Darko has become my favorite audio review site

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by DaleClark, Jun 15, 2019.

  1. Slack

    Slack Forum Resident

    For some of us the ability to reproduce natural sounding harmonics/timbre/tonality is the best test of any system or recording because that equates to what sounds real and pleasing.Which is also why really good instruments attract a premium price.It gives music life and vibrancy and texture and emotion .This is very hard to achieve with electronic music.
     
  2. A beautiful natural sounding album of electronic music. On a classical label. .

    [​IMG]
     
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  3. jeffmackwood

    jeffmackwood Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ottawa
    One of the pioneers!

    I have a number of his quad re-releases. Moussorgsky-Tomita: Pictures At An Exhibition (1975/2014) (SACD) is one that I enjoy.

    Jeff
     
  4. Fruff76

    Fruff76 L100 Classic - Fan Club President

    I have Tomitas version of The Planets. Great stuff!
     
  5. Victor Martell

    Victor Martell Forum Resident


    I disagree - is a FANTASTIC album - OF CLASSICAL MUSIC !

    Let me explain myself - I have always have a little issue with the term Electronic Music - because the Electronics are the medium, not the message. What does "Electronic Music" mean?

    1.- Stockhausen and Usachevsky's 1950s experiments?
    2.- Morton Subotnick or David Borden's minimalist music?
    3.- Wendy Carlos and Tomita's electronic realizations of Classical Music?
    4.- Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze and the like Berlin Electronics?
    5.- Brian Eno's Ambient music?
    6.- Kraftwerk, Human League, Yazoo, Depeche Mode synthesized pop?
    7.- Detroit Techno?

    And I could go on - quite frankly VERY different types of music - one for sure cannot say that they are styles of Electronic Music. I think we have been looking at this the wrong way. It is like if we considered all bands with drums/bass/guitar the same to be the same style.

    So, to solve that, I file everything where it belongs. Of course, YMMV - you might think I am stupid - that's OK. I know, in general, I am right :D

    1.- Stockhausen, Ussachevsky, Subotnick, Borden, Wendy Carlos, Tomita, they all go into classical - as imho there is a connection, either because they perform classical music OR you can place them in the long line of the tradition - even IF avant garde.
    2.- Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze etc, go in Prog -yeah, I know, not 100% but as offshoots of psychedelia, it makes sense to me.
    3.- Ambient is Ambient, its own style
    6. - Kraftwerk and the Synth poppers go with punk/post-punk/new-wave, in the pop section
    7.- I do not own a lot of modern EDM - certainly nothing by the bigger and/or more commercial artists. But I have few of analogue heavy dance-y music that is very much in the style of the older synth pop - synth wave I think they call it these days, by people that give new names to old stuff, I assume because they do not know their music history - I just put them under No. 6, with the post-punk stuff, as I believe there is a connection.

    YMMV

    v
     
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  6. talkingh

    talkingh Vibes Controller

    Location:
    London
    John represents the future of hi-fi review...you may not like that and that’s cool...but things change, 30 years ago there would have been a much bigger let’s talk about 78’s section on here...and there are now ‘old’ people reminiscing about ‘classic’ techno and the ‘golden age’ of rap...the audiophile world is not gonna be about demo’ing jennifer warnes blue coat track or neil young forever...most people on hear buy 600 dollar power chords half the time because of how they look..thats lifestyle purchasing..so it’s a moot point to use that against him. He is concise and loves hi-fi...and a genuine nice guy...right now the world needs more of them
     
  7. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    Yet he runs two turntables with quite expensive phono stage and also has discovered CDs sound better than streaming. I think he has broadened away from lifestyle of late. Klipsch Forte III and JBL L100 are hardly lifestyle. I wish he would audition a wider range of amps (with no built in streaming). I like that he doesn't try to declare anything as best and looks at differences. Too many headphone reviews for me (but I haven't used any for years). Production standards of videos are well above the norm on Youtube.
     
