Who do people trust and like the most?
Data from similarweb - total visits to website in the last month:
AudioScienceReview.com - 2.4M
ErinsAudioCorner.com - 42.1K
MarchAudio.com - 15.2K
I am currently building a website for an artist friend, and easy navigation and simple and logical paths to find things are a primary goal for me. AudioScienceReview is a big, complex website, but I find navigation here quite easyn and logical here.
I like Erin and his reviews, but I see his website as poorly designed. It is not visually attractive, and there is neither a review index or search box available. Improving the visual appeal of his website would attract more views, and perhaps increase his internet income and donations. Then he wouldn't feel the pressure to use other websites to promote his own site.
OTOH, I find Alan's March audio website to be quite attractive and easy to navigate. His Sointuva speaker page is very nice, and if it were in my price range, I would be very tempted by that loudspeaker. I also like how they look - it reminds me of my current budget loudspeakers, the Wharfedale D320s with their rounded corners.
I buy cheap Chinese audio components to play with and use on my desktop, and I even have a 30 lb. Yarland EL34 Class A PP amp that cost me over $1k by the time I received it here in Panamá. The cheap stuff from halfway round the world with no possibility of free or low cost warranty support is "throw-away" gear for me. If it lasts a year or two before failing, I don't get upset. Tube amps are relatively simple and easy to repair, so I wasn't worried about the Yarland company being so far away - and actually, the company's web presence is gone and they likely have gone out of business.
However, with expensive SOTA (state of the art) high-end made to order components like the Sointuva speakers with their esoteric Purifi drivers, I would expect them to be thoroughly tested and work perfectly. I know and like Alan March from earlier interactions on ASR forums as well as off-line conversations. Many years ago, as a "sales engineer" in super-precision bearings rotating components for aerospace applications (including the Hubble space telescope), the company I worked for had incredibly rigorous quality control, and Alan was involved in similar aerospace environment - in vibration control and testing! His aerospace engineering background also included incredibly rigorous quality control. I was surprised to learn that a pair of his loudspeakers went to Korea with such oversights and problems. Apparently the problms have now been sorted out, and in spite of the contentious back-and-forth interactions on the path to resolution, I still think that March Audio products overall are excellent.
It is unfortunate that the path to understanding and resolution was so nasty at times. But that is what happens when alpha males with type A personalities screw up and can't handle criticism with logic and grace. Quite frankly, I would be happier if things had not gotten out of hand, and Erin and Alan were still active ASR participants.