What Guides Your Product Purchasing Decisions?

What Helps Decide On What to Buy?

  • Professional Product Reviews

    Votes: 32 66.7%
  • Consumer Reviews

    Votes: 13 27.1%
  • Dealer Recommendation

    Votes: 1 2.1%
  • Advertisement

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Blind Faith

    Votes: 2 4.2%

  • Total voters
    48
gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
We would like to know what governs your purchasing decisions of home theater equipment. Please choose one option. If you option isn't listed, feel free to comment.
 
Vancouver

Vancouver

Full Audioholic
I chose consumer reviews because you guys have been a huge help since I started this hobby. There is one thing missing, however, and that is Aesthetics.

I will probably get heat from audiophiles for saying this but if the AV equipment doesn't look as good on the outside as it performs Im not going to buy it. For example I may have lost SOME quality by choosing my B&W FPMs, but they are one of the best looking speakers out there in my opinion, so with a 5% loss in sound quality I got a 100% gain in looks...fair trade. I like to look at my equipment when Im using it, and since its all in a high traffic area it needs to fit with everything else I buy.
 
Takeereasy

Takeereasy

Audioholic General
I didn't vote yet but there were a couple of things that I was just curious as to why they weren't there. Mainly my own eyes/ears make my ultimate decision but are you guys trying to determine what our external motivators are? In that case I'd go with pro reviews, you guys at AH know your stuff, answer questions, and have THE most detailed reviews on products that you can find. I like the fact that I get to see a products insides and get detailed breakdown on power consumption, power provided, etc. There are also some members on this site that really know their stuff and whose advice I find helpful and informative. That said I may use your reviews and the advice of members to narrow down my search, but my ears/eyes will be what determines how I spend my hard earned moolah. By the way this is my 1000th post, since I'm a Samurai now when do I get my sword and some serfs? lol.
 
Sheep

Sheep

Audioholic Warlord
Pro reviews. For one reason.

They reveal the truth. Some consumers can't tell a speaker apart from a thumb. And some beleive in VooDoo, so no trusting them.

Pro reviews need to have certain things inorder to be helpful.

-DBT's!!!!
-Proper acoutics/review enviromnet(this includes their system being used in the review).
-Understanding of how the equipment works.

The first one is usually the least seen. Not here on Audioholics though! :)

SheepStar
 
mike c

mike c

Audioholic Warlord
PRO reviews followed by CONSUMER reviews.

I search high and low on the net to find PRO reviews on the products I am considering. If none, I search the net/forums for people's comments.

BTW, thanks to this site/forum, I've managed to easily pin down a receiver choice, YAMAHA over HK. glowing review of the YAMAHA (pro review) and disproving high current claim output of the HK (consumer comments by the forum)
 
STRONGBADF1

STRONGBADF1

Audioholic Spartan
Pro reveiws are what I use to get an idea of what I want to seek out and audition.

Consumer reveiws are highly unreliable, not useless just have to take them for what they are worth.

If you have a friend you can trust in the dealer industry then dealer recomodation can be invaluable. (I spent alot of years in the auto high-performance aftermarket industry and having friends in the know is the best way to avoid wasting time and money.)
 
A

Audiacc

Junior Audioholic
Surely those that visit forums read reviews.
But I guess most people buying AV products are guided by the retailer's opinion. If the same poll was run in a shop results would considerably differ...
 
C

ca_newbee

Audioholic Intern
I like to read the professional reviews... my only negative is that the reviews in the US are to much influnced by the industry/advertisers and a POS is usually described as 'not great'. Read the reviews from UK magazines such as What hi-fi to get a more honest, warts and all type of review. Also the biggest influence in terms of what I bought for my Home Theatre was my budget and I'm looking for the best bang (and picture) for my bucks... a $20k speaker system being the best is completely irrelevant to most of us
 
L

latrosicarius

Audioholic Intern
Pro reviews are very useful, but I chose consumer reviews. People who actually spend THEIR OWN money rather than getting free samples are much more likely to "tell it like it is" when a product fails their expectations or delivers too little for the price they paid.

