[Hoagie]

OP has a point.  The problem is that many people don't get it.  Nothing is ever the best.  Nothing is the best in a Genre.  Nothing is the best in a price range.  In your opinion it may be the best under these criteria, but anything that goes beyond that statement says something about the reviewer which is not positive .  This is not to say that you shouldn't have an opinion, or that your opinion is not valuable.  However note that the best reviewers have listened to the headphone under discussion and can say why they like it without overstating the case, or sounding like a sales person. 
 
One of the things I learned in the workplace a long time ago, that it is a rare but important quality to "know what you don't know"  People who master this simple rule tend to go further in life. 

 

[jerg]

Quote:

 
Yeah, I can see that argument.  And I guess if the claim was made on rare occasion with the situation you stated, it would not bother me.  I guess my main complaint is that it is not used like that and is overused frequently by many people in reviews and forums.
 
And I am not just limiting this issue to Head-fi forums.  You can go onto most headphone reviews an amazon or youtube and see that almost every headphone has that claim made.  I know that those reviews are made by non-audiophiles, and that you will get someone with their first headphone making that claim mainly because he heard or read someone else say it. 
 
I feel that head-fi has many excellent reviews where this is not an issue.  I was just hoping to bring some attention to the topic so that future reviews will keep it in mind and be a little more objective in a review; and if they have an opinion on something subjective and do not have any experience with other headphones, hopefully they will identify it as such.

If it was a perfect world, headphone reviewers should only qualify if they already have a comprehensive perspective. Meaning, they own or used to own a large cache of headphones in different price ranges, and have auditioned a nearly-exhaustive list of headphones in depth.
 
The lack of perspective is why the vast majority of published headphone reviews over the Internet are next to useless.

 

[Povell42]

Quote:

OP has a point.  The problem is that many people don't get it.  Nothing is ever the best.  Nothing is the best in a Genre.  Nothing is the best in a price range.  In your opinion it may be the best under these criteria, but anything that goes beyond that statement says something about the reviewer which is not positive .  This is not to say that you shouldn't have an opinion, or that your opinion is not valuable.  However note that the best reviewers have listened to the headphone under discussion and can say why they like it without overstating the case, or sounding like a sales person. 
 
One of the things I learned in the workplace a long time ago, that it is a rare but important quality to "know what you don't know"  People who master this simple rule tend to go further in life. 

 
100% agree.    

 

[Povell42]

Quote:

If it was a perfect world, headphone reviewers should only qualify if they already have a comprehensive perspective. Meaning, they own or used to own a large cache of headphones in different price ranges, and have auditioned a nearly-exhaustive list of headphones in depth.
 
The lack of perspective is why the vast majority of published headphone reviews over the Internet are next to useless.

 
Again.....I don't really agree.

I have read many amateur reviews that are great and very helpful. The key is that in the review they identify their experience in the topic and what type of consumer they are. That gives the reader some context of the opinion as well as identifies common ground with other consumers in the same boat.
In fact I have read some amateur reviews that helped me more then a hardcore audiophile review.  
I am not a long time audiophile and I have only picked up the hobby recently (noob).  So when I read a review that starts with, "I am not an audiophile by any means but I have heard X, Y, Z headphones.."  I can Identify with that consumer and I have the context of where their opinion is made from.
 
So my point is that an amateur review can be very helpful as long as it is written with the criteria that I and others have mention previously in this forum. 
 
I am not trying to argue with you or get you mad. Honestly.  I can totally see the point you are trying to make.
 
I agree with Hoagie when he said, "Nothing is the best in a price range.  In your opinion it may be the best under these criteria, but anything that goes beyond that statement says something about the reviewer which is not positive."

 

[squallkiercosa]

Quoted:
 
-"First off, I am going to reiterate a point which I have made in several other articles since many of our readers are not familiar with the audiophile world when it comes to sound quality. With high end audio equipment, the value per dollar greatly decreases as you go up the cost ladder. For example, a piece of audio equipment that costs twice as much may only sound slightly better. But this is what the audiophile world is all about. People spend big bucks on audio equipment to get ultimately great sound rather than spend less and maybe settle for only great sound. And remember, good sound quality is a very personal thing. If it sounds good to you, you have accomplished your goal, (but to be on the safe side, you might just consider avoiding listening to someone else’s audiophile setup)."
 
- "...I've learned that once you get up to a certain level in the audiophile headphone world, one headphone is not necessarily better than another"....
 

 Copyright © 2009 Bill K and Listening Station​

http://www.goodcans.com/HeadphoneReviews/gradobig3.htm

 

[wes008]

I've thought about this too, and in my eyes (or ears 

) it's justified. As you continue in your hi-fi journey, you will try/buy many headphones that don't sound super special or anything, but are very good headphones when you take their price point into account. Product reviewers may feel compelled/encouraged to leave price behind and just judge a product on it's sole merits, but it's a bit different in the hi-fi world. With our current technologies and manufacturing processes, you're NEVER going to find an HD800's sound and quality in a $200 headphone. While a particular $200 headphone might not sound as good as an HD800, it could very well be worth it's asking price of $200. 
 
I do agree with Jerg though. The "For the price" line would be so much better with a little extra detail in there.

 

[Povell42]

Quoted:
 
-"First off, I am going to reiterate a point which I have made in several other articles since many of our readers are not familiar with the audiophile world when it comes to sound quality. With high end audio equipment, the value per dollar greatly decreases as you go up the cost ladder. For example, a piece of audio equipment that costs twice as much may only sound slightly better. But this is what the audiophile world is all about. People spend big bucks on audio equipment to get ultimately great sound rather than spend less and maybe settle for only great sound. And remember, good sound quality is a very personal thing. If it sounds good to you, you have accomplished your goal, (but to be on the safe side, you might just consider avoiding listening to someone else’s audiophile setup)."
 
- "...I've learned that once you get up to a certain level in the audiophile headphone world, one headphone is not necessarily better than another"....
 

 Copyright © 2009 Bill K and Listening Station​

http://www.goodcans.com/HeadphoneReviews/gradobig3.htm

 
Thanks for sharing that.

 

[redrich2000]

Quote:

Is anyone else sick of reading/watching headphone reviews to hear the reviewer say...."For this price range, you will not find better" ?  
 
I know some of you may be mad (

) that I am making a thread about this topic.  However, I am making it in hopes to point this out to whoever reviews a headphone.  And hopefully they will not use this phrase unless they have really listened and compared  almost all headphones in that price range and below.
 
I mean, I feel like any headphone that is somewhat decent...a reviewer states this too often: "This may not be the best headphone I have ever heard...but for the price range you will not find better". (or something to that regard)
 
Also what gets me is when you see the SAME reviewer state something like this more than once, in separate reviews, for headphones in the same price range. 

 
I know reviews are very subjective and the person making this type of claim may feel like that at that moment, but it is a very ludicrous accusation to make and it is way overused in reviews.  
 
Just hoping to point this out to the community and see if anyone else shares this frustration with me. Hopefully those who are writing reviews will not make such claims off of only listening to a few headphones.   This phrase has lead me astray too many times now. 

I also hate it when people make up phrases 

But seriously, best phone in its price range is only one of many crazy exaggerations people make when they first get new phones. I reckon the mods should enforce a cooling off period after you get new phones before you can post. The more posts you have the less you have to wait.