Does anyone have an opinion of Hans Beekhuyzen? Some of the stuff he says seems to make sense, and others to me seem like complete drivel, EG he loves audiophile network switches.
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TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel
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YouTube Audio Reviewer Tier List - Jan 2023 Edition
- Thread starter IAtaman
- Start date
His description of products and teardowns are useful. But nothing he says about fidelity of gear has any merit.
Wouldn’t we have an easier time rating reviewers by who is most useless but entertaining?
Strangely, like others here, watching all those reviewers somehow led me here.
Strangely, like others here, watching all those reviewers somehow led me here.
I like the Audioholics guys (Gene and Matthew Poes) for the most part.
I'm not qualified to rate anyone, so there is that. No need to tell me I'm wrong
I'm not qualified to rate anyone, so there is that. No need to tell me I'm wrong
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The state of social media in 2023, Sharur, one of the biggest audio trolls who has been banned several times here and in other forums, who does just highly biased reviews by wrongly analysing measurements of others putting himself on the same level as Amir...
Even though no YouTube channel ( a blog)Archimago’s Musings are on par with Audio Science Review regarding technical data and value. I prefer written reviews and data tests/ charts.So you want to buy a new audio product, you go to YouTube, search "best closed back headphone/dac/amp/studio monitor/IEM under $xxxx", or the name of the product if you are already somewhat honed in on what you want, and you get a list of videos to choose from. But which of these reviewers offer you the best return for your time?
Well I thought it would be interesting topic to talk about, and in a format that is best by test - a tier list.
Here is my suggestion as to how to approach this, feel free to ignore it as much as you want.
I think what would be important in a reviewer would be their:
And here is the list of reviewers I can think of, in alphabetical order. If you are game, you can include or exclude whomever you want, this is for reference only.
- BadGuyGoodRewiews
- CheapAudioMan
- Chrono
- Crinicle
- Currawong
- DankPods
- Darko
- DMS
- Gizaudio
- Goldensound
- iiwi
- Joshua Velor
- Julian Krause
- LTT / Linus
- Precog
- Resolve
- Super*Review
- Zeos
I think most will agree that it's probably best to exclude Amir from this tier list as it does not feel appropriate to go into someones home and rate their "excellence in hosting" during dinner no matter what is your opinion (we will talk about him on Head-Fi
Lad os gå!
OP
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Thanks for this as well, I did not know about Archimago. Read a few of his reviews, good content but a blog in 2022.. It is a hard format to get popular with.
Multicore
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No I don't. I gave that up some time ago. Mugs game. Same deal with musical instruments. These guys are all...
except
Yes, it's true. He's done some great videos presenting tricky issues quite clearly. I followed his guide to using UMIK-1 and REW to generate a room EQ.
There are others I could mention but I'm trying to not give mindshare to the frantic attention-seeking that's demanded by the ootoob personality beauty contest, i.e. the game of views, subs and likes..
BadGuyGoodRewiews: He's a really bad guy like it's mentioned on his name.
Crinacle: He's good.
Currawong: Bruh.
Darko: Disgusting salesman.
DMS: Mostly useless. Also he's Abyss employee (or he was) and I think this makes him more doubtful.
Gizaudio: Generally useful.
Goldensound: I appreciate his work on MQA but other than that he really loves expensive stuff and he's obsessed with DACs and AMPs and this makes him mostly useless.
Joshua Valour: Salesman with good video recording skills.
LTT / Linus: I like his PC videos but I have no trust on his subjective audio opinions. I still appreciate him for building LTT Labs.
Resolve: He's good.
Super*Review: I have no idea about on his reviews but thanks to him for Squiglink.
Zeos: No.
VSG (TechPowerUp): He's good.
Sharur: He has knowledge on audio but he's Apple fanboy and appreciates Apple for not supporting EQ but at the same time he's EQ'ing his Variations to other IEMs to review them. He's weird and toxic but still more useful than subjective reviewers.
Solderdude (DIYAudioHeaven): He's good.
RTings: They're good.
This are my opinions.
Crinacle: He's good.
Currawong: Bruh.
Darko: Disgusting salesman.
DMS: Mostly useless. Also he's Abyss employee (or he was) and I think this makes him more doubtful.
Gizaudio: Generally useful.
Goldensound: I appreciate his work on MQA but other than that he really loves expensive stuff and he's obsessed with DACs and AMPs and this makes him mostly useless.
Joshua Valour: Salesman with good video recording skills.
