[xenithon]

Also like the format - great base to work off. I’m a sucker for beautiful design so think some colour and spit’n’polish using the same content could make it look like an incredibly professional infographic. And maybe a png of the IEM in the middle with transparent background, just for the aesthetics

Content wise it’s succinct and easy to digest. I do agree with the above in that once you have a few tens of these it may make it difficult to differentiate. Some off the cuff ideas and as always feel free to turf:

- a line or two on what makes the IEM stand out (or not). Like the blurb on the back of an old DVD case. A sort of “this is the IEM in one sentence”.
- maybe a section like “similar to” and “complementary to” with 1-2 IEMs in each, just to give an idea of where it falls in playing field without comparisons or scoring.
- similarly perhaps a section like “hot with” and “not with” for genres of music you find an IEM works well with or doesn’t.

 

[mvvRAZ]

I like it because it boils down reviews into their essential elements. So, you can create a review in a single page.

The problem I have is that it's hard for me to figure out if I should buy this IEM. I read the details and initially I didn't see the name of the IEM, but I could not figure out what IEM you were talking about and I've actually auditioned the A18s. If I saw 10 of these, I would probably be so confused that I wouldn't know what to do. I think this illustrates the general problem with reviews. Reviewers tend to use ambiguous language to describe subjective impressions when readers need objective information and pointers as to what is better based on their preferences. And, they may not know what their preferences are. This is why people are asking for metrics. Take soundstage as an example. Is very wide good enough? What if I read an IEM had just wide soundstage? Should I buy it? How important is soundstage vs dynamics? Should I only look for an IEM with excellent dynamics? These words and categories don't connect with how I listen to music.

What is missing is context to orient the reader and queues for what is good or desirable. Maybe the reviews need to be supplemented with top 10 lists. For example, top 10 IEMs for classical music. List of 5 top criteria for great classical music listening. Evaluation of this IEM in those dimensions. Just imagine how good this would be when paired with Damz ranking list? Damz orients the reader and this format provides the data in a one page format.

I mean… realistically you should buy whatever you want to buy haha - no review will ever (IMHO) be able to act as a good enough, single-source buyers guide

The “verdict” is essentially the summary of whether or not I recommend a given IEM. Sometimes it can be not recommended at all, sometimes it can be a cautious recommendation, a regular one or in this case, highly recommended. It is realistically a “I’d recommend you to try this” as opposed to “go buy this”

Michael, perhaps you can also add something like “Genres Tested: xxx” or “Suitable Genres: xxx”. Perhaps this could give a better idea for people who aren’t yet familiar with the usual audio review terms (separation, imaging, etc.)

I listen to way, way too many genres to really be able to do this. Pretty much “everything but classical and like.. folk music” for every review

Also like the format - great base to work off. I’m a sucker for beautiful design so think some colour and spit’n’polish using the same content could make it look like an incredibly professional infographic. And maybe a png of the IEM in the middle with transparent background, just for the aesthetics

Content wise it’s succinct and easy to digest. I do agree with the above in that once you have a few tens of these it may make it difficult to differentiate. Some off the cuff ideas and as always feel free to turf:

- a line or two on what makes the IEM stand out (or not). Like the blurb on the back of an old DVD case. A sort of “this is the IEM in one sentence”.
- maybe a section like “similar to” and “complementary to” with 1-2 IEMs in each, just to give an idea of where it falls in playing field without comparisons or scoring.
- similarly perhaps a section like “hot with” and “not with” for genres of music you find an IEM works well with or doesn’t.

Thank you!! Similar to and complementary to I thought about, and might actually try to make some sort of chart with categories based on signature or presentation

The one sentence summaries I try to keep in the “Signature” section - in this case, neutral with a bass boost

 

[gLer]

I think you've hit on the reason why IEM reviews are so complex. Unless you're intimately familiar with a whole range of IEMs (or just experienced in general) this type of summary won't really help you make a buying decision, though it might get you in the ballpark. But if you are experienced it gives you a good one-glance way of knowing whether or not the IEM is worth considering for audition. In any case, for you I'd imagine creating this is part of the fun of the hobby. Nothing more, nothing less, and in that regard it's great resource to share on the thread. Thanks for creating it.

