Rating rtings.com

[killdozzer]

What are your opinions, are reviews at rtings trustworthy?

 

[Dazerdoreal]

I like them a lot. I am not so interested in their ratings itself but in their measurements. I can use them to make up my own mind. Because of them they one of the few useful review sites.

 

[staticV3]

They choose data quantity over quality. But there's value in that, too.

 

[KenMasters]

I think they're a good resource, but not a great review site. I also noticed they're prone to making mistakes (at least when I was in the market for a new TV), so if they report something you find alarming, better to check its corroborated by other sites first.

 

[delta76]

What are your opinions, are reviews at rtings trustworthy?

they have the most systematic review system of all sites, so yes I trust them. especially when it comes to comparing stuffs. they are not perfect but they keep evolving their test benches which is good.

 

[JSmith]

What are your opinions, are reviews at rtings trustworthy?

It depends on which products you mean really. Their TV testing is in depth and very reliable for example.

I wouldn't be so confident in their speaker/soundbar testing though, but certainly a good guide and resource still. It seems now though you need to be a member to access some of those review areas.


JSmith

 

[KenMasters]

It depends on which products you mean really. Their TV testing is in depth and very reliable for example.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. It was some time back, but when I was still paying attention to TVs, it wasn't uncommon for them to overlook features or settings that would then return unrepresentative readings.

I think the battery of tests they run are great, I just don't think the people performing the testing are always that clued up on what's being tested. In regards TVs specifically, I think you're a lot better off looking at sites like HDTV Test or FlatpanelsHD, where they actually spend their time to get to understand the various options and quirks of the displays passing through their doors than a one size fits all assembly line approach to reviews.

 

[delta76]

It depends on which products you mean really. Their TV testing is in depth and very reliable for example.

I wouldn't be so confident in their speaker/soundbar testing though, but certainly a good guide and resource still. It seems now though you need to be a member to access some of those review areas.


JSmith

yes. they were free at first, then limited to 3 free reviews which was very easy to by pass. now they open TV, Soundbar and headphone reviews and limit the rest, but it's not absolute.
It's kind of inevitable. I don't see myself paying for the subscription, but I hope others will find a reason to

 

[killdozzer]

It depends on which products you mean really. Their TV testing is in depth and very reliable for example.

I wouldn't be so confident in their speaker/soundbar testing though, but certainly a good guide and resource still. It seems now though you need to be a member to access some of those review areas.


JSmith

What about headphones? I know Amir once said it's almost impossible to get an idea on what would headphones sound like relying only on reviews and that it's much harder for headphones than it is for speakers, but would you trust a review on headphones on rtings?

 

[DonR]

They give a grade to subjective properties which I am not a fan of but they have some excellent objective measurements.

 

[kemmler3D]

I think the measurements are good and I'm glad they do them, but some of the scoring and aggregate ratings are pretty odd. For example, they used acoustic crosstalk (i.e. how much sound from the left ear leaks to the right ear) on open-backed headphones as a measure of quality at some point. Not sure if they still do that. But I am not sure where they got that... I have never seen that metric except there, and I've never heard anyone say they care about it, and I'm not sure it implies anything for fidelity or preference or anything else.

I think it's a proxy for HOW open (unobstructed) the open-backs are, but again, why does that matter?

 

[delta76]

I think the measurements are good and I'm glad they do them, but some of the scoring and aggregate ratings are pretty odd. For example, they used acoustic crosstalk (i.e. how much sound from the left ear leaks to the right ear) on open-backed headphones as a measure of quality at some point. Not sure if they still do that. But I am not sure where they got that... I have never seen that metric except there, and I've never heard anyone say they care about it, and I'm not sure it implies anything for fidelity or preference or anything else.

