[qrtas]

I understand that people are upset about knowing that the headphone they love and they spent so much money on has been kicked out of the WoF. I’ve been in that train many times. But I just don’t really care anymore.

I read Tyll’s and other people’s reviews, specially because when I purchase audiophile headphones, I don’t have a chance to listen to them before I purchase them. But once I put them to the test with my own ears, that’s what really counts to me.

For the guys that already have the Utopia and love them, who cares what other people say at this point. If you love them, keep loving them. I know there is a feeling of proudness when your favorite headphones are on the WoF or any other ranking, but in the end we just need to enjoy music.

We, audiophiles get a chance to listen to the best headphones ever made like Focals, Audezes, senheisers, mrspeakers, Beyerdynamics, Akgs, and the list goes on and on, but for some reason we are never quite happy.

Some times really envy my non-audiophile friends. They put in their ears those white Apple earbuds and they just enjoy.

I have a lot of respect for Tyll. Reading his reviews have helped me in my decisions, when buying my headphones. My purchases have always been blind, my local stores only carry Bose, beats and crap like that. I am sure that is the case for most of us, so I heavily rely on reading reviews and other’s opinions.

I don’t want to make this too long, but I think I already did. If you already love your headphones, just keep enjoying them. Life is short ENJOY

 

[potkettleblack]

Part of me does love Tyll scorning manufactures a little and pointing out the value for money of their products, or lack there of. But his vendetta over the last year seems to have gone a little too far imo. The main reason I think this is because the genre capabilities of headphones plays no role in his review conclusions whatsoever. It’s all good removing Audeze (LCD 3/X [and this isn’t because I owned/own them]) from the WOF, because of their technical capabilities, but what headphones are left that perform equally as well with genres like Rock/EDM/HipHop? I personally don’t think any that are left come remotely close. But this never seems to be a factor for him. ‘Bang for buck’ is a great standard to use but I think restricting your music library when there are other headphones out there that destroy in those categories is a little unfair.

 

[joseph69]

Still, I think that for beginners and general public, his WoF works pretty well as one of general guidance. One problem is that when he takes it off from WoF, it upsets some owners (less resale value etc..)

The "WoF" may work for these listeners because they don't know any better due to the lack of experiencing different sounding headphones, so they go by what they read from a "professional reviewer" who's job it is to try and sell and are completely satisfied with someone else preferences/experiences.

I'm not trying to disrespect anyone, but as soon as it was mentioned the Clear were on the "WoF" at least a 1/2 dozen posts popped up saying "I ordered the Clears" otherwise reading impressions from members who aren't "reviewers" wasn't enough. This makes absolutely no sense to me. Don't these members have minds/ears of their own? There are plenty of good sounding headphones, but they all have their own signature, so it comes down to what one as a buyer prefers.

Also, if taking a headphone off the "WoF" is a problem for someone, and can cause them to be upset, they have no mind of their own, and don't know what they prefer. As far as this causing them to lose their value is just ridiculous.

In no way am I targeting you, this goes to all the posts I've been reading from those who don't have a mind/sound preference of their own (and there seems to be many) and rely solely on a "reviewer" regardless who it is or what headphone it is.

Maybe I missed the part were some were given platinum ears?

 

[franz12]

The "WoF" may work for these listeners because they don't know any better due to the lack of experiencing different sounding headphones, so they go by what they read from a "professional reviewer" who's job it is to try and sell and are completely satisfied with someone else preferences/experiences.

I'm not trying to disrespect anyone, but as soon as it was mentioned the Clear were on the "WoF" at least a 1/2 dozen posts popped up saying "I ordered the Clears" otherwise reading impressions from members who aren't "reviewers" wasn't enough. This makes absolutely no sense to me. Don't these members have minds/ears of their own? There are plenty of good sounding headphones, but they all have their own signature, so it comes down to what one as a buyer prefers.

Also, if taking a headphone off the "WoF" is a problem for someone, and can cause them to be upset, they have no mind of their own, and don't know what they prefer. As far as this causing them to lose their value is just ridiculous.

In no way am I targeting you, this goes to all the posts I've been reading from those who don't have a mind/sound preference of their own (and there seems to be many) and rely solely on a "reviewer" regardless who it is or what headphone it is.

Maybe I missed the part were some were given platinum ears?

Yes. Some people find their tastes for phones are consistent with Tyll while some others don't. People are not fool. If they do find, Tyll's recommendation leads to poor purchases, they will eventually not follow him or disregard any of his recommendations. As long as he remains reliable for some people, we will see some people order his recommendations blindly. Of course, his recommendations do not work for everyone.

I myself find his recommendations work better for me than other reviewers. If someone who is more reliable appears, people will migrate to him. Eventually, market plays out. We will see.

PS: Many readers including me don't have access to brick-and-mortar which carries high-end phones. So many have to order it blindly at risk.

 

[joseph69]

Yes. Some people find their tastes for phones are consistent with Tyll while some others don't. People are not fool. If they do find, Tyll's recommendation leads to poor purchases, they will eventually not follow him or disregard any of his recommendations. Of course, his recommendations do not work for everyone.

I myself find his recommendations work better for me than other reviewers. If someone who is more reliable appears, people will migrate to him. Eventually, market plays out. We will see.

