Has any audiophile gizmo ever got a bad review?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Mike-48, Sep 12, 2019.

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  1. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    Got to get rid of those "eddie" currents, for sure...
     
  2. That's a nice looking set of aerials :)
     
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  3. vwestlife

    vwestlife Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    In those days, most of the support for computers was done by local dealers, not by the manufacturer. Leading Edge sold computers manufactured by Daewoo and they were very popular and sold and supported by many computer stores.

    Apples and oranges. Asian companies like Daewoo, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, etc. are huge conglomerates that manufacture all kinds of products. A Daewoo computer has as little to do with a Daewoo car as a General Electric microwave oven has to do with a General Electric airplane jet engine.

    But speaking of which, Sport Compact Car magazine -- which was filled with ads for products that claimed to make your car faster and handle better -- published this cover story exposing the myths of their industry, and it caused a huge ruckus. Advertisers fled, the editor got fired, and the entire magazine went under 3 years later.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Sep 16, 2019
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  4. Mike-48

    Mike-48 A shadow of my former self Thread Starter

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    Thanks for that. A useful statement from someone who's heard a lot of gear and deep into the audiophile world.
     
  5. LakeMountain

    LakeMountain Vinyl surfer

    Location:
    Netherlands
    ....and they sound good, which makes one wonder why you need thick, inflexible insulation:confused:.
     
  6. Thick insulation is neither here nor there..
    The complete lack of screening would bother me immensely.
    Still, if you like RFI being introduced into your system it's not my place to disagree :)
     
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  7. LakeMountain

    LakeMountain Vinyl surfer

    Location:
    Netherlands
    It bothered me too at first, and now I don’t care about a bit of RFI, because this cable just sounded better. BUT, I do not want to turn this into another cable thread, it just shows :
    a) try out gizmos,
    b) trust your ears

    I tried a few gizmos and about half of them worked really well (the other half went back). The best one was power-conditioning, second a good plateau for the TT. Downside is that I am hooked to listen to music now ;).
     
    Last edited: Sep 16, 2019
  8. Big Blue

    Big Blue Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    I would suggest neither cables nor power conditioners are really “gizmos”... you need cables to connect components, and you need to power everything somehow (whether that’s a power conditioner, surge protector, directly to wall outlet...).
     
  9. Mike from NYC

    Mike from NYC Senior Member

    Location:
    Surprise, AZ
    I disagree. The reviewers are well versed and almost reviewer I can think of is a musician of some sort or heavily invested in the hobby for most of their lives and have listened to more equipment than almost everyone here, including me, for extended periods of time in their home using their reference components.

    When several reviewers highly recommend a component, as they did with almost all of my equipment, the reviewers were right on the mark.

    The reviewers have their credibility on the line and if they screw-up, or play footsies with a manufacturer too much, they get fired.

    You may not agree with all reviewers, and some are pretty weird, but they will give an honest review. I have read many reviews over the years which panned the product or said there were better choices available.
     
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  10. Rolltide

    Rolltide Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vallejo, CA
    I have to make a mild objection here - Mercury Sables somehow sucked even wore then Ford Tauruses despite the lack of mechanical differences. The Taurus was just a no-nonsense fleet car that met the low bar it was aiming for, where as the Sable tried to be "nice", which meant terrible velour interior, ugly spoked wheels, etc. By the same token, I'm sure the cars that left the Diamond Star factory with the Eagle name on them were somehow even worse then the Mitsubishis. I think I saw a total of 4-5 in the wild over that brand's existence.
     
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  11. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    Many not so high end computer stores, they were pieces of junk as compared to the other computers that CR featured in the AD.

    About everything that I have ever seen with the Daewoo badge on it directed to the consumer market is a piece of junk.

    From home appliances on up to their really crappy automobiles.
     
  12. Rolltide

    Rolltide Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vallejo, CA
    Maybe that's the niche they were looking to fill?

    This is reminding me of the olden days in which Goldstar made the cheapest, "worst" monitors you could buy. Then they merged with Lucky Chemical, and changed their name to LG to reflect the merger. LG seems to make better stuff then they did under the Goldstar name. They changed their niche, in other words.
     
