Steve Guttenberg - Audiophiliac

[Southall-1998]

I generally feel he is more credible with subjective reviews of speakers, and sometimes setup tips.

I'm sure Steve has a decent set of ears on him.

Many years ago he worked as a movie theatre projectionist and has attended many live studio sessions etc.

S.

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

I'm sure Steve has a decent set of ears on him.

Many years ago he worked as a movie theatre projectionist........

S.

Being a movie theater projectionist doesn't mean much about auditory acuity. I put myself through college working part time as a movie theater projectionist, and not only could I have been stone deaf and still done the job, but a projection booth is incredibly noisy, which I'm sure doesn't help!

 

[EchoChamber]

Audiophile YouTubers are just as shallow as most YouTube content. I rather go for a good fight on ASR, at least it forces me to flex my intellect and come up with arguments. Who dislikes MQA? I’m actually ok with it... ;-)

 

[majingotan]

Audiophile YouTubers are just as shallow as most YouTube content. I rather go for a good fight at ASR, at least it forces me to flex my intellect and come up with arguments. Who hates MQA? I’m actually ok with it... ;-)

I don’t hate MQA. In fact I own a couple of MQA albums on my DAP. I just don’t claim they sound better than hi-res but I love them logo plus the blue and green lights

 

[preload]

I lost all faith in Guttenberg when I read his "Do all amplifiers sound exactly the same?" article on CNET.
LINK
In fact, whenever I see his name, it's the first thing that comes to mind.

Here are some of his zingers:

"All amps play the same notes, but the feeling the musicians put into making those notes, that's a lot harder to get right."
Comment: Shoot, then how come we're not measuring FNR?

"For me, the real difference between the two amps is how they translate music into sound. The emotional connection to the music is stronger through the D'Agostino Momentum; it's a giant step closer to hearing all of the energy/passion the musicians were putting into the music when they recorded it."
Comment: Actually, the $42,000 D'Agostino Momentum has an "emotional connection" to your wallet, and puts you one "giant step closer" to bankruptcy.

"With amps, the sound, as opposed to notes, is the first thing to go."
Comment: I hate it when I hear notes but no sound.

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

I hate it when I hear notes but no sound.

Part of the ATI production test is injecting notes into the input and making sure sound comes out the other end. I have to wonder though, if we put sound into the input, would notes come out? I'll have to test that.....

 

[MrPotatoHead]

I usually just check the videos where he features his viewers' systems

He's included my gear twice!

I like Steve and understand that he's likely getting paid to say nice things about gear. I can't expect a guy living in Brooklyn to make videos for free. He talks often about affordable gear and is working to bring young audio fans into the fold so he's good for the hobby and the industry, I think.

Before you give up on ol' SG, check out his interviews with Andrew Jones and Nelson Pass. They're pretty great (those two guys always are, though).

 

[mhardy6647]

The best thing I can say about Steve G is that he did an episode on someone I know in actual, real life
Not that I can actually manage to find the video at the moment!

 

[tmtomh]

I find Guttenberg's video persona (which might very well be his real personality too) to be among the nicest, most easy-going of any audiophile-world personality. I also like that he periodically has videos where he features or interviews other enthusiasts, including some folks with fairly modest systems and many folks who are not famous or established personalities.

That said, there are two factors that make me steer clear of his videos most of the time.

1. The obvious one is that he buys into and parrots the greatest hits of audiophile woo-woo and subjectivist nonsense. Granted, he does it in a super-friendly, laid-back way. But he does it nonetheless.
2. The less obvious one - and I truly am not trying to sound nasty here - is that even as entertainment I find his videos frustrating, because he almost never delivers on what the video's title and his intro claim the video will be about. After the first 30-60 seconds, the content is often rambling, tangential, and rarely gets to the alleged point or offers a substantive, responsive answer to the question or issue posed in the video's title. It's quite striking how consistently he fails to actually discuss what he says he's going to discuss.

Still, I can't help liking the guy, and will occasionally watch a video where he interviews a non-famous hi-fi enthusiast or where he tells an interesting story from his hi-fi sales days.

I'd never, ever take anything he says seriously in terms of evaluating equipment or helping me decide what to buy. But if I'm going to listen to someone in that mold, I'll take him a billion times over someone like Darko, who has all the same demerits wrapped in arrogance and pomposity instead of avuncular friendliness.

 

[richard12511]

I find Guttenberg's video persona (which might very well be his real personality too) to be among the nicest, most easy-going of any audiophile-world personality. I also like that he periodically have videos where he features or interviews other enthusiasts, including some folks with fairly modest systems and many folks who are not famous or established personalities.

That said, there are two factors that make me steer clear of his videos most of the time.