Of course, you have to take everything a non-pro source says with a grain of salt, but I've read plenty of pro reviews that have been biased or had an agenda too.
 
T

The Dukester

Audioholic Chief
I would say that I use three of the listed above in helping me choose my products. Pro reviews, consumer review and dealer recs. I have two or three dealers I mostly try to deal with that I have used from 15-25 yrs. I deal with them because I trust them and they carry good products. They also do their homework so they know the competition pretty well. I find this very helpful in choosing products. Most of them will let me take products home for a short review as well, if I ask them.
There are some products that are internet only/mostly that they obviously don't carry, so the pro and consumer reviews are very helpful as well. The bottom line is what I see and hear for myself along with all the other info I have gathered will enable me to make the best informed decision I can about what I purchase.
 
S

skrivis

Junior Audioholic
I guess it depends upon what you consider "pro" reviews. If you mean people who get paid to review products, like the writers for the various audio rags... I don't pay much attention to them.

So I'd have to say that I don't use any of the listed things when deciding. :)
 
C

claudermilk

Full Audioholic
I chose consumer reviews. Like has been mentioend before, these are the people who have spent theit own money on the equipment & have no reason to try and make anyone happy. I also check pro reviews, but I'll take those with as much salt as the consumer, they have their own agendas & I think there's been enough shown around here over time that are just as (or more) unrelaiable as consumer reviews. Once I've gone over those (the larger an opinion base the better), I'll go out & find the items left on my short list and make up my own mind. So I guess it really boils down to the reviews are just useful to give me a reasonable number of competing products to review myself.
 
W

westcott

Audioholic General
I try to gather as much information from as many sources as possible to make a purchasing decision.

The internet makes this much easier and a more efficient process.

Knowledgeable people can be found in many places, but it takes some astute observation to differentiate the knowledge and validity of the different sources.
 
Tomorrow

Tomorrow

Audioholic Ninja
Of the items listed, pro reviews would be the best motivator for me. HOWEVER, the real thing that drives my purchase is my ability to afford the item. All the professional reviews in the world aren't gonna raise my fixed income to afford a nicely recommended receiver or speakers. Generally, I have to buy used equipment, and I'll just get what has garnered a reasonable consumer reputation over the years...that I can afford.

Audioholic-ism is for those that can afford and those that can dream.

Signed,

The Big Dreamer
 
Sheep

Sheep

Audioholic Warlord
I wanna know hte 1 person who voted for "blind Faith" :D

SheepStar
 
mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
gene said:
We would like to know what governs your purchasing decisions of home theater equipment. Please choose one option. If you option isn't listed, feel free to comment.

Reliable pro reviewers with testable facts published.
 
Buckeyefan 1

Buckeyefan 1

Audioholic Ninja
The problem with professional product reviews is the advertising bias factor. If you look hard enough, you'll find a positive review on just about any piece of equipment. The mighty dollar speaks. It's the reviewers that are able to get their audience to "read between the lines" on products in which they receive advertising dollars from.

I use both pro and consumer reviews. I think the best reviews tell all the pitfalls of a product up front, then talk about the strengths.
 
gellor

gellor

Full Audioholic
When I'm looking for a new product, I start with a budget and look for all of the interesting models in a given price range, then look at professional reviews of each. Not for whether or not its a good product, but to get an idea what the product performed like. (for instance, whether or not a speaker is bright, relaxed, what the soundstaging is like, etc.)

Then I go for consumer reviews for build quality and customer service opinion. Many pro reviews say that their product was a pre-release model or had been reviewed by other companies before they got it, etc. So I don't always find it a good indicator. OTOH, you have to wade carefully through consumer reviews so you don't get caught by the gushers and the haters.

So it tends to be a balancing act. From there, I go to the listening tests before deciding.
 

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