Future reviews

[Michael Jones]

What would forum members like to see in the way of future AudioEnz hi-fi (not home theatre!) reviews.

Any particular products? Brands? Technologies? And also tell us why.

[michael w]

More ANALOG please !

:D

How about a review of the revised Rega 9 ?

Regards,

[PartTimer]

Gidday Ed,

I've often wondered why my favourite speaker brand has not been tested by AudioEnz, despite it marketing itself as the largest manufacturer in the world. And seeing as how you have asked.......Could you test some of the low-mid level B&W Speakers. ie DM 303, 309, 601, 603 etc. Also, how about some Sony equipment. I understand a lot of their stuff is not really 'Hi-fi', but SOME of it is, according to hifichoice and whathifi at least.

All that said, AudioEnz is still the first button on my web browser toolbar, and a great read.

Cheers!

[Hamsta]

More HiFi
Less Home-Theatre

'Nuff said

[michael w]

Originally posted by Hamsta
More HiFi
Less Home-Theatre

'Nuff said

SECONDED !!!

:D

[invisiblehand1]

personally i'd like just to see more reviews :-)

given that these take time and effort, i would willingly volunteer to have a go myself if this would be appreciated.

I would like to see members take the time to offer reviews of their own gear (recognising the inherent bias of course when you have dropped a heap of dosh on your nice shiny toys)

i would like to see the odd tuner reviewed (i seem to be the last person in wellington to listen to the radio) i have just bought one and was pretty surprised by how little info there is around and how variable the quality was.

i second the idea of B+W speaker reviews

and also when reviewing speakers, it might be nice to go up and down a line - to do a sort of vertical tasting of a manufacturers product (eg., image 412, 414, 416, ...)


i would also like more manufacturer profiles. an indepth with pics of the firms in NZ that cater to the hifi market.

another thought would be to invite a manufacturer on for a guest slot of a day or so, i belong to an acoustic guitar forum that has done this with some success having bob taylor and chris martin on as guest moderators to field questions and have a chat - quite easy to do by remote control - although there may not be quite enough of us just yet, this could be something to think about - could get quite big if we cross posted to other hifi groups to advertise it.

anyway there's a few thoughts from me

oh, and michael w congrats on the slinkylinks, was beginning to think our esteemed editor had decided to hang onto them!!!


:D

[Michael Jones]

Originally posted by invisiblehand1
personally i'd like just to see more reviews :-)

I don't think we do too badly with a few part-timers on AudioEnz. Usually there is four or so reviews per month on hi-fi and home theatre. We're always looking for reviewers, particularly if you're based in Auckland.

I'm looking at doing a few group reviews, mainly to get some more product through the door. First up will be four CD players in the next issue.

I would like to see members take the time to offer reviews of their own gear (recognising the inherent bias of course when you have dropped a heap of dosh on your nice shiny toys)

This is A Good Idea. it needs a bit of thinking through first, specifically to stop any "spam", and for a way of dealing with any reader reviews that aren't up to it.

i would like to see the odd tuner reviewed (i seem to be the last person in wellington to listen to the radio) i have just bought one and was pretty surprised by how little info there is around and how variable the quality was.

My tuner is in use almost every day, mainly on National Radio (on FM up here in Auckland!). Last time I looked at tuners I was surprised at the variability of the tuners sound quality. Again, this is an idea worth chasing up.

i would also like more manufacturer profiles. an indepth with pics of the firms in NZ that cater to the hifi market.

I suspect that many readers will be surprised at just how small many of these firms are. Most specialist hi-fi companies - both in NZ and around the world - are very small, often with only a few employees (or none other than the proprieter, in some cases)

another thought would be to invite a manufacturer on for a guest slot of a day or so, i belong to an acoustic guitar forum that has done this with some success having bob taylor and chris martin on as guest moderators to field questions and have a chat - quite easy to do by remote control - although there may not be quite enough of us just yet, this could be something to think about - could get quite big if we cross posted to other hifi groups to advertise it.

Another great idea - I should hire you as the AudioEnz Brains Trust!

[juliant]

More comparison reviews would be great - similar to what Tone did last issue for $2000 speakers.

Eg Compaison of circa $3000 integrated amps: Plinius 8200, Perreaux E160i, Musical Fidelity A3.2, Arcam Diva A85

[Michael Jones]

To do a group test properly is a huge undertaking and quite a bit of work. It's not something that I'd like to ask my writers to undertake because of the workload involved.

Sure, it's easy to spend 10 minutes with a product and write something very superficial, but I want AudioEnz reviews to have some depth to them.

[camdyman]

"This is A Good Idea. it needs a bit of thinking through first, specifically to stop any "spam", and for a way of dealing with any reader reviews that aren't up to it"

Why not just set up a page for this in the forums so a few threads get started (then disliked reviews can be deleted.. :D )




"More comparison reviews would be great" -nice idea


Just my 9 pence.

[Crighton Weir]

How about DVD-A vs SACD reviews or industry comments ??

Solid state vs Valve amps and/or pre-amps ??

DVD Players as CD players ??

Try a tweek section...??
I.e. review somthing as you would normaly, then try a tweek...feet...isolation stuff...cables...interconnects...adding a brick on top of a CD player etc etc...

