There is nothing wrong with that, but take this and add it too all the apple/apm promoting posts this user has produced, there is clearly some bias and promotion going on.
Plus there is an element of hypocrisy in that he is happy to write off panda and k361 specifically purchase to compare and review, after only a bunch of tracks. Yet he didn't apply this "take your time" approach, nor did he suggest the "take your time" approach for the k371 and panda. This approach was only suggested to be applied for the APM in his conclusion. Nor did he "burn in" his k361 and panda to have them on an even playing field for the review. He just ordered them, received them, and quickly made the review and case was closed.
I suppose the whole audio community has a range of similar issues with burning in, trying things out long enough, etc.
I suppose I can only relate what I experienced in the time I’ve had with anything, as all of us do. Maybe it helps to mention that the APM sounded better to me on first impression than the others had? Or maybe they grew on me and biased me when comparing to anything else. Who knows for sure.
At least I can say this...the APM
can sound better than the K361 and Panda. Maybe I need more time, maybe not. But the fact they even have ability to on any amount of experience with the others...That’s...perhaps at least something.
Who knows man. I surely don’t. That’s why I try to say in my comparison it’s just my ears, with my methods, and honest observations at time of listening. I would highly encourage anyone to try what I did to see if they hear what I did. I kept a log to be entirely transparent. I genuinely want to know if the clarity, soundstage, and other things I highlighted for the APM against the Panda and K361 could be tested for by other ears.
I sincerely respect your criticism. I even messaged my friend with the same concern saying I wasn’t sure if the other headphones were really outperformed in the ways I heard. But that’s what I heard, even given all the disclaimers of burn-in etc.
EDIT:: I want to add that I don’t want to write off the K361 and Panda entirely. I may have been too harsh to paint them as less enjoyable or capable in some situations. They do have positives. Idk what to say about it except they are different and I preferred the way I heard the APM sound. Particularly the clarity, control, soundstage, and authenticity I perceived. Maybe someone disagrees strongly. Again, sorry if they do. I wonder how long they let the APM burn in, or be listened to on their own, before A/B’ing. Or maybe to really test my observations, someone would actually have to rerun my exact comparison. Same headphones, same tracks, same moments where i pointed out I heard what I heard.
This audio world is messed up. People with so many different backgrounds, biases, tastes...all mixed in with a terrible lack of people actually repeating the methods performed by someone else who made claims.
I’m rambling. I’m sorry again to how difficult this all is but I heard what I heard. You have to try yourself. It’s ok to totally disagree with me. There will be no hate or disdain from me if someone has a different experience. Even when DMS and Headphone show didn’t like the APM against the K371/K361, I never meant to paint them as malicious or acting in bad faith. I just didn’t hear what they heard, and share that difference of opinion with people here. To me, the APM are worth more of my money for how much more I enjoy them.
EDIT AGAIN:: I also want to say how I feel for the audio engineers. There are real people behind these headphones we compare, and sometimes we get caught up in expressing opinions without spending enough time to appreciate what they were able to put out there and the tuning they designed and liked themselves. Hey, maybe I need more time to listen to these things. If I was a tech reviewer and these companies sent me these headphones, I would give a lot more time listening. What can we do, you know?
