KEF Blade 2 Meta review by Erin's Audio Corner

[Sokel]

Erin seems to get a lot of hate from some quarters here, often for doing things that are either relatively innocuous or happen here anyway - see the Wilson Tune Tot review here versus the thread for Erin’s review of the PS Audio FR10. Two threads about positive subjective reviews for objectively poorly measuring speakers. The tone is entirely different.

Who said FR10 is poorly performing?
It's more than decent.
All the rant was about the price and uncle Paul,not performance.

 

[fredoamigo]

That is what largely burnt me out on youtube reviews. Every product can't be the best ever and the one that everyone was buying one month, nobody is talking about the next month.

If they were truly so good, wouldn't we still be talking about them? The companies sales numbers must look like a speaker impulse response graph when these videos come out.

Youtube created that monster though because there is a very short window once a video is posted for it to get enough views for Youtube to actually suggest it to people. So the content creators have to do whatever they can to get clicks fast. Once that time passes it is nearly impossible for the video to get any traction so a level headed "here is what is good, here is what is bad" review has no chance against "END GAME!!!!!!" or "GIANT KILLER!!!!" type reviews.
Why would I be interested in hearing about a product that is just good when someone else is talking about one that is the most amazing ever?

He got as many views in 2 days with his "mind blowing" video title as he did in 9 days with "detailed review and analysis" title for the PS Audio speakers

There is a youtube reviewer that claimed he questioned a friend about his video review because he didn't mention a flaw he noticed in the review; the friend, supposedly, told him he was hoping the company would let him keep the review sample if he raved about it enough.

All these thinly disguised insinuations are really painful .. none of you has the beginning of a beginning of proof! how can you attack the probity, conscience, uprightness,' honesty,' honorability, of a person! too easy on a forum ...
On the other hand, have you bought a Klippel at 100,000USD? to make measurements and share them (free of charge) with amateurs and if so? Wouldn't you be looking to make a profit from this deal? If Erin is looking to get as many views as possible on YT with catchy titles, what's the harm? "aren't you big boys? and you can't catch flies with vinegar".

 

[mglobe]

At the risk of sounding like a swooning fanboy, looping Erin into the deep and endless morass that is typical YouTube "audiophile" community isn't warranted or useful.

Some important distinctions, all IMHO:

• He provides objective, high resolution measurements to an extent that (to my knowledge) only one other speaker reviewer on the planet does.
• He frequently if not always bookends his subjective commentary with clear and strong disclaimers that his impressions are provided based on his ears and his room.
• When describing subjective impressions, he makes great effort to correlate them to the objective data that he gathers and shares.
• As far as I am aware, none of his prior candidates for the "best speakers I've heard to-date" have "magically" made their way into a permanent place in his home.
• He's a human being after all, and clearly enthusiastic about the hobby, so the occassional gushing is largely forgivable.

But at the end of the day, his subjective video commentary is easily skipped and often timestamped (as it is here). I don't see the issue.

Totally agree. Erin is completely upfront about his subjective observations being just that, and consistently says that if you don't care for them, just skip to the data. He has multiple times given away equipment that was provided to him by the manufacturer to viewers. There's zero indications that the guy has bottomless pockets. He has to fund his operation via Patreon and YouTube. If he makes money doing it, I have no issue with it at all. I hope he does, as his work is deserving of it.

 

[Ron Texas]

Erin is useful, but he isn't the alpha and omega.

 

[sifi36]

Erin is useful, but he isn't the alpha and omega.

Nobody said he is? There are people here implying that he is in it for the money or has shady deals with manufacturers with zero evidence. Calling that out is not worshipping the guy.

 

[ta240]

All these thinly disguised insinuations are really painful .. none of you has the beginning of a beginning of proof! how can you attack the probity, conscience, uprightness,' honesty,' honorability, of a person! too easy on a forum ...
On the other hand, have you bought a Klippel at 100,000USD? to make measurements and share them (free of charge) with amateurs and if so? Wouldn't you be looking to make a profit from this deal? If Erin is looking to get as many views as possible on YT with catchy titles, what's the harm? "aren't you big boys? and you can't catch flies with vinegar".

So.... on a review site..... we aren't allowed to review reviews? More than half of this site is vinegar by your standards, I don't see you questioning that.

Did I say there was harm in him trying to get more views with catchy titles? I actually said there was harm in the way Youtube worked, because it forces people to do that. And that it is bad that YOUTUBE, not Erin, promotes videos that fit a very specific criteria over ones that are of high quality.