I think it's a proxy for HOW open (unobstructed) the open-backs are, but again, why does that matter?

it is hard to build a review system, what to measure and how to weight them to give a fair score. Rtings currently has v1.5 testing methodology for headphones, and they have an open forum for discussions. I'd give them props for that. They might have not started as the headphone experts but they keep improving. If you feel like it, you should open a new thread in their forums with your suggestions then (i wish i could but I am far from adequate)

It is important to note that they do not focus on hifi parts only. Yes responses are measured but they also focus on things like comfort or connections. Those are, interestingly, far ahead of Amir reviews. And those make senses for the broader audience as well (most people would pick a slightly worse sounding headphone but noticeably more comfortable and convenient)

 

[kemmler3D]

it is hard to build a review system, what to measure and how to weight them to give a fair score. Rtings currently has v1.5 testing methodology for headphones, and they have an open forum for discussions. I'd give them props for that. They might have not started as the headphone experts but they keep improving. If you feel like it, you should open a new thread in their forums with your suggestions then (i wish i could but I am far from adequate)

It is important to note that they do not focus on hifi parts only. Yes responses are measured but they also focus on things like comfort or connections. Those are, interestingly, far ahead of Amir reviews. And those make senses for the broader audience as well (most people would pick a slightly worse sounding headphone but noticeably more comfortable and convenient)

No arguments here. I think they may have outsmarted themselves a little bit on the initial test suite and weighting system. But to be clear I hold the site in high regard, it's easily top 10 in audio reviewing along with ASR, Erin's Audio Corner, and the handful of others that do their own measurements.

I also think it's really good that they are pushing objective testing to the mainstream. As bad as audiophools are, most casual listeners are like that but also extremely casual and disengaged. So at least RTINGS is leading horse to water, so to speak.

 

[killdozzer]

@DonR @kemmler3D
How about their comments on accuracy of headphones? Like their assessment that the bass is accurate etc. Do you also think that's still too subjective or is it based on a graph?

I'm insisting bc there's a model of Sennheiser they've tested and we haven't and I'm interested in that particular model. I have no option of auditioning the headphone and I'm trying to determine could I rely on this description.

It's this:

Sennheiser HD 599 Review

The Sennheiser HD 599 are over-ear headphones intended for audiophiles. Their sound profile is slightly warm and smooth but well-balanced overall. By design, the...

www.rtings.com

These are available near me (no delivery needed) and for a low price...

 

[markanini]

Their consistency data is useful, but their frequency response graphs are not something I pay attention to because they use a non GRAS rig.

 

[someguyontheinternet]

I don't care for the reviews, but I find the measurements useful as a relative comparison tool. Having data for stuff like ANC is also nice for comparisons.

 

[DonR]

@DonR @kemmler3D
How about their comments on accuracy of headphones? Like their assessment that the bass is accurate etc. Do you also think that's still too subjective or is it based on a graph?

I'm insisting bc there's a model of Sennheiser they've tested and we haven't and I'm interested in that particular model. I have no option of auditioning the headphone and I'm trying to determine could I rely on this description.

It's this:

Sennheiser HD 599 Review

The Sennheiser HD 599 are over-ear headphones intended for audiophiles. Their sound profile is slightly warm and smooth but well-balanced overall. By design, the...

www.rtings.com

These are available near me (no delivery needed) and for a low price...

Like all Sennheiser headphones you will need to EQ. I own the 598 and they say the bass is worse (lower score) but with EQ it is great. Without EQ it does lack some meat downstairs. Accuracy sounds fine otherwise but in bass it is hard to distinguish distortion.

 

[JSmith]

Differences between HD598 and HD599?

Hi, Been doing googling for a couple of days on this topic myself, as I was curious. Bit of backstory: I already have higher end headphones like the H400i, HD58x, and HD650. However, I was looking for something with a bit more durability for impromptu times when I'd need to just throw a pair of...

audiosciencereview.com

https://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/report/hp/sennheiser-hd-599.php#gsc.tab=0

HD599

back to Sennheiser back to measurements home Published: Jun-25-2018 NO SMOOTHING is applied to the shown plots. Most measurement sites have some smoothing applied which ‘irons flat’ sharp peaks and…

diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com

JSmith