Bake-off or Review? Where do you put your faith?

uglymusic

There are pros and cons of both, I feel.

Do you read both before purchase? How much weight do you give them?

ItemAudio

Reviews are often conducted in better listening rooms, sometimes (not always) with better equipment and frequently (but not necessarily) more experienced ears. There's a real difference between magazine and online reviews – and fleapit online reviews and the proper kind.

Bake-offs also vary wildly: from being cans of wasps to an academy of civilised learning. But, at least, in attendance, you get to form your own opinion.

ted_b

Each have their place in the collection of relevant information required today to do audio purchasing, given that brick-n-mortar demos are few and far between.  But in the end, it only matters what it sounds like (and looks and feels like, to some extent) in your own listening environment.  That's why I almost always reduce my dealer "network" to those where we trust each other, which allows for inhome evaluations.

Mervyn

They both provide a starting point when looking for new gear. 'Professional' reviews from the mags vary enormously and are very dependant on your personal opinion of the actual reviewer ie if you believe them or not. Online review sites etc again are very subjective but do provide a general consensus of opinion and usually sort out the wheat from the chaff. Likewise with bake-offs - they cannot be expected to provide clear winners but do point you in the direction of the majority view. The recent PFM one on dacs gave a good indicator of what was available at each price range and helped narrow down the selection process to 2/3 possibles.

But for me the key factor for any new acquisition is how it sounds in your own system to your own ears. Hi-fi is very subjective and what others like is quite often not what you like. This is easier with 2nd hand box swapping but also for new gear as more dealers like Keith, Mark (  and NVA of course) allow you to home demo your own bake-off !

Alan

I've never read a mag, I don't trust gushing user testimonials on dealers websites either. I look for a way to mitigate risk & then try it myself. That may be a new product, or a second hand one at a good price.

Forums are invaluable to me in telling me what's around and what it's character might be. Also getting to know certain characters & what they like to listen to (like Dave/Uglymusic & Richard/Gromit) allows me to judge how much credence to give opinions.

coops

Reviews, when did you last read a bad one, magazines rely on advertising revenue, If a reviewer writes a bad review a manufacturer will make sure that reviewer never reviews another of their products, the whole thing is a sham look at the Roy Gregory farce a couple of years ago!
Unbelievable.
Reviewers often just throw a product into their existing system, whether it is suitable or not, all best taken with a pinh of salt, all they are good for is the specs, measurements ( sometimes) ,stereophiles are good , and the photographs.
Keith.
Keith.

sq225917

I've never read a review I trusted, even with years of experience of certain reviewers bias's. Bake offs are good entertainment, but unless they take place at your house in some semblance of normal listening they don't really tell you much other than you need a bigger sofa.

Time spent with the DUT is what counts.

I did read the review of the Young before I bought it, or more to the point I spent an evening translating an entire German review of it for Keith. I tried it because of the Hiface I had, I bought it because of how it sounded.

coops

You are a true Renaissance man Simes!
vb Keith.

PAC

I used to trust reviews published in HiFi World up until the late 1990's when things changed.  They were largely unbiased and conducted with proper technical appraisals and weren't afraid to "tell it like it is" but marketing pressures have changed reviews for keeps.

These days all magazines rely on worldwide circulation and need to appeal to a wide variety of tastes plus the companies supplying kit for review would stop those supplies if they received an unfavourable write up, and without UK distribution of their advertising and imports, it could severely restrict some kit availability in the UK.

That's left us in the rather unpleasant situation where most magazine reviews, whilst still enjoying some freedom do need to be careful not to upset manufacturers too much, and you cannot trust any reviewer nomatter how well meaning when it comes to separating your hard earned wad for a new bit of kit.

I stopped buying magazines quite some time ago although I still flick through the odd one in the news agents.  Its pretty sickening to read the utter technobabble rubbish spouted by some of these reviewers.  Subjective meaningless pap for the larger part and tailored to their own personalised tastes.  Hardly unbiased.

Some of the very best hi fi available in this country doesn't appear in any magazine. Take Tommy Horning's high end creations.  Most are sold in Europe and the USA and very little gets over to Blighty, but the true nature of higher end Hi-Fi is that it's gone underground. Its not mainstream any more and most of the movers and shakers operate in a surprisingly small world.  Such is the impact of marketing, dishonesty and pure greed that the lunatics have taken over the asylum and the good guys have gone to ground.  

Best review IMHO is the one you conduct yourself with a home audition, and before people say it's too difficult, then consider this: Would you buy a used car for say £3K and not drive it or demand to see the service history?  Of course you wouldn't, so why would you ever part with a similar amount for a piece of kit without a home audition.  There are a few dealers in my neck of the woods, and whilst they don't advertise the fact, I've had boxes of kit from all of them for home audition ranging in value from under £100 to many £1000's.  Thats the only way to arrange a review you can trust.

scottyhammer

Home dem is the ONLY way to really decide if you are serious about buying /upgrading/ replacing kit.

Simples !

Lee

Bake offs and reviews for narrowing down the selection followed by a home demo, also use forums for peoples comments on equipment

Docfoster

It depends whose review...
It's important to know as much as possible about anyone whose opinion one is reading. Ie what other kit they like and what kit they have heard before.
There are a few people who I know who tend to like similar kit to me, and who have owned or have heard the kit I own. So if they said some new piece of kit sounded great, I'd have my interest pricked. These sources of info have been invaluable to my Hifi journey and include Dave, Gromit, Alan, figlet and RD.
But generally one doesn't have much idea about the tastes and experiences of a reviewer or a poster, so reading their opinions out of their preference context isn't very helpful to me. One exception to that is that when I used to read mags I quickly discovered that I had nothing in common with the Hifi, musical or ethical tastes or humanity of ken kesler. Thus I was able to cross many things off my hifi and musical wish lists...

Ben