well just in case i didn't make myself clear i said i don't trust them not i don't like them and gave my input to go and listen for yourself it seems like good advice I've read about the toxic chat rooms on these forums and i believe it
Any Advice for those Listening to Youtube Reviewers?
I’d like to recognize that it takes a great set of self promotional skills to become successful in the Youtube world. That said most of the audio reviewers I’ve seen don’t have the experience to review, or the kind of space that would really allow gear to shine.
Most of them start of with K-Mart like gear, did their formula and got popular, and jumped far up the audio food chain. Of course everything they review is going to be great compared to the Service Merchandise system they sold last year.
Just throwing it out there that people should be careful listening to these guys that are mostly working for the views/money (not that some aren’t passionate).
Anyone else seeing this?
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As always, buyer beware. I listen to YouTube reviewers primarily for entertainment but also to find about gear that I never would have heard about otherwise. I do listen to suggestions and have acted upon them in the past. Demoed totem tribe towers due to several enthusiastic reviews. I wound up passing on them. I bought a pair of highly praised speakers but they had a 60 day return window. I returned them. My ears always have the final word. |
I remain baffled how these guys can do so much work to put the videos together when they only get a couple thousand views. They make no money from YouTube. And they crank out so many 15 minute videos with their crazy long extended intros and if you have the patience to watch the entire video most of the time there’s nothing to be learned. No one ever explains the technical merits of gear they’re talking about. How is one supposed to learn when they watch these videos. Yeah I wish I had $350,000 Wilson speakers. And clearly they are paying for them, if it all, its at a substantial substantial discount. If I was Wilson why not give them on loan to a well followed video person the for a while. If purchased I’m sure they’re being tax deducted, which means everybody’s paying for those speakers. The economics escapes my tiny mind. Actually I’m losing interest in all these videos anyway. It’s a complete waste of time to watch them. |
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Appreciate the creative replies! I'm not knocking working people, and all these guys are working it. Just trying to state the obvious. There is much more to audiophilia than piling a bunch of gear into the corner of an apartment, or a three season porch, and claiming to be an authority (or not). I don't know the pay scale. I don't have the space to conduct what I would consider fair reviews (better than what I've seen on discussed videos most of the time) and we can all agree that you get to understand your room over time. Understanding what makes our room sing is a huge part of the learning that takes place as an audiophile. In my opinion the experience of this group (you) count much more (10%) than media reviews (3%) but sure- some are interesting to watch. Some of you are totally off your rocker 100%, but in general, in my 20 years on this site, I feel like most of you are true to your word and "in it" to share something genuine. We all sell what we own lol. Service Merchandise started as a five-and-dime in 1934. The systems are all vintage at this point. Spiritual music category?- You all know this, but sound is a wave, a vibration, and we all have a frequency that we vibrate at. Is it from here that we pick up the frequencies we jive with? We can get at it faster with vinyl lol. |
I like Zero Fidelity, Steve Huff, and Andrew Robinson quite a bit. Probably because of the entertainment/enjoyment factor of their reviews. I will say that I have tried gear they have reviewed and their reviews match what I heard. I'm not embarrassed to say, I bought my amp and speakers based off of Andrew Robinson reviews. |
@lanx0003 nice list. One reviewer and Jay I personally would include is Jay’s iyagi with 84.1k subscribers. |
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Some reviewers are interesting personnalities... But we cannot buy some component based on one or two reviewers...Even those we appreciated... Myself i picked average users opinion in a statistical take and reading under the line...It is the reason why i bought vintage products... New hyped one had no long term many users reviews... Not all people are able to listen to gear BEFORE buying...
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Well, OK -- Not all people are willing to restrict their choices to what’s available from online sellers that offer return policies. There are good reasons for this -- in the case of floorstanding speakers that are very expensive to ship back, for example. And, of course, these sellers typically only offer certain brands up to a certain price point. Those who prefer other brands and/or higher priced gear will naturally look elsewhere. This is all very sensible. Having said that, there is still a lot (!) of gear available from such sellers! If others are able to make buying choices that yield long-term satisfaction based upon dealer showroom demos or trade shows, I salute them. For those who opt to make component and stand-mount speaker buying decisions based upon how a piece sounds to their ears, as part of their system, in their room, and whose budgets are a good fit, choosing from what is offered by TMR, Music Direct, Audio Advisor, Upscale Audio, etc. can be a very sensible approach.
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if i could had listen before buying i would have done it... I dont propose statistical analysis of users are the only and main tool to choose component... Seeing them and listening them in some context is important... For example my last purchase upgrade cost me 250 bucks in return fees, if i could have listen to it BEFORE buying i would have not purchase it and spare my money... Happily there was a good retrurn policy... I had no other choices... And i never proposed others people to restrict their choices... I just explained how to do if you dont have the possibility to compare gear and listening to it... Vintage components and users analysis not reviewers was very good for me... But it is not possible for all components and in all cases...
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I listen to videos on YT mainly to entertain myself and keep myself informed. Of course, we can’t take these guys’ recommendations literally because they necessarily benefit from making these videos, otherwise why would they make them? I love Steve Guttenberg’s musical choices and colorful shirts but he obviously is just a very sophisticated saleman. I love Steve Huff’s sound room where you see the nature outside, but he changes his reference equipment so often and uses so many superlatives that he discredits himself. I like A British Audiophile for his professionalism and because he’s down to earth, but his reference equipement is limited. I also like the young Jay’s iyagi because his enthusiasm reminds me of the wonder I had when I first became interested in audio, 40 years ago... I rarely listen to the others for different reasons. Some don’t have the required experience, others have questionable credentials, and some are just buffoons. When I’m interested in audio equipment, I first read online magasines like The Absolute Sound, 6 Moons (and a few others)... then I read ALL the threads on Audiogon... some of our members have knowledge which far exceeds what can be found on YT and the specialized press. Before purchasing my DAC and my integrated amp, I spent hundreds of hours reading on this forum and, in both cases, I wasn’t disappointed with my purchases. |