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Audio equipment reviews

I was on the zoom program last night with Audio reviewers, Herb Richert, Steve Guttenberg, Nan Pierce and two others and one of the big takeaways was the admission that they dislike writing negative reviews about equipment and would not write reviews about inferior equipment or equipment that didn’t fit well in their setups. So they agreed that if you don’t see a particular piece reviewed, it may say something about its quality. They also choose what to review so we will only read about pieces that they pre approve of or are interested in. I found this a little troublesome as I would like to see reviews on something is not up to standard or not worth buying. So it’s up to us to use the process of elimination when looking for new items to look into for our systems. If you can’t find a review, avoid it? Hmmmm
jyadlon

Showing 1 response by williewonka

williewonka
3,110 posts
 
Many reviews are "Paid For" so even if you can find a review
- the site will likely write only the Good and leave out the warts.

Fact of life - sorry :-(

What to look for?
  • companies with an established product lineage
  • companies that back their products with a great warranty
  • companies that get good comments on Audiogon
But even then you can get burned - I bought a Naim 5i amp because of the reputation of the company and magazine reviews I had read
  • it looked the part
  • it sounded great
  • it had some nice features
  • I followed the recommendations on the Naim web site and forums
  • but after 10 years - the power supply caps had to be replaced - 10 YEARS ?
  • factoring in the cost of the repair - I sold that amp for $200
  • I also learned a lot about the NAIM "strategy" - which is to get the customer to BLINDLY buy into their marketing hype
  • I would NEVER recommend Naim to anyone again
  • I'll never buy a VW again either :-)
I now have a Bryston that comes with a 20 year warranty and sounds better than Naim

Regards - Steve

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