  8. wavertonwood

    wavertonwood Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    I'm a fan of Darko's website, videos and podcasts. The recent podcast interview with the Nine Inch Nails' guitarist was a particular Darko highlight, even though I'm not overly familiar with Nine Inch Nails' discography.
     
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  9. Bedlam Inside

    Bedlam Inside Member

    Location:
    United States
    I think his production is now top-notch. His site has always been slick but now it's better than ever. I agree with someone else who said that Darko's site is the future of things. Whether you like electronic music or not, he's thorough, unpatronising and seems like a decent guy. I have a friend who once met him at a show - he happened to be chatting to the people running the stand at the time - he said he was very, very tall, really friendly and chatted to him about IEMs for a while. Does that count as a claim to fame?
     
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  10. talkingh

    talkingh Vibes Controller

    Location:
    London
    He is very tall in real life
     
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  11. bever70

    bever70 Let No-one Live Rent Free in Your Head!

    Location:
    Belgium
    I own several of his vinyl versions, I need to give those another spin after 20 years :D
     
  12. saturdayboy

    saturdayboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    Kinda like you, me, and the other who post these threads. He just has more people that are interested in his opinions.
     
  13. Dream On

    Dream On Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Well, most people here do not buy $600 power cords, so maybe not a moot point for them.

    But I agree that this is the future (maybe somewhat the present) of hi-fi reviews. Which is fine. Maybe the hi-fi world will be about demoing other music as well, but I hope they choose suitable music for what they want to evaluate. Is that happening now? That is all that my point has been in this thread. Acoustic music is well suited for revealing certain aspects of system performance.

    Thing with many of these You Tube reviewers is that the barrier to entry is tiny. Anyone can post a review. Theoretically, back in the day, you had to prove to the people running a magazine or website that you knew your stuff before you could get a chance to review equipment. So maybe the standard was higher. When I watch a lot of these You Tube reviews, I often get the feeling that the reviewer doesn't really know his stuff. I think they are learning as they go, and one of them has even admitted that. And I guess that's ok, you learn by doing, but in the meantime they have videos out there and are maybe coming across as experts to some folks. I think out of all of them, I'd trust Zero Fidelity's subjective opinion the most. I've watched a lot of NRD as well, but that channel can be irritating as I think he tries to be funny and chummy with his viewers too much, and there are too many clips with his family. I prefer Zero Fidelity's all business approach. He just gets into why we are watching in the first place, which is to discuss the gear and industry. I don't mean to be cold, but some of these videos drag on and sometimes the reviews do not give us pertinent info, so to include stuff that isn't relevant at all at the expense of stuff that should be, isn't the best choice IMO.

    I give them all credit though. It's not easy putting yourself out there, and some of them are definitely pouring a lot of effort into their videos and they are making headway. Darko is clearly one, NRD is another. NRD's series with GR Research was pretty cool, and Danny Ritchie from GR obviously knows his stuff and brought a lot of great info to viewers. Ron tried that with other manufacturers and I guess that didn't work out too well as those videos seem to have stopped. But to get someone like Danny Ritchie on is quite a coup I would say. But overall, most of the stuff they review I have little interest in. I think a lot of the industry still doesn't do You Tube and so these guys get access to a very small percentage of the gear that is out there and when one gets it, most of them seem to get it. Maybe these are just growing pains and in five years it will have matured a lot more.
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2020
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  14. talkingh

    talkingh Vibes Controller

    Location:
    London
    yes true....john is quite upfront about his knowledge and also his sponsors etc...can't say the same for all the others....on hi-fi mag i see has....reviews of items and then an add two pages later...how coincidental?
     
  15. Synthfreek

    Synthfreek I’m a ray of sunshine & bastion of positivity

    I'm being called out via private message for not publicly acknowledging William's apology for using the term knuckle-draggers. Count this as my public acceptance of said apology.
     