 

[SHOOTINGTECHIE]

Here goes the first review with the new format - my quite possibly favourite-of-all-time IEM, the A18S

I like this , atleast for me it's super easy to know the whole account in like a summary factor
Will you do similar stuff for amps , dacs and daps and combos

 

[mvvRAZ]

I think you've hit on the reason why IEM reviews are so complex. Unless you're intimately familiar with a whole range of IEMs (or just experienced in general) this type of summary won't really help you make a buying decision, though it might get you in the ballpark. But if you are experienced it gives you a good one-glance way of knowing whether or not the IEM is worth considering for audition. In any case, for you I'd imagine creating this is part of the fun of the hobby. Nothing more, nothing less, and in that regard it's great resource to share on the thread. Thanks for creating it.

I think so too. I quite like the format of the thread, and the input from a large variety of HeadFiers with all kinds of different preferences, so keeping the content a little more aimed towards audiophiles who have tried a whole bunch of stuff isn’t something I would mind especially

Newcomers are of course more than welcome, but realistically I could never compete with a database like crinacle’s especially in just how much of an overview it provides for the market as a whole, at all price points

I like this , atleast for me it's super easy to know the whole account in like a summary factor
Will you do similar stuff for amps , dacs and daps and combos

I might do a similar, but shorter format for DAPs, and a small chance for amps too but definitely not DACs and cables

 

[aaf evo]

Here goes the first review with the new format - my quite possibly favourite-of-all-time IEM, the A18S

This is gold… a format like this is very easy to relate to whether you have heard the iem or not. Straight to the point, no jargon, easy to follow.

 

[Progisus]

Here goes the first review with the new format - my quite possibly favourite-of-all-time IEM, the A18S

Really nice. Could you place the name of the iem somewhere in the chart or am I blind.

 

[mvvRAZ]

Really nice. Could you place the name of the iem somewhere in the chart or am I blind.

Oh… it’s not even in there my bad it’s in the title of the post but I shall definitely add it to the chart!

 

[RTodd]

I was thinking about if you had completed a bunch of these charts, might be a good idea to put the IEM model in a specific place large font easy to see, (upper right corner maybe).
And the Tonality gif image in a color from cool to hot.

 

[KuroKitsu]

"Tia is love, Tia is life"

Have you told 64 about their new slogan?

 

[mvvRAZ]

I was thinking about if you had completed a bunch of these charts, might be a good idea to put the IEM model in a specific place large font easy to see, (upper right corner maybe).
And the Tonality gif image in a color from cool to hot.

I’m still considering the best way to store the “database” of all the charts in a way that will be easily accessible by everyone on the thread. I might just add all the graphs to the very first index post, and include them as thumbnails on the bottom in addition to each getting its own post

- IEMs that show you what your music sounds like
- IEMs that show you what your music can sound like

Most generally, reference vs otherwise

It’ll take a while to convert all the posts and reviews to the charts though, I’ll start with what I own and over the next few days/weeks make my way through them

They’re also quite nice to make though, not having to worry about sentence structure, repeating myself etc etc and just having bullet points with the information makes the posts come along sooo much faster

Bit of a ramble, but I’ll also remove the photo from the charts, and replace it with a short point on build quality/aesthetics

The chart is still very much a WIP, so please keep the suggestions coming!

 

[KickAssChewGum]

Here goes the first review with the new format - my quite possibly favourite-of-all-time IEM, the A18S

This is great Michael. Really good format!

 

[MatW]

Bit of a ramble, but I’ll also remove the photo from the charts, and replace it with a short point on build quality/aesthetics

I would like to see the photo stay... you won't be able to describe esthestics better in words than with a photo, me thinks. Maybe more of a close-up photo.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Here goes the first review with the new format - my quite possibly favourite-of-all-time IEM, the A18S

Fantastic, I like the format, quick, clean, efficient!

 

[chickenmcnug]

I’m still considering the best way to store the “database” of all the charts in a way that will be easily accessible by everyone on the thread. I might just add all the graphs to the very first index post, and include them as thumbnails on the bottom in addition to each getting its own post

- IEMs that show you what your music sounds like
- IEMs that show you what your music can sound like

Most generally, reference vs otherwise

It’ll take a while to convert all the posts and reviews to the charts though, I’ll start with what I own and over the next few days/weeks make my way through them

They’re also quite nice to make though, not having to worry about sentence structure, repeating myself etc etc and just having bullet points with the information makes the posts come along sooo much faster

Bit of a ramble, but I’ll also remove the photo from the charts, and replace it with a short point on build quality/aesthetics

The chart is still very much a WIP, so please keep the suggestions coming!

Google docs