LTT / Linus: I like his PC videos but I have no trust on his subjective audio opinions. I still appreciate him for building LTT Labs.
Resolve: He's good.
Super*Review: I have no idea about on his reviews but thanks to him for Squiglink.
Zeos: No.
VSG (TechPowerUp): He's good.
Sharur: He has knowledge on audio but he's Apple fanboy and appreciates Apple for not supporting EQ but at the same time he's EQ'ing his Variations to other IEMs to review them. He's weird and toxic but still more useful than subjective reviewers.
Solderdude (DIYAudioHeaven): He's good.
RTings: They're good.
This are my opinions.
MattHooper
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I can't be bothered to rate youtubers on "tiers" but this seems the thread to throw in some opinions.
First of all, yes I visit quite a few audiophile youtube channels. It's more driven by an interest in audio than any love of youtube audio videos. In fact I often watch them and wonder "why am I doing this to myself?" because I find a fair amount of irritation attached to watching them, less than reading reviews.
Most are grossly inefficient ways of gaining the information I want. And the worst are the latecomers, print magazines that have seen that "you have to be on youtube now" and so they are giving their try. The Absolute Sound's attempts at youtube videos are of this totally cringeworthy ilk. They just don't get it and come across like grandpa trying out Snapchat.
But, some comments, not necessarily ranked:
1. ASR's videos are I think among the most informative and important audiophile videos on the internet.
2. Zero Fidelity - hit and miss in terms of subjective reviewing quality, but mostly for me a bit hard to watch because of the ever-present smirk, ever present 3-D coming at me hand gesticulations, omnipresent cap, and general feeling of "guy at party who wants you to know his opinions." (None of which are incompatible with him being a perfectly good fella).
3. New Record Day - sometimes informative, decent video quality, somewhat irritating presence.
4. Cheap Audio Man - admittedly he deals with products I'm not interested in. Sometimes he can be amusing. Mostly it's too much "chip on shoulder" "look at what a rebel I am for liking cheaper stuff" vibe.
5. Audioholics - good info, generally good takes on stuff. I like Gene, he's a no-B.S. kinda guy. The videos can be a bit long and shot-in-the-basement quality.
6. British Audiophile - decent video production, smooth delivery, can be fun to watch.
7. Jay's Audio Lab - for pure audiophile pron. Fun to look at the expensive stuff. For audio information? Pretty much bereft of that. It's basically a guy who can somehow afford to go through endless varieties of expensive gear and thus considers himself a guru. Talks in a "too serious" way about everything "Guys...I'm sorry...but I just HAVE to tell you the TRUTH about this...."
8. OCD Hi-Fi Guy - dear god. Every opinionated audiophile and blowhard dealer I've ever met rolled up in to one character. Hard to tolerate, but still shows some cool gear on his channel. (And...again...not that he isn't probably a perfectly good guy..)
9. Audiophile Junkie - I actually like this guy's channel! He could have been an OCD Hi-Fi- like guy, but seems more chill and grounded, also at least a higher level of technical interest/skepticism vs the above. Though still deep in to the classic hi-fi audio territory, which is fine by me as I like that stuff. He does some of the best Audio Show videos. I've often watched them on my home theater system. Since they are of excellent video and decent sound quality, they can have a real "you are there" effect which is fun.
10. Jay's Iyagi - ugh! Again...one of those characters I just don't connect with and hard to watch - the super opinionated young dude dispensing audio wisdom.
11. Audiophiliac/Steve G - I have watched plenty of his videos. I think he generally does a decent job as a subjective reviewer type, and reviews a lot of gear that many audiophiles are interested in. Sometimes he seems to be struggling for words to describe things, making me think "wait, isn't this your job? Shouldn't you have the words to describe this?" So I can find his descriptions somewhat wanting. But, again, I think he provides a nice service to many audiophiles looking for that kind of channel, and he has plenty of fun interviews with audiophiles.
While I find that video reviews tend to be a very inefficient way of getting a reviewer's take on gear, I do find that a few youtubers HAVE managed to generally conquer the format quite well, such that it does feel like the video version is a bit richer than if it had been in print.
So:
12. Darko Audio - while slightly off-putting to me as a presenter (has a sort of aggressive look and tone), I do think he does a very good job as a sort of "everyman audiophile" giving his take on gear, as well as providing lots of information about the nature of the gear under review, how to set it up, what it's like living with it, etc. And the video production is generally very well done, looks great and tends to augment what he is saying. His recent videos detailing moving in to a new room with terrible acoustics (and showing measurements) and his follow up after acoustic treatment are VERY well done and kept me interested all the way through.
