[GREQ]

I want to hear more about stretching electrons and aligning diaphragms.

 

[Argyris]

Seeing a burn in regimen brought up in that review, along with the typical "it completely changed for the better" progression I've seen countless hard line subjectivists describe in excruciating detail, made me realize something about Tyll's IF: from reading him for so long, I know that he came down on the subjective side of the debate on things like burn in, whether backend equipment has any effect on the sound, and cables, and yet can anybody remember him making a big thing of it in a review?

I certainly can't; on the contrary, Tyll focused his commentary on the headphone, he only occasionally mentioned different sources (and didn't go into paragraphs about how completely different each one supposedly made the headphone sound), and if he had a burn in regimen, he kept it to himself and only commented on what the headphone sounded like presumably afterward.

In other words, he adeptly avoided bringing up any of the circular debates in the hobby, meaning that regardless of whether the reader was an objectivist, subjectivist, something in between or hadn't decided yet; they could read Tyll without feeling like they were being subtly pushed toward one camp or the other in one of those debates, or that Tyll was clearly on the opposite side of the tracks from them.

Without being able to quite pinpoint this aspect of Tyll's output before now, it's probably the biggest thing I was worried about losing now that Tyll is gone, and it seems that my very worst fears have been confirmed. If I were trying to write a cruel caricature of a typical full-on subjectivist audio review, I would have come up with something very much like the XC review.

I want to stress that nothing I'm saying is rooted in any personal beef with Rafe. It's his show over at IF now, I guess.

But this style of review, light on substance and rife with subjectivist notions that frankly I don't believe in, is of very little use to me. When I read Tyll, I had a pretty good sense of how what he was reviewing might sound, and the more experience I personally gained with headphones he had reviewed, the better I was able to parse his impressions. Reading the most recent IF review, I haven't got a clue what that headphone is supposed to sound like, and he could review a hundred headphones in that manner and I could listen to every one of them and I wouldn't be able to parse anything further from the hundredth review than the first.

To be blunt, this is not a style or personality thing. This is a "getting your point across" thing.

 

[Roscoeiii]

The headphone is "insightful" and you hear details. What more could you want to know?

 

[castleofargh]

he's the wrong person for the job, and if he was good at his actual job of handling those blogs, he'd see it and take a big step back on IF. right now he could work himself to death to learn everything relevant about headphones, and in a year he still wouldn't know half of what the usual reader of IF knows. I'm not that familiar with the world of information and reviews, but I always thought the source was supposed to educate the reader, not the other way around.

the only thing the people over him will care about, is traffic on the blog. so I believe that not reading his posts is the best message anybody can send. let money talk. so far, by keeping the polemical arguments up in comments, all we have done is create an interest in his topics which were otherwise void of any. we're basically helping him reach his numbers. I haven't looked at his latest articles and will keep it that way. I'm done.
I'll look at the other contributors' posts to see if someone has relevant stuff to say, and to put a +1 view on anything that isn't associated with him. I'm such a violent rebel.
as for me having any form of impact whatsoever, the prognostic is not good

 

[Fargeg]

the only thing the people over him will care about, is traffic on the blog. so I believe that not reading his posts is the best message anybody can send. let money talk. so far, by keeping the polemical arguments up in comments, all we have done is create an interest in his topics which were otherwise void of any. we're basically helping him reach his numbers. I haven't looked at his latest articles and will keep it that way. I'm done.]

At this point, I'd honestly like to see Rafe receive as much attention as possible just so I can see how far this train can go. While his review isn't particularly informative, it and the way he responds to comments are quite entertaining in a perverse sort of way.

Edit: High-five! +1 to musical respect.

 

[Argyris]

What you say is probably for the best, c.o.a. I kept checking back because I wanted to know what reviews were going to be like. Now I have my answer, and I think I've said everything I need to say about it in my last post. I'll look in to see what the measurements are like, since that's still up in the air, but that'll most likely be the extent of my engagement with the site going forward.

At this point, I'd honestly like to see Rafe receive as much attention as possible just so I can see how far this train can go. While his review isn't particularly informative, it and the way he responds to comments are quite entertaining in a perverse sort of way.

The only problem with that is that any engagement on those posts means the monetization model works, which ultimately means this kind of content will spread to other places. From a business standpoint, it's successful because it managed to draw a bunch of eyes, even if the eyes are disapproving.

We get this in boxing, where occasionally a bunch of people will continue watching an obnoxiously boisterous and overrated fighter just in the hope that he loses. When you stop to think about it, win lose or draw, he still gets his purse, and if millions tune in to see him (even if it's to cheer on his opponent), his promoters will keep him on the roster and the television networks will keep showing him because he's making them money. Even if he loses, even if people don't like him, he brings in the views, and it's purely the number of views—not the motivation behind them—that makes the money and determines success.

 

[heliosphann]

If that "dreadlocked rasta-looking guy" read that LCD-XC review he'd say: "Now dat's a real stinker maaaann."

I couldn't even finish the review. Having owned a LCD-XC in the past, I'm not sure why anyone would think about taking them outside for many different reasons. I can't wait until his next review, taking a HiFiman Susvara on the streets with a car battery powered speaker amp/DAC/source strapped to a dolly.

 

[Argyris]

I can't wait until his next review, taking a HiFiman Susvara on the streets with a car battery powered speaker amp/DAC/source strapped to a dolly.

I would pay a considerable amount of money to see somebody do something like that.

But you know, even there Tyll did it better. I can't find it at the moment (maybe I just don't want to put in the right search terms), but there's a fairly infamous picture floating around of Tyll wearing some kind of massive battery-powered amp strapped to his body...and not much else. I think it was a "portable" Stax setup or something.

 

[wink]

I thibk that, in honor of what Innerfidelity was in the past, we should let this thread peter out just like Innerfidelity is doing since Tyll's departure.........

 

[catscratch]

Word. Stuff like this degenerates into torches and pitchforks eventually and that's not helpful to anybody. IF is what it is, if you don't like it, don't read it, the page views speak more loudly than any whining ever could.

 

[Jones Bob]

I thibk that, in honor of what Innerfidelity was in the past, we should let this thread peter out just like Innerfidelity is doing since Tyll's departure.........

Agreed.

Time to move on.

 

[Argyris]

Yeah, leaving it here seems like the best course. There really isn't anything more that needs to be said.

 

[wink]

 

[cel4145]

The XC review wasn't even that good for a review written from purely a subjectivism stand point. It just didn't have that much to say. So it seems pretty clear from this thread that IF will lose Tyll's old audience, but I don't know how IF will build a new one.

 

[Roscoeiii]

For all my criticism of Rafe and his approach to running IF, let's see who else he brings on board and if these writers (or eventually Rafe) begin to offer the type of content we'd like to see. It does seem that IF may become less of a one man show.

I'm also unsure exactly how IF builds a new audience. Are less passionate headphone enthusiasts likely to be repeat visitors?