[yok]

More HiFi
Less Home-Theatre

I would like to see this too, but I guess it's a bit unrealistic. Perhaps as a compromise it would be good to see more specialised hi-fi reviews. Most two-channel diehards have heard NAD + Rotel integrated amps and B&W speakers, and if they haven't they can do so pretty easily if they live in a main centre. What would be really useful is reviews of harder to hear stuff like things that have to be ordered unheard (eg the Ah Tjoeb which was reviewed). I would also like to see more unusual two-channel stuff reviewed like separate DACs, phono stages, valve amps and valve output CD players etc.

I understand the difficulty with group comparisons, but it is always good if there is a comparable product to the one being reviewed as a reference. So many reviews say something like "this $1000 product was good but it isn't as good as my $5000 reference" which is pretty unenlightening.

[PartTimer]

There seem to be two different types of Audio websites. Those that cater to the 'true audiophile', or people with lots of money to spend on flash gear (such as Stereophile and Audiorevolution), and then there are the Mainstream sites such as (to name the biggies) Whathifi and hifichoice.

I guess some of the decision making results from choosing between comercial interests (making money) and furthering a hobby/interest (enjoying the website).

On a personal note, I would like AudioEnz to remain primarily mainstream, focusing on the equipment that are found in 'typical' NZ hifishops, and occasionaly reviewing the high-end equipment. As I do not have $10,000 to spend on my next speaker upgrade etc, I do not search through Stereophile reviewing speakers. I search AudioEnz and Hifichoice etc for speakers. While the diehard audiophiles out there may be Stereophile etc readers, I suspect many people looking at AudioEnz are merely Audio 'Enthusiasts' like myself, and find the high-end stuff slightly interesting, but irrelevant (unaccessable)

Despite All That, whatever direction AudioEnz takes, it is still the only (if you discount Tone, as I have), or at least the best, audio website in NZ. I will be reading whatever is reviewed.

[michael w]

Everyone with an interest in hi-fi and music should be a Stereophile reader.

At a mere $27.97US/$50.85NZ ($1.00US = $0.55NZ) for an annual subscription, that works to be only $4.24NZ per issue !!!

That has to be THE best value in audio anywhere.


cheerio

[PartTimer]

Cheaper than Hifichoice and Hifi News, but then again, so is the Womens Weekly. Hmmm.

[curious_george]

I've just subscribed to an online version of Stereophile (see their website). If I remember correctly it cost USD15! Have yet to be able to print it (due to size) but the reader is similar to Acrobat (it's called Zinio). A little inconvenient but cheap as chips!

[michael w]

I thought about the online version briefly but I much prefer them to do the printing for me.

:D

Does the online edition also include all the ads ?
Sometimes the ads are the best thing in the mag.


cheerio

[odysseus]

That's the main thing, I think. It's good to read detailed reviews but really, the main reason why you read them is to work out what to buy, and when you are buying something the question is always 'this one or that one?'. Also, comparisons let you get a better idea of what a product sounds like if you have heard one of the comparison products. And yes, I do like reviews that pick winners and say why.

In line with this - double-blind testing is good. Or at least single-blind. Hi-Fi Choice used to do it - not sure if they still do. It adds a LOT of credence to your reviews.

It would actually be good to see a few more negative things said. Even the odd review that concludes "Stay the hell away from this product, it sucks".

For all their superficiality, the UK hi-fi mags do these things, which is why I read them (albeit with a heathy dose of salt in some cases).

Lastly - one thing NOT to do is write reviews like those found in Australian Hi-Fi. They spend forever describing the products' build and appearance down to the minutest detail, then spend relatively little time saying what it actually sounds like. Also, they don't specify what difference the design choices will make to the sound e.g. 'This amplifier uses MOSFETs, which means that it will sound like xxx rather than yyy, compared to single-headed triodes which would sound more zzz' - or whatever, I'm not a technical person as you can doubtless tell.

[Michael Jones]

Originally posted by odysseus
It's good to read detailed reviews but really, the main reason why you read them is to work out what to buy, and when you are buying something the question is always 'this one or that one?'. Also, comparisons let you get a better idea of what a product sounds like if you have heard one of the comparison products. And yes, I do like reviews that pick winners and say why.

Comparison reviews can be done really quickly and poorly (and I've seen some like that published in New Zealand). But a quick'n'dirty comparison review is of no use to readers, as it doesn't give them the information they really require.

To do a comparison review well requires a lot of time and committment from a writer. Every AudioEnz writer does their writing on a part-time basis. I can't ask them to take so much time away from their lives and families. I did a group test on CD players for the current issue. I will try and do another group test for two months time but, as I mentioned, the time committments involved may work against this.

Keep in mind that the comments in the single reviews we publish are based on our knowledge of how the product stacks up against the standards for the price and/or product type.

It would actually be good to see a few more negative things said. Even the odd review that concludes "Stay the hell away from this product, it sucks".

I'm happy to say such a comment about a product. In the time AudioEnz has been online I haven't come across a product that deserves it.

Thanks for your comments. I really do appreciate them and will take them on board