What *ifi?! Truth?!! Integrity?!!! - Come hither, if your blood pressure can take it.

[Loathecliff]

If there already exists a collection of the trash written by and about my 'favourite' magazine group, I apologise.

This one really takes the prize

My Favourite Credible HiFi Websites - 13th Note HiFi Reviews

I describe Audiophile HiFi websites, other than my own, which I really rate and go to for credible and reliable information.

www.13thnote.net

My Favourite Credible HiFi Websites​

Stripped bare to its core, the main purpose of the HiFi review is to give you the lowdown on how a product performs. ‘Me too’ as I read them as well. A good’un is your ears and eyes….by using comparison and having an element of objectivity. Assuaging what one guy referred on my Facebook page as the ‘word salad’ reviewers, whether your thing or not is not the point here, but what is – where do such reviewers laid bare, stand, if the fundamentals are missing?

Dictionary Definition of ‘Review’
1. a formal assessment of something with the intention of instituting change if necessary
2. a critical appraisal of a book, play, film, etc. published in a newspaper or magazine.
Those that give the cop-out “it’s up to you to decide if it’s value” juxtaposing value for money as just being an absolute judgement related to wealth and money, when many an Audiophile wants value regardless of bank account bulge. Or the perennial – my opinion doesn’t count. What??!!??….of course it counts.

Clearly poor products are rare in the world of uber competitive HiFi, but when they come along, we want to know. Equally good reviews want to sing from the rooftops when a product performs well – which, I’d say is at least 90% of the time and the reason we do this as enthusiasts. I love getting hold of something as profoundly good as the dCS Bartók, as much as the next man. That’s the whole point, otherwise nobody will believe us and the whole review is counter intuitive and productive. Manufacturers say they want honest reviews because if they are all same old, same old, irrespective of the quality of products, it adversely effects manufacturers and the industry generally through low confidence.

So which publications or online sites actually publish the most honest Reviews for me? The list is a small one but, whatever, below is the list nonetheless (in no particular order). Obviously I cannot count myself – but certainly honesty & credibility is an aim of my site.

Be aware too I’m not being paid at all writing this article, I’m simply writing it as a fan of these sites.

1. What HiFi​

​

 

[ahofer]

The view from way down the rabbit hole is very different.

 

[bloodshoteyed]

wasn't this guy crying about wanting to get paid for reviews and seizing operations on his blog?
what changed? i don't think his YT channel makes enough revenue to have saved the whole op?

 

[Jimbob54]

2 and 3 on the list are even more telling than #1.

 

[MattHooper]

If there already exists a collection of the trash written by and about my 'favourite' magazine group, I apologise.

This one really takes the prize

My Favourite Credible HiFi Websites - 13th Note HiFi Reviews

I describe Audiophile HiFi websites, other than my own, which I really rate and go to for credible and reliable information.

www.13thnote.net

​

Good Lord.

 

[Loathecliff]

This gem has created an unwanted resonance within.
The great cleansing is well overdue:-

"Clearly poor products are rare in the world of uber competitive HiFi, but when they come along, we want to know."

 

[AlephAlpha001]

If Berlin was in Essex, a Darko Word Salad would read like this.

 

[Vacceo]

If Berlin was in Essex, a Darko Word Salad would read like this.

I admit I´m biased, but the likes of Darko, Guttemberg or Johnson allow me to understand nothing. I´d rather have all the resources those guys have dumped on Erin or Amir to get a far better consumer perspective on what I will get if I buy a speaker or electronics.

Beyond information, there is something about Darko that gets under my skin as only pop music can.

 

[killdozzer]

@Loathecliff yes, it's funny how the ones who are furthest from the true/objective like to utter those words a lot. I mean, you're trying to distinguish yourself from all the others and then use dCS Bartok as an example (the epitome of "yes, we perform just as an average company, but we charge 20 fold for it"), or you list What Hi-Fi as your reference, a magazine that writes about an amp that it "Doesn’t convey rhythms particularly well".

Facebook keeps trying to guess what I like, but its algorithm is so silly that it keeps bothering me with ads which I just share into the AudioBS group. For example, TAS keeps popping up. Ad says they're a source of expert reviews and I just want to ask them if they honestly remember when was the last time they did an expert review.

 

[DanielT]

But they have a bit of humor anyway:

Chord Company Launches the World’s First Wireless Cable: C-thru - Audio Bacon

1 April 2022, Wiltshire, England: Chord Company has applied its 38-year cable expertise to produce a truly unique product: the world’s first wi-fi cable, C-thru. C-thru is the painstaking result of literally weeks of research and development. The new wireless wire is not only the most...

audiobacon.net

 

[sq225917]

Any hifi review site that relies on relationships with manufacturers to supply kit and gives opinions not measurements is essentially broken. Add in an advert based revenue stream and it becomes totally broken.