13. Andrew Robinson - Yeah, maybe a bit smarmy and too-chilled by a click or two...but he's mastered the format. He speaks at a pace that keeps the info coming, he gets to the gist of most of the relevant details about the product, gives nice descriptions and comparisons, and the video quality is nice for gear eye-candy.
ETA: Whoops forgot I wanted to mention...
14. Earspace - Jana Dagdagan has got to be the best videographer/producer for videos-about-audio-gear on the internet. Total finger on the pulse and beautiful presentations.
15. Erin's Audio Corner - I find Erin to pretty much nail the perfect balance between providing fantastic measurements AND also trying to correlate those to his subjective impressions. So I get both worlds. Plus I find him among the most watchable presenters of all - chill, humble, not obnoxious, just trying to get at the truth the best he can.
*(As you can see, a lot of my gripes about youtube reviews has to do with how I might find the presenter irritating in one way or another. But, hey, that's the digs you take when you take yourself to video. I'd probably annoy some people too if I tried it. In print reviews I at least don't have to look at the reviewer and deal with his/her personality as well as the review...)
First of all, yes I visit quite a few audiophile youtube channels. It's more driven by an interest in audio than any love of youtube audio videos. In fact I often watch them and wonder "why am I doing this to myself?" because I find a fair amount of irritation attached to watching them, less than reading reviews.
Most are grossly inefficient ways of gaining the information I want. And the worst are the latecomers, print magazines that have seen that "you have to be on youtube now" and so they are giving their try. The Absolute Sound's attempts at youtube videos are of this totally cringeworthy ilk. They just don't get it and come across like grandpa trying out Snapchat.
But, some comments, not necessarily ranked:
1. ASR's videos are I think among the most informative and important audiophile videos on the internet.
2. Zero Fidelity - hit and miss in terms of subjective reviewing quality, but mostly for me a bit hard to watch because of the ever-present smirk, ever present 3-D coming at me hand gesticulations, omnipresent cap, and general feeling of "guy at party who wants you to know his opinions." (None of which are incompatible with him being a perfectly good fella).
3. New Record Day - sometimes informative, decent video quality, somewhat irritating presence.
4. Cheap Audio Man - admittedly he deals with products I'm not interested in. Sometimes he can be amusing. Mostly it's too much "chip on shoulder" "look at what a rebel I am for liking cheaper stuff" vibe.
5. Audioholics - good info, generally good takes on stuff. I like Gene, he's a no-B.S. kinda guy. The videos can be a bit long and shot-in-the-basement quality.
6. British Audiophile - decent video production, smooth delivery, can be fun to watch.
7. Jay's Audio Lab - for pure audiophile pron. Fun to look at the expensive stuff. For audio information? Pretty much bereft of that. It's basically a guy who can somehow afford to go through endless varieties of expensive gear and thus considers himself a guru. Talks in a "too serious" way about everything "Guys...I'm sorry...but I just HAVE to tell you the TRUTH about this...."
8. OCD Hi-Fi Guy - dear god. Every opinionated audiophile and blowhard dealer I've ever met rolled up in to one character. Hard to tolerate, but still shows some cool gear on his channel. (And...again...not that he isn't probably a perfectly good guy..)
9. Audiophile Junkie - I actually like this guy's channel! He could have been an OCD Hi-Fi- like guy, but seems more chill and grounded, also at least a higher level of technical interest/skepticism vs the above. Though still deep in to the classic hi-fi audio territory, which is fine by me as I like that stuff. He does some of the best Audio Show videos. I've often watched them on my home theater system. Since they are of excellent video and decent sound quality, they can have a real "you are there" effect which is fun.
10. Jay's Iyagi - ugh! Again...one of those characters I just don't connect with and hard to watch - the super opinionated young dude dispensing audio wisdom.
11. Audiophiliac/Steve G - I have watched plenty of his videos. I think he generally does a decent job as a subjective reviewer type, and reviews a lot of gear that many audiophiles are interested in. Sometimes he seems to be struggling for words to describe things, making me think "wait, isn't this your job? Shouldn't you have the words to describe this?" So I can find his descriptions somewhat wanting. But, again, I think he provides a nice service to many audiophiles looking for that kind of channel, and he has plenty of fun interviews with audiophiles.
