How To Read a Review - An Insider's Perspective

[admin]

With the decline of Brick and Mortar stores, being able to read a review is imperative. Obviously, arming yourself with knowledge about the product you are buying is the key to your success. You won't be able to accurately gauge the veracity of a review without knowing a lot about the product. If you are shopping for in-ear headphones but expect them to fit like earbuds (or a minivan that you expect to handle like a Corvette), you can't know if a product is being misused. You also need to read a ton of reviews of all sorts of gear. This way you can identify the industry jargon and see past the backhanded compliments. In the end, you should trust your ears. And us. You can definitely trust us.

Discuss "How To Read a Review - An Insider's Perspective" here. Read the article.

 

[herbu]

Richly vanilla article that waltzes effortlessly through the myriad of pitfalls lurking within reviews.
Great read for the uninitiated!

 

[3db]

Thanks for the article...

I read the article for those mega buck cables that were called danceable. That reviewer has lost all credibility as far as I'm concerned and I would not value his opinion to help me pick out a toaster. IHO, he's a dude that sells snake oil for a living and has nothing to do with evaluating a piece of equipment.

 

[herbu]

Richly vanilla article that waltzes effortlessly through the myriad of pitfalls lurking within reviews.
Great read for the uninitiated!

Lest there be any misunderstanding, the above comment is pure sarcasm & humor playing off of statements in the article, ("vanilla", "waltzes" and "Great read" or "good for".)

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

As I was completely happy with my all of AH articles I had a pm from a forums buddy urging me to read the newest one published about reading online reviews.
I was very skeptical to read it first but eventually he persuaded me to read it through.

As I dived into reading this article I couldn't find anything which i am not familiar with. What a disappoint, What a waste of time I thought in anger !!

Right then and there I decided to post an angry response. During this communication with author I got the suggestion urging me to read between the lines.

Obviously I had to go back read the article more carefully, now reading between the lines.

OMG, I saw the light !!! Reading between the lines I was able to enhance on sub-context and see the true meaning of this amazing price writing. It's truly worth Pulitzer award for most dancible writing!!

I am so glad I had decided to read it and now my life is truly complete. I will never again read another new article

 

[3db]

Lest there be any misunderstanding, the above comment is pure sarcasm & humor playing off of statements in the article, ("vanilla", "waltzes" and "Great read" or "good for".)

I got that right away . I was recounting this article about $1000/ft interconnect cables that the reviewer was obviously trying to sell as a "value well worth your money" product and how it still p?sses me off.

 

[agarwalro]

Talking about online reviews by consumers, the need to filter out background noise is a really good point. This is made worse by fake reviews posted by paid shills. This is not just a problem specific to AV products, but, consumer reviews in general. I try to read as many possible positive and negative reviews, then see if there is a discernible trend.

In context with AV, like most here, I gravitate towards the measurements side of the pro reviews. If there are no measurements, I'll read the article for entertainment value (perfectly lighted high resolution images, picturesque language) and because there may be something (like features or settings) that turn out to be of interest.

I'm one of those compulsive researchers when selecting a product. Then research some more to understand pros and cons before committing money. For example, I read the whole Onkyo NR818 and Denon X4000 threads on AVS and the manuals for both AVRs before buying one. Laborious, but, I knew exactly what I was getting myself into.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Read?

You guys still do that?

These days I just watch the review or listen to it.