Dishonest Critical Comments about Hardware?

What most forget is the most important thing, how something sounds to you.
People can make recommendations, but if you are happy with what you already have, there is no reason to change.

 

There are two sides to the coin. As others have said there are also ringers out there writing glowing reviews. Supposedly it has been cleaned up, but I knew a restaurant owner that paid to get a mass posting of positive reviews on line.

He was located next to a major employer that was closing. The employees of that business comprised a majority of his customers. He panicked when the closing was announced, and he paid a service to boost his on-line presence. The restaurant's business took off but it was all tourists and one-shot customers. I stopped dining there, and eventually he sold out.

I notice the people who are on Facebook seem particularly susceptible to gorilla marketing. They all start discussing the same product, TV show, movie etc. then they all buy into it. The last thing I remember before we started working remotely was the Popeye's chicken sandwich mania. I told them they were being manipulated but they still lined up to buy one.

 

None of this applies to Bose, right? Do we still have free reign there, experience or not? I'm talking militant bashing, as in "it doesn't sound good to me and nor does it to you either" kind of a thing. I hope that is still encouraged.

I waited until the line was gone, caved, and bought one. And you are right, the multitude of reviews and comparisons were overwhelmingly positive. Last one I'll ever eat. Chick-fil-A all the way.

 

Not to be a jerk, but if you base your decision on what you've read or seen on an internet forum then it's on you. To me forums are kinda like asking people what "they think" everyone is different, but few if any, have your perspective.

M~

 

That is the whole point of advertising. A lot of it is adding fluff to something that is actually 'plain jane'. Word of mouth wins out every time and the scams are soon uncovered.
There are companies out there that specialize in beefing a client's business. One of the simplest methods is to keep clicking on someone's web page. What that does is when someone search for a certain thing, your business continues to move up the chain of the order of display.
Remember, if you see it on the internet, it has to be true! lol

 

I tend to distrust any manufacturer, dealer, reviewer, or poster who claim that measurements don’t matter when talking about a particular piece of gear.

 

or claiming a piece of equipment "punches above its weight"

 

Another similar bias is post purchase rationalization.
Especially when someone has spend a significant part of their income on something but are having second thoughts about it in the back of their head.
Choice-supportive bias - Wikipedia

However, I’ve also seen it being used as a rhetorical tool to dismiss product experience of others.

 

Doing home auditions takes work, it's often going to involve time, money, and hassle also. However, I think people will be happier with equipment in the long run if they can do that, rather than just buying off one glowing review from a mag or internet hype.

That said, I got chewed out for suggesting this on another forum recently, so all types of people are out there, including people that just want "tell me to what to buy" answers.

 

i was following a thread of a well liked piece of hardware that was all of a sudden slammed out of nowhere by a few people in succession.
by self interest it would mean anyone with some financial interest in the popular product's competition.

 

If you're asking why nobody wants you to buy that Bose Waveradio...no, those are people who just hate to see rubes get taken by over-zealous marketing.

But yes, of course there are people out there who would rather you made a purchasing decision that would benefit the brands and models they offer, rather than choosing another popular brand these people don't have a stake in.

Have you never lived through an election cycle before...?

 

Or a product that “blows away” another product... or “the soundstage opened up completely”... hyperboles.

 

Slammed by people that don't own the product??

 

I think we would all do well to avoid making sweeping dismissals. It's easy to state a design issue—don't like self-biasing circuits, don't like open baffle speakers, etc.

That sort of comment will lead people to research IF they are curious. Taking a pose of authority is kinda silly. Design is interesting.

 

Agreed....if something is being discussed in here,chances are it's pretty good.Almost nothing in here "crushes the competition "...things are mostly just different approaches at best....horses for courses(or audiophiles

 

Your signature is very appropriate for this comment.

 

Are you suggesting that everything you read on the internet may not be true?

 

they said they did....

 

Stating "Product A crushes Product B" is indirectly disparaging the latter.

I have no doubt there are dishonest reviews, both positive and negative. The anonymity of this here interweb is the prefect breeding ground for it. The Microsoft Evangelists, paid to promote their products and disparage competitors in various forums, were here from the early days of the internet. They often hid their allegiance, posing as just another person posting in a forum. I have no doubt others have used this model too.

There are also the axe-grinders, ones who have been unhappy with something and trash it all over the web using different forum ID's.

Then there is what I call "forum buzz", where one or two people post constantly about a product be it positive or negative. It's gives the false impression of there being a wide variety of people posting due to the topic always being at the top of the most recent activity list. There was one such thread over on another forum about a certain power conditioner which was primarily driven by one person repeatedly posting over-the-top statements ("crushing", "wiping the floor", "orders of magnitude better" etc) regarding it.

This could just as easily be called the misinformation highway. Tread carefully.

 

I own a non audio business. About 10-12 years ago when advertising with google was becoming a "thing", google itself would constantly call for us to "claim" our website. Many in my industry got suckered into that, then paying more to come up listed first on a google search. Then other companies would solicit to remove bad reviews from yelp, google, etc. I'm sure companies would place bad reviews, then solicit business to remove them. Take everything you read with a grain of salt....

 

I don't see that problem here, but maybe I've missed something. The most helpful comments are usually qualified even if positive; and I'll process a negative comment about something based on the circumstances provided by the poster- e.g. owner, listener of someone else's system, or show conditions. In addition, there are obvious synergies or lack thereof, set up issues and other things that may be brought out through discussion. The blunt conclusion is of less interest than the considerations leading to it for me. And since I bought most of the equipment I currently use by having in my system first (with a few exceptions), I can extend the same information with qualifications to others. For example, there was a gent on another forum interested in the same turntable I've owned for the better part of 15 years. I couldn't say it was the best table in the world- it certainly isn't the most expensive, nor have I heard every turntable and arm combo-- who has? However, I could talk about what I knew, based on experience, support from the manufacturer and importer/distributor and comparisons I had made myself in my system with controlled variables. Even with that, I would leave it to the potential buyer to evaluate. It's hard to do-- precisely because there are so many variables.
Most of the folks who are dealers or manufacturers who post here are uniformly helpful and don't lower themselves to snarking about the competition. I'm sure some of that snark is stealth negativism--a form of "bash core" that becomes pretty evident when you start to probe a little.

 

of course but they could be influential opinions nonetheless. especially when you have to buy sound unheard. a couple of well placed total slams could turn someone in a different direction....

 

Lol yep...i have had gear that didn't do it for me(not many...and not for too long)but i never felt the need to slam it in a forum.Slamming implies something is truly awefull....not sure i would call anything discussed in these forums over 500$ awefull.Different or even better or worse...but awefull? Nope

 

Thank you.

M~

 

I think I know which thread you're talking about. As a potential buyer of said hardware it prompted me to do some additional googling, and I found one or two other examples of "The Issue". I agree with your assessment-I've been researching the hardware for a while, and this is the first I've heard of the alleged issue. It's odd, to say the least, that this came out of nowhere regarding a product that's been on the market for some time, from a reputable and well regarded manufacturer.