I take anyones impressions/opinions/preferences with a grain of salt. I either borrow or buy and try whatever headphone I'm interested in. If their for me, then great. If their not for me, I'm glad I borrowed. If I bought them I sell them, and this way I know for myself.

 

[franz12]

I take anyones impressions/opinions/preferences with a grain of salt. I either borrow or buy and try whatever headphone I'm interested in. If their for me, then great. If their not for me, I'm glad I borrowed. If I bought them I sell them, and this way I know for myself.

Of course. But again, many of us don't even have a chance to try it before a purchase. There are many people who need a reliable recommendation. Selling later is a different matter.

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

Of course. But again, many of us don't even have a chance to try it before a purchase. There are many people who need a reliable recommendation. Selling later is a different matter.

This IS sad. Keep the brick and mortar stores alive y’all!

The Clear is the bees knees!

Btw I LOVE when customers come in for the first time and see our racks of headphones and they can’t believe a place like ours exists in Pittsburgh. Makes me happy every time. Then fast forward to them hearing the Utopia and their jaws drop. Never gets old.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

That's why the WoF is an issue.

Yeah, you might love what you have, but odds are good you bought them solely from reviews because in most corners of the world it's really hard to be able to audition high end stuff. So then you buy Product X and a month later Product Y shows up and knocks yours down. Now you're in a real pickle and wondering what the situation is and if you made the wrong decision.

That's the entire purpose of reviewers. It's not just a blog for them to let us know what they're a fan of. They're providing a service. Everyone has their biases, but reviewers aren't supposed to let that color their reviews. If you do, then you're either a "personality" reviewer (think Yahtzee Croshaw) or you're just crap at your job. A good reviewer should be 100% capable of going "this is not within my personal tastes but I realize how good it is." That's the difference between "reviewing" and just "blogging."

Regardless, still curious to give the Clear a long A/B with the LCD-X. I can't leave my driveway right now, though. Snowed in.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

This IS sad. Keep the brick and mortar stores alive y’all!

The Clear is the bees knees!

Btw I LOVE when customers come in for the first time and see our racks of headphones and they can’t believe a place like ours exists in Pittsburgh. Makes me happy every time. Then fast forward to them hearing the Utopia and their jaws drop. Never gets old.

The fact that I can sample the entire Focal line is nuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuts, brotha.

 

[alota]

this time, not fully but i agree with innerfidelity and WoF. The customers are not plucking chickens and the market has clearly taken the road to rich people.
but we are not all rich IMHO

 

[franz12]

That's why the WoF is an issue.

Yeah, you might love what you have, but odds are good you bought them solely from reviews because in most corners of the world it's really hard to be able to audition high end stuff. So then you buy Product X and a month later Product Y shows up and knocks yours down. Now you're in a real pickle and wondering what the situation is and if you made the wrong decision.

That's the entire purpose of reviewers. It's not just a blog for them to let us know what they're a fan of. They're providing a service. Everyone has their biases, but reviewers aren't supposed to let that color their reviews. If you do, then you're either a "personality" reviewer (think Yahtzee Croshaw) or you're just **** at your job. A good reviewer should be 100% capable of going "this is not within my personal tastes but I realize how good it is." That's the difference between "reviewing" and just "blogging."

Regardless, still curious to give the Clear a long A/B with the LCD-X. I can't leave my driveway right now, though. Snowed in.

As I said before, reviewing phones is kind of art rather than science. I guess your approach will invite even more confusion. What I would recommend is that if you find a reviewer whose tastes are similar to yours, you should stick to him. That's it. And there are many many reviewers out there.

 

[franz12]

This IS sad. Keep the brick and mortar stores alive y’all!

The Clear is the bees knees!

Btw I LOVE when customers come in for the first time and see our racks of headphones and they can’t believe a place like ours exists in Pittsburgh. Makes me happy every time. Then fast forward to them hearing the Utopia and their jaws drop. Never gets old.

Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to try any focal phones. I am very curious about them. Too sad.

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to try any focal phones. I am very curious about them. Too sad.

That’s understandable. I’m sorry you haven’t had the chance to, but you’re not the only one who has a tough time finding a store that has headphones of this magnitude. Big box stores will carry Sony, but you won’t see a Z1R... I hope you get the chance to listen to Focal some time around your area,and you are always welcome at MTME

Oh before I forget-

Happy New Years friends! I hope this new year is better than the last.

 

[joseph69]

That's the entire purpose of reviewers.

Couldn't agree more!

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Wanted to add my two cents regarding the WOF and Tyll’s reviews. First, unless you’ve been into headphones for a while you may not realize he was a “Founding Father” of this entire headphone phenomenon. He’s listened to a wider variety of headphones and associated equipment than anyone here at Head Fi, including Jude.

Too get a better feel for a Reviewer’s preference you need to go back and read as many of their reviews you can access. Yes, their taste evolves, just like the rest of us, but you’ll get a feel for their base and how/why they it’s changing. I won’t dare speak for Tyll, but I’ll give my opinion his preferences. For example, he doesn’t like bright, sharp, spikes in the lower treble (HD800, Beyerdynamic, etc.), and he prefers a neutral, natural presentation. This is a more traditional “audiophile” point of view, bassheads, or at least unnatural bass that overpowers the mids is viewed as a bit mid fi. It may be fun, but the traditionalist is looking for fidelity to the original musical event.

As for Tyll’s choices in music there is an article available on his Site, just do a search there.