1. The obvious one is that he buys into and parrots the greatest hits of audiophile woo-woo and subjectivist nonsense. Granted, he does it in a super-friendly, laid-back way. But he does it nonetheless.
2. The less obvious one - and I truly am not trying to sound nasty here - is that even as entertainment I find his videos frustrating, because he almost never delivers on what the video's title and his intro claim the video will be about. After the first 30-60 seconds, the content is often rambling, tangential, and rarely gets to the alleged point or offers a substantive, responsive answer to the question or issue posed in the video's title. It's quite striking how consistently he fails to actually discuss what he says he's going to discuss.

Still, I can't help liking the guy, and will occasionally watch a video where he interviews a non-famous hi-fi enthusiast or where he tells an interesting story from his hi-fi sales days.

I'd never, ever take anything he says seriously in terms of evaluating equipment or helping me decide what to buy. But if I'm going to listen to someone in that mold, I'll take him a billion times over someone like Darko, who has all the same demerits wrapped in arrogance and pomposity instead of avuncular friendliness.

I agree.

 

[blse59]

Nice guy and clearly loves audio but more expensive products are always described as "increased clarity, tightened and punched up the bass, soundstage widens up a bit" and less expensive products are described as slightly lacking in these compared to their more expensive brethren. He's very much like a "wine aficionado".

 

[Darvis]

Nice guy and clearly loves audio but more expensive products are always described as "increased clarity, tightened and punched up the bass, soundstage widens up a bit" and less expensive products are described as slightly lacking in these compared to their more expensive brethren. He's very much like a "wine aficionado".

The wine and hifi worlds have a lot in common. Either don't respond well to DBT

 

[mhardy6647]

The best thing I can say about Steve G is that he did an episode on someone I know in actual, real life
Not that I can actually manage to find the video at the moment!

Quoting my own post
With a little help from my friends, here's the video with the actual human audiophile in question

 

[ttimer]

I like his music recommendations. Not all of them meet my taste, but i discovered some great albums this way. I would like him to do more of that instead of silly audio-gear reviews.

 

[audiopile]

Ya - with almost everything at least available for a "taste" via MP-3 -doesn't do ya much good if you don't know what to look for -so music reviews are still what makes this hobby/obsession worthwhile. And anybody who revues in almost any form or format affordable gear is to be appreciated. Most of us were introduced to hi-fi? as youths with small paychecks - would we have ever developed a appreciation for the better things without that exposure to the noticeably better but just barely affordable products from companies like Eico ,Dynaco,Hafler,NAD (just how many folks on this forum started out with a 3020?). Somebody's gotta tell us about this stuff -thanks Steve.

 

[Southall-1998]

Anyone watch these?

S.

 

[MattHooper]

Aren’t “reviews” paid-for advertisements cloaked as a review?

i can’t recall the last time I heard a reviewer say “this amplifier is shit and is a rip off ”

Not necessarily.

It's a very common assumption among the cynical that the preponderance of good reviews points to shenanigans between the reviewer and
manufacture.

However, I can say as someone who did a bit of audio reviewing for an on-line mag years ago, I was never pressured to write anything other than what I thought about a product. And yet, every review I wrote was mostly positive. Why? Because of the selection process. I wrote about speakers I'd encountered previously in situations that gave me a good reason to be very enthusiastic about the product in the first place. It was a sort of "I'm out there listening to lots of products, and here are the ones that stood out." So there was a natural self-selection bias for products that I was going to have something good to say about. But I also always noted any issues or deficiencies I could as well.

Having known quite a number of reviewers in other publications, this has essentially been the case for them as well. They hear audio gear all the time and want to select the pieces they are excited about. Life's too short to spend it listening to all the products you find to be a dog.

I know there are publications, like Stereophile and some others, where reviewers also end up taking on a review given by the editor. But people writing for those mags have said they are not pressured or told what to write, even when assigned a product, and I don't have much trouble believing them.

There certainly HAS been some shadier stuff in the industry. But from what I've seen, it's not the norm.

 

[Purité Audio]

Personally I wouldn’t trust a ‘reviewer’ as far as I could throw them, with literally only a handful of exceptions.
Keith

 

[MattHooper]

Personally I wouldn’t trust a ‘reviewer’ as far as I could throw them, with literally only a handful of exceptions.
Keith

Why not?

Is it because you don't trust their ability to accurately give you the information you want on a product?
(Fair enough)

Or because you don't trust most reviewers as people - that is, you think they are liars or in cahoots with manufacturers?
(Would seem excessively cynical IMO).

 

[Purité Audio]

They are dishonest and have no integrity, they will write anything for the money and add absolutely nothing.
I would prefer the manufacturers just release a spec sheet and list of features.
If any publication accepts advertising then integrity disappears.
Keith