While I find that video reviews tend to be a very inefficient way of getting a reviewer's take on gear, I do find that a few youtubers HAVE managed to generally conquer the format quite well, such that it does feel like the video version is a bit richer than if it had been in print.
So:
12. Darko Audio - while slightly off-putting to me as a presenter (has a sort of aggressive look and tone), I do think he does a very good job as a sort of "everyman audiophile" giving his take on gear, as well as providing lots of information about the nature of the gear under review, how to set it up, what it's like living with it, etc. And the video production is generally very well done, looks great and tends to augment what he is saying. His recent videos detailing moving in to a new room with terrible acoustics (and showing measurements) and his follow up after acoustic treatment are VERY well done and kept me interested all the way through.
13. Andrew Robinson - Yeah, maybe a bit smarmy and too-chilled by a click or two...but he's mastered the format. He speaks at a pace that keeps the info coming, he gets to the gist of most of the relevant details about the product, gives nice descriptions and comparisons, and the video quality is nice for gear eye-candy.
ETA: Whoops forgot I wanted to mention...
14. Earspace - Jana Dagdagan has got to be the best videographer/producer for videos-about-audio-gear on the internet. Total finger on the pulse and beautiful presentations.
15. Erin's Audio Corner - I find Erin to pretty much nail the perfect balance between providing fantastic measurements AND also trying to correlate those to his subjective impressions. So I get both worlds. Plus I find him among the most watchable presenters of all - chill, humble, not obnoxious, just trying to get at the truth the best he can.
*(As you can see, a lot of my gripes about youtube reviews has to do with how I might find the presenter irritating in one way or another. But, hey, that's the digs you take when you take yourself to video. I'd probably annoy some people too if I tried it. In print reviews I at least don't have to look at the reviewer and deal with his/her personality as well as the review...)
Last edited:
MaxwellsEq
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Personally, I find YouTube an astonishingly slow way to get the facts I need even if I double the playback speed.
Multicore
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Facts are secondary on ootoob. Charisma is what really counts--egos that enlarge with views, likes and subs and die without.
Timmeon
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I feel it's my duty to respond to this thread after flushing hours of my life down the toilet watching YouTube before bed (terrible habit).
Hans Beekhuyzen - Hard to watch without imagining he'll need to be resuscitated during the course of the review which is unnerving. Not that there is any reason to hang on unless you're a fan of mythology.
Andrew Robinson - Nice production value, very little substance. As with many others, he follows a formula: "The [insert electronic device] has a [if digital - accurate/analytical] [if analog - slightly warm/musical] presentation while punching [if over $500 - above] [if under $500 - far above] it's weight class." Feels like this could all be scripted by AI with only a single image as a prompt. Zero Fidelity has an almost identical formula, only with less polish.
Darko - Again, high production value. I appreciate that he at least takes the time to talk through certain topics that could be overwhelming to a beginner, setting up a pi streamer, for example, which has some value. And as @MattHooper mentioned, in recent videos he spoke in depth (with measurements) about the acoustics of his new room and the problems it presented, while using the echo in the recording of his voice through his mic to demonstrate. Clever. Could do without the whimsical characteristics he assigns to electronics and cables and all of the usual nonsense, but that comes with the territory, I suppose.
New Record Day - Seems like a nice guy and he's done a few tutorials that might have been useful to somebody. I just can't listen to him speak for longer than 10 seconds.
Utterly useless but mildly entertaining:
Audiophilliac
Cheap Audio Man
Zeos
Utterly useless but also repellant:
Jay's Iyagi
A British Audiophile
Hans Beekhuyzen - Hard to watch without imagining he'll need to be resuscitated during the course of the review which is unnerving. Not that there is any reason to hang on unless you're a fan of mythology.
Andrew Robinson - Nice production value, very little substance. As with many others, he follows a formula: "The [insert electronic device] has a [if digital - accurate/analytical] [if analog - slightly warm/musical] presentation while punching [if over $500 - above] [if under $500 - far above] it's weight class." Feels like this could all be scripted by AI with only a single image as a prompt. Zero Fidelity has an almost identical formula, only with less polish.
Darko - Again, high production value. I appreciate that he at least takes the time to talk through certain topics that could be overwhelming to a beginner, setting up a pi streamer, for example, which has some value. And as @MattHooper mentioned, in recent videos he spoke in depth (with measurements) about the acoustics of his new room and the problems it presented, while using the echo in the recording of his voice through his mic to demonstrate. Clever. Could do without the whimsical characteristics he assigns to electronics and cables and all of the usual nonsense, but that comes with the territory, I suppose.