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  16. all24bits

    all24bits Mature Adult

    Location:
    USA
    How do you know he's using Skrillex or Deadmau5 for testing? How do you know he's not using other electronic music that's properly mastered and mixed?
     
  17. CortoL

    CortoL Well-Known Member

    Location:
    London
    I like his context very much and following the YouTube videos but he has an Instagram account and he doesn’t allow comments. That’s a bit disappointing considering that these platforms used by reviewers are made to promote discussion and engage new audiophiles and/or music lovers. From one hand he promotes openness and humble approach to audio that will welcome many and from the other hand he doesn’t allow comments for positive discussion. That’s why i stop following him on Instagram. I might be wrong but it comes across as a snobbish (please don’t bother me) approach which is the very thing he dislikes. Also he doesn’t want to receive messages.
     
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2020
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  18. rischa

    rischa Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mt. Horeb, WI
    I've been pretty agnostic toward Darko, but this weekend I watched his video on setting up a Raspberry Pi streamer, and it was one of the best hi-fi related videos I've seen on YouTube. It was very well produced and Darko's delivery was perfect in that he simplified what could have been a confusing topic without being condescending. I'm a fan now.
     
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  19. I feel differently than you on this one. I have an instagram page and a larger audience YouTube Channel and even though I allow comments, I totally get why some high subscriber channels limit it on some of their videos. There are a lot of crazy people out there... just read some of the comments on these pages :tiphat:

    I have a pretty faithful and respectful audience, but once in awhile I get a troll or wanker who calls out an opinion I give. My channel my opinion. I don't mind folks posting opposite takes on records or what I saw, but when they do the personal attack rather than post an intelligent comment, I don't have patience.

    Reviewers in the print world didn't have to deal with trolls, as only had a handful of letters to the editor were published the following month. And probably well edited at that.

    Not sure I've ever commented on Darko's videos, but I simply enjoy them. His emphasis on streaming and digital is not my thing, but I still love his presentation s and demeanor and I do learn something each time.
     
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  20. CortoL

    CortoL Well-Known Member

    Location:
    London
    I totally get that and you are right. There are many people who will not respect others or have basic human decency. I am not arguing monitoring and controlling your feed because his YouTube channel is open for discussion. That’s not the case for The Instagram account where no PMs are allowed or comments. I actually like to make comments not to discuss the subject matter with John but with other followers and audiophiles. Still I really like his videos and approach to audio and that’s why I follow his YouTube channel.
     
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  21. hifisoup

    hifisoup @hearmoremusic on Instagram

    Location:
    USA
    I enjoy Darko's reviews, his delivery and the way his youtube channel videos are edited. I find them unique with a different sensibility to providing gear reviews. I also like that he listens to electronic music because it is different than all of the reviewers who listen and report using classical, jazz and rock music. His vinyl lover's guide to electronic music in Berlin is interesting IMO.
     
  22. Rt66indierock

    Rt66indierock Forum Resident

    Location:
    Phoenix Arizona
    If you like folks with with no qualifications who write well maybe. But teaching in Australia and being a DJ don't mean anything to me.
     
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  23. Fruff76

    Fruff76 L100 Classic - Fan Club President

    Isn’t that a most of the reviewers at The Absolute Sound and Stereophile?
     
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  24. rischa

    rischa Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mt. Horeb, WI
    I just watched Darko's most recent video comparing 3 different amp/speaker combos and thought it was brilliant from beginning to end. I didn't really pay him any attention until this thread, but now I'm a huge fan. As one of the only reviewers I know of who could be relevant to millenials, he's clearly the future of this hobby. We should be grateful, frankly.
     
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  25. Dream On

    Dream On Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Yeah, it was a good video. I mean, three speakers with three amps, you could see where he was going right from the start, but he explained it very well and it should illustrate to newbies the importance of synergy and matching. Great pacing as well; the video didn't drag on and on and on.
     
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