[estreeter]

Reading one of the more contentious threads on HF recently, I noticed reference to said guidelines and the fact that we are required to state whether we purchased the gear ourselves or if it was supplied as a review unit. I googled 'Head-Fi Review Guidelines' but this is the best I could do, I accept that the community may not be enamoured of cookie-cutter style reviews, but surely a template at the top of each review wouldn't be a bad thing ? Just a suggestion - happy to hear that I just havent found the right page. 
 
http://www.head-fi.org/a/posting-guidelines
 

Reviews and Impressions

 
Please don't recommend equipment you don't own or otherwise don't have a reasonable amount of familiarity with. You wouldn't recommend someone a car you've never driven or suggest someone live in a country you haven't been to, so recommending headphones and equipment you haven't owned or used is unhelpful. Even if you've seen the same comments about something from a dozen members, save discussion of that if you're intending to buy it yourself.
 
Likewise, please avoid trashing equipment you haven't used or aren't familiar with. Having doubts about something you see in a design is fair enough, but to quote Robert Pirsig: "The test of the machine is the satisfaction it gives you. There isn't any other test. If the machine produces tranquility, it's right. If it disturbs you it's wrong until either the machine or your mind is changed." So remember that you can derive satisfaction from listening with any audio gear as much from your appreciation of the design (whether how it looks or how it measures) as much as how it reproduces music.
 
Also, Please don't post a review of a product in the Head Gear section that you don't yet own or have only heard briefly. People use the reviews to decide what product to buy, and brief impressions or comments by people who don't own a product (or at least haven't had it in their possession for a sufficient amount of time) are unhelpful.

 

[lin0003]

IMO people who get products t review should state so in their review. 

 

[estreeter]

  IMO people who get products t review should state so in their review. 

 
And the better reviewers do so - I just want a link to the OTHER guidelines for writing a review suitable for HF. FWIW, I've never been sent so much as a packet of gum by anyone interested in marketing their product, but I'm increasingly aware of the value of Head-Fi as a 'free' marketing conduit. Tyll addressed the issues around the tendency for many to publish only 'positive' reviews but the downside of reviewing gear I've only recently purchased is that I have to allow time for the usual new toy joy / expectation bias to subside. I dont feel any particular pressure to write a glowing review, but very few of us are prepared to slam something we've paid thousands of dollars for - IMO, the fact that a reviewer paid for a component out of their own pocket is a mixed blessing. 
 
That's all OT - for now I just need those guidelines. Thanks in advance.

 

[Currawong]

We had a problem with a couple of people who figured out that they could get free IEM samples from all over the place, write a glowing review for each, then flog them at a 100% profit in the classifieds or eBay, essentially abusing our MOT rules, so I put that rule in place about stating whether the product was a sample or not.