He is both doing it for free and making a profit? How does that work? Ever hear the saying "there is no free lunch" If there are commercials on his videos they aren't 'free'.

Companies and people at those companies have been attacked pretty viciously on here based largely on speculation and I don't remember you jumping in to defend them.

I truly love the "Have you bought a.... and done...." argument that is used here. Yet, again, I must have missed your posts defending companies with "Have you formed a company and manufactured components?" in response to attacks on companies and the people behind them.

Maybe we can make a list of people and companies that we can question and ones we aren't allowed to question.

 

[Ron Texas]

Nobody said he is? There are people here implying that he is in it for the money or has shady deals with manufacturers with zero evidence. Calling that out is not worshipping the guy.

Maybe you want a smoking gun for evidence. I see enough circumstantial evidence to support his detractors. You must think he bought a Klippel and publishes on Youtube because he is a public charity.

 

[mj30250]

Most of his reviewed speakers appear to be provided by owners, and not all speakers that were provided directly by a manufacturer or vendor were met with positive objective or subjective reviews.

If there is clear evidence that the monetization of his channel has unduly influenced his objectivity, by all means, present it. Otherwise, I'm not going to fault anyone for reaping a bit of financial relief for their efforts.

 

[Ron Texas]

Most of his reviewed speakers appear to be provided by owners, and not all speakers that were provided directly by a manufacturer or vendor were met with positive objective or subjective reviews.

If there is clear evidence that the monetization of his channel has unduly influenced his objectivity, by all means, present it. Otherwise, I'm not going to fault anyone for reaping a bit of financial relief for their efforts.

That's reasonable.

 

[NTK]

Just run some numbers folks. Erin sank USD $100k and countless hours running his tests (including receiving and shipping speakers for his tests). Hosting his site isn't free either.

To him, it is not a matter of how much money he makes from his activities, but how much money he loses.

 

[terryforsythe]

As mentioned by mglobe, Erin repeatedly states that if you don't want his subjective data, then jump straight to the objective data.

When I was looking to purchase the Elac UBR62 speakers, Erin's review was the least flattering of any I came across. After getting those speakers and listening to them for a while, then going back and again looking at his review, his review was on target.

Erin's review of the LS60s told me what to expect from those speakers. I got them, and they sound exactly as I expected they would from that review.

I watch a lot of audio reviews on YouTube. Other than reviews by Amir or Erin, I take them all with a large bucket of salt. Amir and Erin are the only reviewers I take seriously.

 

[fredoamigo]

So.... on a review site..... we aren't allowed to review reviews? More than half of this site is vinegar by your standards, I don't see you questioning that.

Did I say there was harm in him trying to get more views with catchy titles? I actually said there was harm in the way Youtube worked, because it forces people to do that. And that it is bad that YOUTUBE, not Erin, promotes videos that fit a very specific criteria over ones that are of high quality.

He is both doing it for free and making a profit? How does that work? Ever hear the saying "there is no free lunch" If there are commercials on his videos they aren't 'free'.

Companies and people at those companies have been attacked pretty viciously on here based largely on speculation and I don't remember you jumping in to defend them.

I truly love the "Have you bought a.... and done...." argument that is used here. Yet, again, I must have missed your posts defending companies with "Have you formed a company and manufactured components?" in response to attacks on companies and the people behind them.

Maybe we can make a list of people and companies that we can question and ones we aren't allowed to question.

It's just typical YouTube hype, from a YouTube guy.

It'll all be forgotten when the next best thing comes along. Desperately trying to get a free (or heavily subsidised) pair of KEF Blade2 metas. Yawn.

I don't know anything about Erin so I'm not going to say anything about him
But
Most YouTubers are in it for the $$$
And most reviewers give a positive review because if they didn't they wouldn't get stuff from brands to review or keep in some cases.
It's just common sense.

So.... on a review site..... we aren't allowed to review reviews? More than half of this site is vinegar by your standards, I don't see you questioning that.

Did I say there was harm in him trying to get more views with catchy titles? I actually said there was harm in the way Youtube worked, because it forces people to do that. And that it is bad that YOUTUBE, not Erin, promotes videos that fit a very specific criteria over ones that are of high quality.

He is both doing it for free and making a profit? How does that work? Ever hear the saying "there is no free lunch" If there are commercials on his videos they aren't 'free'.

