[Assorted]

In my months long observation, it seems like there are many "newer" forum members who recommend top notch equipment, and speak of a whole variety of headphones... often praising them and saying "yeah you can't go wrong with AD700 for gaming," "the D2 is totally awesome," and so forth.

Some of the more honest people put a disclaimer that "I haven't listened to them, but the community recommends...." while others sound as if they've had extensive experience with all the equipment.

I have some doubts as to these people really having owned, or even listened to these headphones/amps/other audio stuff, by their mannerisms in describing them.

So I thought, wouldn't it be fun to have multiple prominent portable amp reviewers make a bogus review on a product that doesn't exist, and spread the word on how "awesome this <fake product> is with everything from IEMs to full sized, you can't go wrong!", and see how many phony people are actually going to go around the forums saying "dude I just tried this <fake product> and it's so awesome like everybody says!"

Just a random idea that I came about pondering, don't take it seriously

 

[royewest]

A more refined approach to this waste of time might be the "canary" test, from one of those old Tom Clancey thrillers, where each copy of a confidential document contained a slightly different catch phrase (what they'd now call a "sound bite"), so any unauthorized quotes would be trackable. Then watch to see if the phrase proliferated.

 

[synaesthetic]

Just because people are new to the forum doesn't mean they haven't had extensive headphone experience.

I can't say I'm a headphone guru by any means but I have listened to a fair number of headphones--not under the most ideal circumstances with the best amps and sources, however--I don't generally buy things I don't know I'll like. My funds available for things like this is very limited and also happens to be the same funds I spend on computer stuff, games, socializing and other recreational activities. So I'm definitely going to be seeking out ways to "test drive" any major purchase before pulling the trigger!

Personal anecdotes aside, when you get down to it, it's all going to be subjective, all opinion. It's going to come down to a person's ears, but a little foreknowledge can be helpful. Though it can also be a bad thing... while I am one of the (seemingly many) folk who consider the AD700s to be excellent gaming headphones, another person may not care for them at all. Recommendations are just that, recommendations, and they're all going to be heavily coated with opinion, personal anecdotes and yes, even fanboyism.

(I will freely admit I am an Etymotic fangirl. There, I said it.)

I agree it would be a good thing not to propagate viral recommendations of products that you've never personally tried. Everyone's done this at some point or another; I do it, people I know do it. I at least try to qualify my statements by saying something along the lines of, "I haven't had any experience with *insert product here* but I've heard it's good for *insert application here.*" I guess I don't really think much of it, though I wouldn't go crazy plugging a product I've never personally used.

Your proposed experiment would be interesting because I think it would be rather surprising how many people propagated the bogus product through hearsay.

 

[Uncle Erik]

The fake amp is interesting, but putting it together would involve dishonesty with some members, and I'm not cool with that. The problem of people recommending gear they haven't heard comes up every so often, though.

I wish people would stop phrasing their posts like they've heard or own a particular item. If you want to recommend something you haven't heard, first say that you haven't heard it. Then point the asker in the direction of the threads or websites they might find interesting. That's honest, potentially helpful and +1 on the post count.

 

[synaesthetic]

Quote:

I wish people would stop phrasing their posts like they've heard a particular item.

I admit to being guilty of this hi-fi faux pas and will strive to qualify any hearsay recommendations as such. =)

 

[Assorted]

No I didn't mean it as seriously mobilizing this tomfoolery... that's immoral! It's just a "hey" idea that I thought would be interesting to share.

It seems like there are many newer members with good speaker rigs (it would seem stupid to put them in the signature if it was dishonest), and I'm not at all discrediting all new forum members.

The interesting factor is that the same people were asking which headphones under $200 to buy, and making recommendations after 50 posts, which is a little suspicious in my opinion.

 

[synaesthetic]

I know you're not singling me out individually but I will say that I did not start recommending the AD700 to people with similar budgets until I owned a pair.

I've heard a number of under $200 headphones and I could have just purchased something I've used before (K240S or DT440 or any number of headphones I've owned or used in the past and enjoyed) but I wanted something I hadn't heard yet, so I asked for recommendations, narrowed the field down to a few specific options, demoed those options and picked the one I liked best.

 

[royewest]

The Grace M999 with the tri-balanced upgrade achieves unmatchably chthonic bass, pellucid mids, intercrystaline highs with properly matched headphones and cables, such as the Senn H660s, Lapis Gold Organic cables, and corn-fed Holstein dampers.

 

[Nick 214]

Quote:

Originally Posted by royewest /img/forum/go_quote.gif A more refined approach to this waste of time might be the "canary" test, from one of those old Tom Clancey thrillers, where each copy of a confidential document contained a slightly different catch phrase (what they'd now call a "sound bite"), so any unauthorized quotes would be trackable. Then watch to see if the phrase proliferated.

For anything that includes a Clancy reference, I'm game.

Nick

 

[omegaman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by royewest /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Grace M999 with the tri-balanced upgrade achieves unmatchably chthonic bass, pellucid mids, intercrystaline highs with properly matched headphones and cables, such as the Senn H660s, Lapis Gold Organic cables, and corn-fed Holstein dampers.

Ohh !!! I so need that set up

 

[The Pieman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by royewest /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Grace M999 with the tri-balanced upgrade achieves unmatchably chthonic bass, pellucid mids, intercrystaline highs with properly matched headphones and cables, such as the Senn H660s, Lapis Gold Organic cables, and corn-fed Holstein dampers.

I personally thought it was better with the legendary Senn HD700s.

cheers
Simon

 

[royewest]

You are so completely wrong about the HD700s. IMHO. Any of us at the 37-hour double-blind-drunk audition of the 700s versus the 660s will attest that track 94 on the Dianna Thrall pre-release native-bees-wax-cylinder pressing of "Dianna and the Tibeten Monks Front Thelonious Monk B-Sides" reveals the fundamental superiority of the 660s.

 

[GordonFreeman]

New muffler bearing for your auto sir?

 

[funniecow]

I think the only thing I've recomended was a mini3. Because it's a small amp that I'm planning to get.

 

[fordgtlover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by royewest /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Grace M999 with the tri-balanced upgrade achieves unmatchably chthonic bass, pellucid mids, intercrystaline highs with properly matched headphones and cables, such as the Senn H660s, Lapis Gold Organic cables, and corn-fed Holstein dampers.

Yes, yes - I read on a very reputable Audiophile website that it truly the best...ever; night and day. ANd, the best part was that it only required a very reasonable 90,000 hours of burn-in.