively cheap opportunities to generate enthusiasm for their products, using social networks, hifi forums, word of mouth etc.

 

[stevee1966]

Seems that TB303 had a genuine question to be answered, yet some responses have been a bit over zealous in their defense of What Hi-Fi's choice of what they review.

Chill out people.

 

[Al ears]

Right,

So WHF journalistic mission consists of sitting on a sofa waiting for products to literally 'come through the door'. I was under the impression that the people behind some of the most credible 'Best Buy' reccomendations would actually go out and seek good or interresting productsto recomenmd their readers...

Also, what's so great about an upgradable DAC is that you don't need to throw it in a few years when new technology comes out - that's quite a revolution in this industry - at least as far as consumers are concerned, I think.

Then your impression would be quite wrong.

They may well ask for some product, on occasion but mostly "it just comes through the door".

Some suppliers simply are not interested in reviews, whether WHF or anyone else.

Reviews are simply one part of a huge marketing machine in a business dominated by the 'big' players. Reviews, advertising, dealer promos are a big commitment, particularly as it needs to be done every month, month after month, often for years.

Small companies simply can not afford that so they choose a different strategy.

Spot on that man.

Upgrading I am all for, to a point. If it means buying another item that costs as much as the original then count me out.

In reality how far can you possibly upgrade a DAC?

No Schiit!

 

[ID.]

Wait, has this thread devolved into the usual "WHF haven't reviewed my pet boutique brand/WHF took a star off a product I KNOW is awesome, therefore corruption, etc. " thread?

Wouldn't it have been much more constructive to post a thread with your detailed impressions/review of the product and thus generate more interest in what is a fairly boutique product in the UK?

While it shouldn't be limited to UK products,bit does make sense to focus on products more readily available in the UK.

Taking an antagonistic approach, couldn't one ask why Schiit, etc. have never supplied products for review? Are they trying to hide something? (No, I don't think they are, just playing devil's advocate) .

I'd like some Luxman reviews. They are available in every store here (Japan) so from my perspective they are very common. Accuphase?

Heck, even Marantz's higher end range don't get reviewed despite the entry level range getting lots of attention in the magazine.

 

[bigboss]

The advertising accusation is rubbish. I've never seen Oppo advertise on the mag. In fact few years ago, AVI speakers were reviewed despite the fact that AVI manufacturer openly criticises What Hi Fi. The mag had to purchase the speakers due to the interest it generated (and AVI refusing to send review samples). Yet it got 5 stars:

http://www.whathifi.com/avi/adm91/review

So if there's enough demand, What Hi Fi will buy the product for testing. It's not possible to do this for every product.

Another important criteria is ready availability. Oppo at the beginning had announced a European player so it was reviewed. Then they decided to not release it. The magazine had to publish a clarification for the same. Why should it take the headache?

http://www.whathifi.com/oppo/bdp-831/review

The biggest headache was caused by EB Acoustics speakers. Reviews were glowing but the manufacturer could not keep up with the demand, resulting in waits for over a year and many disgruntled users accusing What Hi Fi for misleading them. The Editor had to personally contact the manufacturer to then issue this statement on their review website:

http://www.whathifi.com/eb-acoustics/eb2/review

So it's not just about publishing a review, there's a lot of responsibility attached.

 

[bigboss]

The advertising accusation is rubbish. I've never seen Oppo advertise on the mag. In fact few years ago, AVI speakers were reviewed despite the fact that AVI manufacturer openly criticises What Hi Fi. The mag had to purchase the speakers due to the interest it generated (and AVI refusing to send review samples). Yet it got 5 stars:

http://www.whathifi.com/avi/adm91/review

So if there's enough demand, What Hi Fi will buy the product for testing. It's not possible to do this for every product.

Another important criteria is ready availability. Oppo at the beginning had announced a European player so it was reviewed. Then they decided to not release it. The magazine had to publish a clarification for the same. Why should it take the headache?

http://www.whathifi.com/oppo/bdp-831/review

The biggest headache was caused by EB Acoustics speakers. Reviews were glowing but the manufacturer could not keep up with the demand, resulting in waits for over a year and many disgruntled users accusing What Hi Fi for misleading them. The Editor had to personally contact the manufacturer to then issue this statement on their review website:

http://www.whathifi.com/eb-acoustics/eb2/review

So it's not just about publishing a review, there's a lot of responsibility attached.

 

[Al ears]

I see no reason to single out this particular magazine as, if you look around, you will see others have reviewed Schiit gear.

I am sure WHFSAV would do so to if samples were sent. This is the critical bit, do you think HiFi+ actually goes out and buys those Constellation amps etc that it reviews??

 

[The_Lhc]

Wait, has this thread devolved into the usual "WHF haven't reviewed my pet boutique brand/WHF took a star off a product I KNOW is awesome, therefore corruption, etc. " thread?

No, it started like that.

 

[ID.]

Wait, has this thread devolved into the usual "WHF haven't reviewed my pet boutique brand/WHF took a star off a product I KNOW is awesome, therefore corruption, etc. " thread?

No, it started like that.

Sorry, my bad for giving the OP the benefit of the doubt.