Audioholics Reviews

[nova]

I like the long reviews, what I don't like is reading 1 or 2 small paragraphs and then waiting while another page loads. Being on a slow dialup I spend more time waiting for pages to load than I do actually reading the page.

 

[Gatorchong]

It seems to me that it's kind of strange for these companies to think that your reviews are too long. Figuring the price of most of the products you review I would think that consumers would want to read as much as possible before dropping that kind of cash on (well, let's face it) a luxury. If you were reviewing a $30 clock radio or a $80 boombox you could fit that in a page or a paragraph. If you're going to review a pair of speakers that retails at $3500 then it's going to take more than a "Wow, these sound pretty good, go buy 'em." So keep the reviews long or make them longer, I especially appreciate it when you dismantle the speakers to examine the drivers and crossovers. It's hard to find review sites that do that. Thanks.

 

[radaray58]

thanks

I am new to your forum, and find your reviews intelligently well written and thorough. I find much of the information over my head at this point, since I am new to owning higher end audio equipment (especially some of the stuff on speaker wires!). But I really enjoy visiting here and will return often. Thanks.

 

[mumum]

The reason I joined was because of the detailed reviews!!

 

[pearljamfan]

if people don't like LOOONG reviews, they can always check out the last page and read the Conclusion/Final Verdict

It's true, you can't say "These Speakers Kick ***..they're amazing! BUY THEM!" I'm sure there are at least 5-10 Speakers at every price point that sound Amazing to the casual listener...you guys ensure that even a Casual purchase made based on your recommendations could prove Invaluable 2 years later when the Casual Dude promotes himself to Semi-Audiophile Status and is still pleased with what he bought!!!

 

[Ross]

Don't let a few corporate "cronies" push you around Gene. They're marketing teams may or may not always agree with what you do/say here. Oh well, just keep up the good fight and the pursuit of what makes this site so valuable.

Please continue to give us as detailed of a review for the products tested as possible. The longer, the better!

thanks again Gene...

Ross.

 

[toquemon]

I TOTTALLY AGREE with you. This is a VERY expensive hobbie. The non-merchandise oriented reviews, like the ones you can find in this site, help us very much when we're about to buy new equipment. You need to know where your cash is going and what kind of equipment you're buying.
When you're with the salesman sometimes you get "brainwashed", you buy the equipment and then happen to be full of regrets.
On the other hand, when you have the opportunity to read the reviews of the equipment, you're not blind anymore. These reviews need to be very detailed because todays products as so much alike and competition is fierce; a subtle change can make the difference between preffering equipment A than equipment B.

 

[Ben Stern]

Don't dumb them down!

I come here for the detailed reviews that I can find no where else. If people are looking for simple - let them go to "Audio Review."

 

[Unregistered]

audioholics reviews are thorough

The more thorough and unbiased the better. There is a camera review site that is even more exhaustive in coverage and is also unbiased, and the only site worth bothering with. Shortening, omitting details sounds like a form of censorship!!
By the way I am the guy who badgered Bob Carver into building the first consumer superamp (the largest available at the time being the Mac 275 and pair of Marantz Model 9), the Phase LInear 700, back in the late 1960s, which caused others to follow, and the Dual 500 a few years later, and I am demanding of complete analysis.
Dave Ladely, seattle, WA

 

[Pat D]

Well, now, I think the reviews are too long and wordy AND not detailed enough. I realize not all can write as well as Julian Hirsch but it really shouldn't take very long to describe most products and say something about their performance.

As well, I want more measurements. You do offer some frequency response measurements now for speakers but it's still hard to judge the dispersion. As well, a 2.83 volt sensitivity measurement would be nice, along with an impedance curve and even an electrical phase curve or something on that order.

Measurements for receivers would be nice, not the least an all channels driven figure in the manner of Sound & Vision. Some of the speakers I like may be a bit hard to drive and I want to know if the receiver can do the job.