New Record Day - Seems like a nice guy and he's done a few tutorials that might have been useful to somebody. I just can't listen to him speak for longer than 10 seconds.
Utterly useless but mildly entertaining:
Audiophilliac
Cheap Audio Man
Zeos
Utterly useless but also repellant:
Jay's Iyagi
A British Audiophile
DonR
Major Contributor
Yes, the man always appears on the verge of a heart attack. Not enjoyable for me.
I was shocked how frail Hans looked in one of his recent videos. He has really aged as of late. Made me think how long I can do this before I look that way!
Andysu
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seems that someone doesn't like spare change , ? the headphones is like watching paint drying on the wall , and i thought my videos were too long
the guy wearing the hawaii shirt , isn't there anything he can't break at 33m 56s
i think that room is a fail ! i think background noise will be too loud for these headphone test and i take it with a bag of salt
the guy wearing the hawaii shirt , isn't there anything he can't break at 33m 56s
i think that room is a fail ! i think background noise will be too loud for these headphone test and i take it with a bag of salt
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Andysu
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i don't like this i take offensive ton value electronics supplying these headphones use animal skin . boycott value electronics and the headphones if you like animals
valueelectronics.com
the review is rubbish not a spoken word of english so can't hear , sorry do not speak french and no , do not care for the rubbish headphones , savages using animal skin shame on them
Focal Utopia-2022 Open Back Headphones - Value Electronics
Utopia incorporates full-range speaker drivers with a pure Beryllium ‘M’-shaped dome, completely open at the back. Focal engineers have risen to the challenge of delivering the sensation of listening to the best Focal loudspeakers! The result is a set of speaker drivers that run with zero active...
valueelectronics.com
the review is rubbish not a spoken word of english so can't hear , sorry do not speak french and no , do not care for the rubbish headphones , savages using animal skin shame on them
oh boy this is going to be a controversial thread
the thing with YT presenters is that they are taking over from the What Hifi and written Steve Guttenbergs from the past... so whatever ills you have with the written review will also be seen and maybe distilled into 10 mins on youtube.
So with that...
I'm of the opinion that sometimes if a 10 min vid on Youtube is well produced and the information presented well then sometimes the conclusions dont matter? I mean I quite like Tarun (British Audiophile) because I think that English civility terns to work with me and if I dont agree with his end wrap up then that's ok?
I dont expect to like the same things he likes but I almost always understand how his background lead him to that conclusion?
Also I feel like I'm often not the intended audience of a lot of these guys... I mean Zeos? Randy? Andrew Robinson? If I dont like their stuff then I kinda expected that from the outset.
I do kinda like John Darko. He's clearly clearly Australian so to my ear, he's easy to understand and I'm quite bemused by his passage to Germany from.. down under. He makes even crap I dont care about easy to watch in the background.
I dont like to compare to ASR videos simply because a most of what's on YT is light entertainment. Its not serious.
I dont watch ASR vids to be 'entertained'... its not about that. Vast majority of the times I am not entertained by that except when some gear is getting hanged.
the thing with YT presenters is that they are taking over from the What Hifi and written Steve Guttenbergs from the past... so whatever ills you have with the written review will also be seen and maybe distilled into 10 mins on youtube.
So with that...
I'm of the opinion that sometimes if a 10 min vid on Youtube is well produced and the information presented well then sometimes the conclusions dont matter? I mean I quite like Tarun (British Audiophile) because I think that English civility terns to work with me and if I dont agree with his end wrap up then that's ok?
I dont expect to like the same things he likes but I almost always understand how his background lead him to that conclusion?
Also I feel like I'm often not the intended audience of a lot of these guys... I mean Zeos? Randy? Andrew Robinson? If I dont like their stuff then I kinda expected that from the outset.
I do kinda like John Darko. He's clearly clearly Australian so to my ear, he's easy to understand and I'm quite bemused by his passage to Germany from.. down under. He makes even crap I dont care about easy to watch in the background.
I dont like to compare to ASR videos simply because a most of what's on YT is light entertainment. Its not serious.
I dont watch ASR vids to be 'entertained'... its not about that. Vast majority of the times I am not entertained by that except when some gear is getting hanged.
OP
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Since YT "algorithm" started favouring longer videos, there has been a trend to drag 5 videos to 25 mins, going on and on about boxes and cables and whatnot. It is an annoying trend.
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