Companies and people at those companies have been attacked pretty viciously on here based largely on speculation and I don't remember you jumping in to defend them.

I truly love the "Have you bought a.... and done...." argument that is used here. Yet, again, I must have missed your posts defending companies with "Have you formed a company and manufactured components?" in response to attacks on companies and the people behind them.

Maybe we can make a list of people and companies that we can question and ones we aren't allowed to question.

t's true that 80% of YT reviews are crap, but would you have a better solution for Erin to "monetize" through which media? New York Times ? other ideas ?
Of course, it's not forbidden to criticize the criticism, the content, the orientation, but to attack a person and his integrity with barely concealed undertones as I saw a little above, no, I don't agree at all, because this is no longer vinegar but vitriol.
There's already enough work like this to combat and denounce the ursurpers and impostors who exploit credulity, and in audio there are many of them.
I don't think that's the case here.

 

[quattro98]

It's just typical YouTube hype, from a YouTube guy.

It'll all be forgotten when the next best thing comes along. Desperately trying to get a free (or heavily subsidised) pair of KEF Blade2 metas. Yawn.

Professional reviewers need to make a living with their reviews. Making money from YouTube is no different than reviewers who worked for magazines. In the case of Erin, we get a set of SOTA speaker measurements, both in video and web form at no cost to the viewer or reader. Amir's reviews on ASR are fantastic, but the idea that anyone who makes money doing a job has a conflict negating the value of their work seems a bit harsh.

 

[amper42]

I wouldn't put Erin in the same category as ASR. ASR reviews show the data without having to digest a ton of subjective comments or trying to scroll past them. It gets right to the point. ASR doesn't sugar coat reviews. There are just as many poorly rated products as acclaimed. ASR lets readers vote as well. That's an amazing resource. For Erin his subscribers and vendor relationships are his income. That's not the situation at ASR. Erin's format is much closer to a standard YouTube influencer than the ASR model. It's totally different. Just because someone buys a Kippel doesn't indicate the business model avoids pressures that come from trying to make income from being an influencer.

 

[Purité Audio]

Just look at the measurements and if you can don’t read or at least place any great value on the subjective.
Keith

 

[mj30250]

I wouldn't put Erin in the same category as ASR.

No one is attempting to do so.

ASR reviews show the data without having to digest a ton of subject comments or trying to scroll past them. It gets right to the point.

Erin's website is structured similarly. The manufacturer specs are listed first and then he goes directly to the Klippel data. His subjective notes are down at the bottom. For example:

KEF Blade 2 Meta Speaker Review

KEF Blade 2 Meta Speaker

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

Erin's format is much closer to a standard YouTube influencer than the ASR model.

If you've sampled a reasonable number of Erin's video reviews and done the same for the typical YouTube audiophile "influencer", I have absolutely no idea how you could arrive that conclusion. But, you're entitled to your opinion.

 

[Jaxjax]

I wouldn't put Erin in the same category as ASR. ASR reviews show the data without having to digest a ton of subject comments or trying to scroll past them. It gets right to the point. ASR doesn't sugar coat reviews. There are just as many poorly rated products as acclaimed. ASR lets readers vote as well. That's an amazing resource. For Erin his subscribers and vendor relationships are his income. That's not the situation at ASR. Erin's format is much closer to a standard YouTube influencer than the ASR model. It's totally different. Just because someone buys a Kippel doesn't indicate the business model avoids pressures that come from trying to make income from being an influencer.

Amirm reviews are excellent & seen most all of his YT stuff but Erin's style is better for some, especially newer hobbyist because of the actual 2-channel placement & explaining in detail the on-off axis performance in correlation with the data. Amirm gives his listening impression's too so not to far off from each other. Were just lucky to have Erin & Amirm around doing what they do regardless of anything else. The data is there for anyone to see. They both take $ & definitely deserve to receive it.

 

[fredoamigo]

Just look at the measurements and if you can don’t read or at least place any great value on the subjective.
Keith

When customers come to you for a listening session, you tell them "don't listen to anything I say, just look at the measurements"

 

[Purité Audio]

Customers come to me because they understand what the measurements mean.
Keith

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

This is very good too... its like -45 to -50dB

r3 meta

i'd not sourprised if this speaker get 30hz or 26hz flat in-room bass

• Deep bass with an F3 = 31Hz and F10 = 26Hz*