I read hifi plus for its entertaining writing, I read stereophonic for its reviews of US stuff I might otherwise never see, and I read hifi critic because I understand the owners bias and appreciate that he has a decent ear. But none of them would factor in a buying decision...

What hifi? Don't make me laugh, it's a tabloid rag.

 

[Vacceo]

The best part is in the comments. "I don´t think measurements equate to performance". How loud something plays is measured in decibels at a given distance; if that is not an indication of performance, what is? Same for spinoramas to see how the spectrum of frequencies is delivered. Usability (what connetions the device has, what eq method includes...) is another measureable element.

I also don´t understand the part of ASR being "anti-product". How and why?

 

[Waxx]

The best part is in the comments. "I don´t think measurements equate to performance". How loud something plays is measured in decibels at a given distance; if that is not an indication of performance, what is? Same for spinoramas to see how the spectrum of frequencies is delivered. Usability (what connetions the device has, what eq method includes...) is another measureable element.

I also don´t understand the part of ASR being "anti-product". How and why?

Amir and this site have a very specific view on what is good, that is not fitting their vision on it, and undermine their bussiness model. But i, altough many here will put me in the "subjectivist" camp, see the value of measuring objective and scientific based, and think a site like this one here is a great value. Even if i don't agree with the vision of Amir (I like a coloured sound), his measurements are of great value, also for my choices.

Sites like Stereophile or whathifi are certainly not usefull. Steve Guttenberg is entertaining, but not usefull on audio neighter (altough he is more objective than those others, but it's still subjective and not based on science).

Sites like this one and diyaudio.com tell me most about what i want to know, the objective data and analysis of what's happening. diyaudio.com because of the info on how stuff is build and the deep technical discussions about it, and this site for the measurements. Erin's site and Audioholics are also providing usefull info, but that's it as far as i know.

 

[Vacceo]

Amir and this site have a very specific view on what is good, that is not fitting their vision on it, and undermine their bussiness model. But i, altough many here will put me in the "subjectivist" camp, see the value of measuring objective and scientific based, and think a site like this one here is a great value. Even if i don't agree with the vision of Amir (I like a coloured sound), his measurements are of great value, also for my choices.

Sites like Stereophile or whathifi are certainly not usefull. Steve Guttenberg is entertaining, but not usefull on audio neighter (altough he is more objective than those others, but it's still subjective and not based on science).

Sites like this one and diyaudio.com tell me most about what i want to know, the objective data and analysis of what's happening. diyaudio.com because of the info on how stuff is build and the deep technical discussions about it, and this site for the measurements. Erin's site and Audioholics are also providing usefull info, but that's it as far as i know.

Calling it good or not is your, my or anyone´s choice. And that´s just as it should be.

The baseline is knowing what the device actually does. From there, it is not that hard to tweak the sound or go for something that suits your ears. Esentially, this site allows me to not be blind (or deaf) on my choices of gear. That is something I cannot get from people like Darko.

 

[Newman]

Even if i don't agree with the vision of Amir (I like a coloured sound),

Oh, so what coloured sound would you like live instruments to have instead of the actual sound they make?

 

[Waxx]

Calling it good or not is your, my or anyone´s choice. And that´s just as it should be.

The baseline is knowing what the device actually does. From there, it is not that hard to tweak the sound or go for something that suits your ears. Esentially, this site allows me to not be blind (or deaf) on my choices of gear. That is something I cannot get from people like Darko.

I agree, and that is why i'm here. You can objectivly measure your subjective preference. I did and i know what i'm searching for. But i need measurements to find it and that is why i like ASR, Erin and Audioholics. And that obective defining my subjective preference i learned at diyaudio.com (one of the many things i learned there).

 

[Waxx]

Oh, so what coloured sound would you like live instruments to have instead of the actual sound they make?

The thing is, a recording does not sound like a live performance, it's processed/edited a lot while recording, mixing and mastering it, to create an illusion of a live performance. But it's not.

 

[JRS]

I will say for this that a combined streamer/DAC/Headphone amp makes a lot of sense as does an integrated amp with a streamer--a modern"receiver" if you will. But 12,500 pounds seems a lot for less power than my Topping DX-3 Pro + (1.5 W into 33 ohms) that retails for $150 or so and quite likely has better SINAD figures to boot. Of course, we will never know given the absence in the manufacturer's specs and the reviewer's inability to measure such--at least it doesn't screech was my take away from the empty verbiage.

 

[FrantzM]

Repeating:

The more we write about these people oe mention them, the more we help them perpetuate their BS spewing.
FWIW, as a matter of principle, I don't click on such links.

Out.

 

[Newman]

The thing is, a recording does not sound like a live performance, it's processed/edited a lot while recording, mixing and mastering it, to create an illusion of a live performance. But it's not.

The thing is, you said you like coloured sound.