cnet headphone reviews

[commando]

Oh my god... they give the V700 8/10, and describe the headphone type (along with all the others) as "Binaural". They say of the 700 "These full-size earcup 'phones deliver excellent reproduction of today's popular music". They do manage to rate the 280 pro as 1% better.... they shouldn't let the deaf rate headphones. Of the Grado 125s: "the Grado SR125 will satisfy even the most demanding audiophile." I know a few demanding audiophiles...

They manged to mention Grado, Sennheiser, and Ultrasone, but I don't think i'll ever trust a cnet review again.

 

[Aptmunich]

Oh my God

, and Commando spends all his time dumping on the e2's and convincing people they're awful!

Suppose it's all relative eh?

 

[Flea Bag]

Quote:

Originally Posted by commando Oh my god... they give the V700 8/10, and describe the headphone type (along with all the others) as "Binaural". They say of the 700 "These full-size earcup 'phones deliver excellent reproduction of today's popular music". They do manage to rate the 280 pro as 1% better.... they shouldn't let the deaf rate headphones. Of the Grado 125s: "the Grado SR125 will satisfy even the most demanding audiophile." I know a few demanding audiophiles... They manged to mention Grado, Sennheiser, and Ultrasone, but I don't think i'll ever trust a cnet review again.

I agree totally!

Regarding the V700, well I guess the word which MIGHT save them is 'popular music' which I'm hoping that they're referring to the general population. I'm sure most people would be fine with the V700 though no one here would.

The 125: I'm too new in the game to know how demanding I am but with the MS1, supposedly neutralised 125s I've got a few complaints, though minor.

Finally, the 280 which I own and like but I have read about quite a number of people who hate these things. I'm sure someone is artifically jacking up the reviews on certain phones because I would think that most of the average population would rate the V700 as having a more musical sound than the analytical 280s. Either way, I'm not trusting a lot of popular review sites again.

 

[pbirkett]

FWIW, I know a couple of audiophiles who actually quite seem to like the V700's

 

[Flea Bag]

Woops... my apologies.

I actually know someone who has the V700 but he a little more into computer-based/MP3 sound at the moment. Either way he's seems fanatical enough to be considered an audiophile although I wouldn't rate myself as one, at least not yet....

 

[delenda est Sony]

Hey, say what you will about CNet ... at least they're not IGN!

http://gear.ign.com/articles/306/306308p1.html

des

 

[masteraleph]

Quote:

Originally Posted by delenda est Sony Hey, say what you will about CNet ... at least they're not IGN! http://gear.ign.com/articles/306/306308p1.html des

Gotta say that I prefer my 280s, where the only force feedback is the low bass inside my head.

 

[recephasan]

CNET, like many other commercial sites, makes money with ad clicks. I think many people who go to cnet for their tech info are not into dumping $2k into headphones. As far as the bulk of their readers are concerned, $150 for a pair of headphones is a different class of spending on its own, esp. since one can get 'headphones' for $10.
I think it's understandable. I also think it's heresy for head-fiers to trust cnet reviews hehe

 

[masteraleph]

Quote:

Originally Posted by recephasan CNET, like many other commercial sites, makes money with ad clicks. I think many people who go to cnet for their tech info are not into dumping $2k into headphones. As far as the bulk of their readers are concerned, $150 for a pair of headphones is a different class of spending on its own, esp. since one can get 'headphones' for $10. I think it's understandable. I also think it's heresy for head-fiers to trust cnet reviews hehe

True, but it's rather annoying when we're all well aware that there are much better headphones (including some made by Sony) available for the same price or cheaper.

 

[Aman]

I frowned at that statement of the SR125s as well.. I feel that the SR125s don't satisfy me well enough, and I'm hardly what they consider an "audiophile".

CNet is reviewing for the common buyer, and not someone that is into the headphone hobby.

However, I do feel that people should start visiting hobby sites like Headfi to get information that can be powerful to their purchases. I mean, who wouldn't like saving a few bucks and getting better quality? Even if the company's name is in German, I'd take it

Like with cars - I visited all the automotive forums to see what they felt would be the best car for me. I am VERY happy that I got people I knew who I was talking about to tell me what to get over pushy salesmen.

 

[toaster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by delenda est Sony Hey, say what you will about CNet ... at least they're not IGN! http://gear.ign.com/articles/306/306308p1.html des

they were reveiwing a pair of rumble headphones whose main application is for games. they apparently do their job and that's why they got the score they did. i think ign is one of the best sites on the net in terms of quality writing and layout.

did you read their e5 review? it's dead on.

http://gear.ign.com/articles/428/428204p1.html

i dare you to show me a better non-audio site review of a headphone

 

[delenda est Sony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by toaster22 they were reveiwing a pair of rumble headphones whose main application is for games. they apparently do their job and that's why they got the score they did. i think ign is one of the best sites on the net in terms of quality writing and layout. did you read their e5 review? it's dead on. http://gear.ign.com/articles/428/428204p1.html i dare you to show me a better non-audio site review of a headphone

I actually bought those damned rumble phones and they stunk for music, games, and movies. Especially for music, but even for games having rumbling pads upside your head every minute for Half Life or whatever got tired quickly. So as far as I am concerned, IGN is the "authority" that encouraged me to waste money on junk. That was of course before I found the glory that is Head Fi!

IGN is not shabby for game reviews, though they are maybe a point too generous usually. Their movie and music reviews are a tad sketchy, and as I say for audio, I will not trust them. And if you want a better headphone review from non-audio sites, try this one:

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/004/h...dphones-1.html

soild! And reliable. All one needs is one set of Rumblephones and all the great e5 recommendations in the workd cannot undo the damage...

des

 

[toaster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by delenda est Sony All one needs is one set of Rumblephones and all the great e5 recommendations in the workd cannot undo the damage...

wow, those things must be really, really bad.

 

[delenda est Sony]

well, they weren't as rotten as the Sennheiser HD500 "Fusion" headphones (hint: an H Bomb uses fusion as well...) but they were a huge disappointment.

The IGN review was along the lines of "hey, these are really great for games, and guess what, they're actually good for music too!" and my reaction was that they sounded terrible for music and the rumble feature was so cheesey and useless that the alleged enhancement for games was actually detrimental.

People can have legitimate markedly different opinions on the sound of headphones, but the fact that their reviewer evidently ENJOYED having these headache inducing gimmicks pulsing on his ears convinced me that his tastes are on a different plane of existence than mine... And whatever music he was enjoying with these must be similarly alien!

des