  13. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    Many years back, I had a Ford, Crown Victoria, the old Men In Black style, it was white with a royal blue velour interior. The velour never faded and the cloth was durable.

    I sold Fords and never felt that the Taurus was all that nifty of a car to own, but the less "junk" on it, the less the maintenance.

    Today I am driving a 2002, Mercury Grand Marquis, which is the same car as the Crown Vic and it is an excellent car.

    It is definitely the niche that they are going after.

    But today, they have gotten more sophisticated about it. They make these ultra modern looking appliances and big box companies like HH Gregg carried them.

    They all have "electronics" boards inside them, which are practically guaranteed to fail.

    Goldstar products were crap, as were the old Samsung products.

    But today, companies like LG and Samsung have stepped up the game.
     
  14. BrentB

    BrentB Urban Angler

    Location:
    Midwestern US
    I think most reviewers like to keep things positive. They like to write about things they like and believe is a good value for the money. Yes the Sterophile reviews list shortcomigs, but still has positive aspects that outnumber the shortcomings.In other words it is still a "good value". Keeping things positive usually does not lead to a kickback of hate mail like some dissed piece of equipment or gizmo might. And maybe keeps a reputation clean?
     
    Last edited: Sep 16, 2019
  15. LakeMountain

    LakeMountain Vinyl surfer

    Location:
    Netherlands
    Does this qualify as a gizmo - perhaps even as „Über-gizmo“? Quantum resonance technology to improve sound !
    Quantum Noise Resonator | Telos Audio Design

    Rising star or complete dud? Has anybody tried out anything like this?
     
  16. vwestlife

    vwestlife Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    It looks like a power factor correcting capacitor with a bunch of LEDs in a circle that light up and make it look cool. Power factor correction is important for factories and industrial plants running huge AC motors, but in your home it is pretty much useless. These devices are often falsely marketed as "energy saving":



    So, it actually does do something -- just not anything useful or relevant for your home audio system.
     
  17. Tawaun A Williams

    Tawaun A Williams Forum Resident

    Outside of feature sets, set up and qirks...which is really the most useful part of review anyway, it won't really matter if the reviewer slams the gear or not...if he/she's listening habbits and biasis doesn't align with yours it just wont matter anyway...find you a reviewer who has similar taste as yours, and that will help you decypher reviews better. 99% of the reviewers don't review stuff if they don't like it, why would you wanna review something that's bad...
     
  18. Blair G.

    Blair G. Senior Member

    Location:
    Delta, BC, Canada
    I recall a Stereophile review, a follow up I think, of the Totem Forest that was not complimentary. A few people lost the plot especially and not surprisingly Vince at Totem. The whole thing was funny IMHO
     
  19. Cyclone Ranger

    Cyclone Ranger New old stock

    Location:
    Best Coast USA
    To warn your readers away from it, perhaps?

    ‘Protect the reader’ is a good ethic in reviewing, notwithstanding that many reviewers don’t seem to practice it anymore...
    .
     
    Last edited: Sep 17, 2019
  20. Tawaun A Williams

    Tawaun A Williams Forum Resident

    It's going to be very very interesting how they view the Polk Legend L800 I've heard from a few trusted ears that they are mind blowing and real ear openers, get your popcorn ready once these reviews start coming down the pipe...
     
  21. Tawaun A Williams

    Tawaun A Williams Forum Resident

    Just because you're a reviewer doesn't mean you wanna spend time with something that sucks... lol
     
  22. Cyclone Ranger

    Cyclone Ranger New old stock

    Location:
    Best Coast USA
    All jobs, if done right/well, have parts that suck.

    It’s only when you half-a55 it that you get to duck that. ;)
    .
     
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  23. Big Blue

    Big Blue Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    How does a reviewer know it’s bad before reviewing it? This is a little bit like suggesting a movie or music critic just won’t see or hear something without knowing they like it first. Of course it doesn’t work that way, and there are negative reviews of movies and music all the time.
     
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  24. Big Blue

    Big Blue Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Yep. That’s one of the most gizmo-y gizmos I’ve ever seen.
     
  25. Mike-48

    Mike-48 A shadow of my former self Thread Starter

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    I think it's a pretty safe assumption that any audio gizmo with the word "Quantum" in its name is useless.
     
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