 

[Leprkon]

Short versus Long (size matters)

I'm all in favor of seeing all the details, but it would be really great to start out with a couple of sentences that tell us if we even need to go any further into a review. I'm not advocating all-out lemmings-over-the-edge follow the pied pipers Cliff and Gene, but if they tell me something is the AMC Pacer (Suzuki Samurai for you younger types) of the Audio world, by golly that's good enough for me. If they tell me something is competitive or outstanding in the $$$ to $$$ price range, then it's worth the details. I'd rather not have to go through seven pages of analysis on a system if it truly is trash (and we all know it's out there).

 

[Beegowl]

More Information

I only just discovered audioholics.com. The in-depth reviews are what I like about your website. Some of the more technical aspects of the reviews take some study and I still don't completely understand, but I can learn...or not. The more I know, the less able are the vendors to take advantage of my gullibility. My interest in audio equipment extends back to the early 60s when I played my Duane Eddy LP on the RCA console stereo my dad bought to play his Bob Wills records. I kept listening for the stereo imaging and separation that was supposed to come from the two speaker cabinet, but I couldn't hear it. On the other hand, I didn't REALLY care because Duane's guitar took me to places that transcend the equipment's technical capabilities. Still...

 

[Unregistered]

No Changes Please!

The reviews are great and well detailed PLEASE do not shorten the length because before we the public make our purchase it's good to be forwarned about equipment pros and cons. By the way those room for improvement suggestions do make a difference (see rxv2400 review and the list of new additions to the new rxv2500).

 

[petermwilson]

Hi
As AFAIC the two things affecting the length are a clinical description of the features (could have a link to manufacurers website.) and the reviewers opinion of A) How well they work and B) How relevent they are based on his/her opinion of what the customer needs.

I wouldn't mind reading that some $6000 reciever has 6 composite inputs which is a waste of space. I also would like to hear that just because a reciever does several zones, it might be more cost effective due to cabeling and the like to have 2 or 3 recievers instead which might indeed be cheaper and very propably less complicated.

Manufacturers marketing depts march to different drummers. I think you should do what you think is best (which is not necessarily confrontational with the folks who send you this stuff for review) but what would help us make good buying decisions.

I have an upgraded Denon 5800 which I love. From what I've read so far about the new 5805 my sense is that its one of the most unweildly units to hit the market. Two used 5803s would be cheaper and more user friendly.

Peter m.

 

[Mclectra]

Reviews Lenght

I have been in sales and marketing dealing with technical products selling to engineers. I go along with idea of providing a short review supported by a full detail lenghty review for the technical or picky ones.

Mclectra

 

[WmAx]

Actually, I personally find the reviews to be of little use except for informaiton about user interfaces, etc. What I find of most value are very detailed measurement analysis under varying conditions, such as what Stereophile provides for amplifers and preamplifiers in the measurements section. Audibility claims of amplifiers, cd players and other similar performing products such as this should be made only after proper DBT level matched listening trials. Such a standard of this would make Audioholics unmatched in accurate evalutions compared to any other review site that I am aware.

-Chris

We have had some manufacturers tell us our reviews are too long and may go unread by most readers. We were wondering what your thoughts were on this. Please vote in our poll and feel free to comment. Thank you.

 

[Rob Babcock]

Operational quirks known to reviewer, along with an connectivity or usability problems, would also be welcome. For instance, I can think of one FPTV that has component input, but uses one plug as the composite vid input- therefore, you can only use one or the other. Facts like that are sometimes omitted by reviewers but are vitally important to the end user.

Where receivers & preamps are concerned, I'm always very interested in how they handle bass management and whether there are any unnecessary A/D or D/A conversions in the signal path.

I'd hate to see the reviews shortened- a good summary should suffice for those disinclined to read the whole thing.

 

[J77]

Yamaha RX-V2500

Where were the Yamaha RX-V2500 made, what country?