[Zodduska]

Cables, Power, Tweaks, Speakers, Accessories (DBT-Free Forum) - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

But seriously, as far as amps go I would say it is fanboyism but also the fact that the amps discussed here are mostly very good.. buyers are bound to like them and be enthusiastic about them, especially if they havent heard a lot of amps. if it were shills there would be just one or two people for each product but generally most people echo others sentiments regarding perticular amps.

Now if somebody posted that the boostaroo was the best amp ever and a bunch of people bought one I don't think the enthusiasm would be long lived..

 

[vcoheda]

i don't really think there are actual shills on head-fi. there may be a few, but i think what you are referring to more are the groups of individuals who - b/c of personal relationships with some manufacturers among other things - promote, and almost regardless of the thread, to an endless degree their products and at the same time denigrate all other manufacturers, although usually the criticisms are targeted at a few well known manufacturers - whether named or not.

is this a problem? it's definitely an annoyance and an impediment toward productive discussion, but it seems unavoidable in a semi-public forum such as this. your best recourse is to read a lot and often and use that to filter out the information.

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Assorted /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm sorry, I don't intend to aggravate anybody, but I would like to see anything to support your claims. Who said anything about getting free review samples after giving consistent praise to the same manufacturer? It's bad publicity to deny samples after a bad review, and even worse to send samples to an obvious fanboy. The only thing remotely close to a "dark underbelly" I've seen, are topics regarding our premium sponsors being deleted, some in the actual sponsored forums, and some rumors of certain people being "in bed" with the sponsors, but I hardly see what any of it has to do with the objectivity of the reviews being compromised. There are many reviews/impressions that give a negative rating to the product in question, and some by highly profilic reviewers themselves. It isn't as if we have a homogenous opinion at Head fi, and we get to choose who's reviews we agree with. The only extreme I see is from newbies who buy a D2 after reading it up for 2 hours and regurgitate the previous comments in their impression, and from long time members who historically support certain products/manufacturers. We all know who they are, and I believe that they contribute more to the FOTM than any shills out there (if there are any).

Agreed x 2

This forum's Signal to Noise Ratio is outstanding, there is very little garbage to wade through...


Peete.

 

[jude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dazzer1975 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ....There is a deep dark underbelly on head-fi of those who scratch backs... which is fine, IF, the site doesn't just turn into one huge advertisement and retains its objectivity and independence.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Assorted /img/forum/go_quote.gif ....The only thing remotely close to a "dark underbelly" I've seen, are topics regarding our premium sponsors being deleted, some in the actual sponsored forums....

I just browsed the forums to look for threads in which Sponsors' products are being criticized or even bashed--there are plenty, easy to find, at any given time. Look at the list of Sponsors in the side column, and tell me that you don't see threads and posts criticizing or bashing products by pretty much all of them around here.

As for the "dark underbelly" bit about Sponsor Forums and Sponsored Threads, there's no big mystery there, and I'll say it here clearly: Those are paid-for forums and threads, and intended primarily for sales/marketing/advertising. For the Sponsor Forums, in most cases, the Sponsors' staff are the Moderators of their own specific forums. So, again, those are intended primarily for sales and marketing purposes, and are paid for by them for that purpose. In other words, there's no dark underbelly there.

 

[elbuzzard]

there definitely are members who work for companies and do their best to raise awareness of products. It is up to the user to judge who is legit based on the history of past posts. thats all i have to go on...even as a lurker i get to know these members and i tend to skip those who i think are "BS".

 

[Postal_Blue]

I think reviewer's unstated listening style/preference can be every bit as problematic as any "fanboyism", "shillism". If a reviewer is a BASSHEAD this can/will impact their reviews in a sometimes less than transparent manner. Same goes for the anything more than flat-line AKG blandness is an overly colored "akg with a smiley face" crowd. I don't expect these folks to state their tendencies and to be honest they don't have to. Spotting the bass-heads and flat-liners is as easy as spotting the fanboys/shills; just do a touch more research.

The "danger" posed by any of the aforementioned groups really only applies to the quick passers by, as anyone who sticks around head-fi for more than a couple days should be able to spot it. Hell, we have threads about FOTM syndrome in nearly every sub forum on a daily basis it seems.

Bottom line read more, when you think you have made a decision read some more, then at best you're still taking a chance. All ears are different, that's why we have the FS forums. I have yet to lose any significant money on any of my purchases, in fact one could probably making a fortune riding the fanboy waves.

 

[donunus]

Postal Blue,
would you consider an hd650 fan a basshead or a flatliner? It is a bass heavy phone among flatline types but still has the virtues that flatline audiophiles love

 

[Postal_Blue]

Fondness for a particular phone is not enough to form and opinion of someone's tendencies. Person A may listen to 650s with a neutral system, while person B may listen to the same 650s +6 to low mids & +8 to bass. These details are the ones you must seek out when judging the personal value of a review.

 

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bada bing /img/forum/go_quote.gif "Shill" implies some sort of quid pro quo, some payback.

Yeah, no kidding. I'm stuck being just a fanboy because so far the only thing I've been able to get out of AKG is restraining orders and unfriendly letters from their lawyers.

 

[Sovkiller]

It is really hard to draw a line between a fanboy and a shill, if you ask me, and to me is really, really, hard honestly, unfortunately for us...To believe that any reco is 100% honest, is to be naive to say the least...

One thing I have learnt here, along the years, and after a few failed recos from some selected....whatever you want to call them, and that is, that in order to make a right judgement about anything in this hobby you have to, and you need to, go and listen it for yourself...period...as people used to reco anything, just based in any impulse in vogue...to call it just nicely...

[size=small]So you have been warned, do not follow any reco blindly, not even from me, OK...!!!

[/size]

 

[Wmcmanus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jude /img/forum/go_quote.gif In other words, there's no dark underbelly...

Jude, while I agree with everything else in your post, I beg to differ on this point.

As proof, I submit a freshly taken pic of my belly, inclusive of the aforementioned underbelly region (or what Santa refers to as his 'cookie zone'). Note the rather distinctive absence of light just above the zipper.

 

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wmcmanus /img/forum/go_quote.gif Jude, while I agree with everything else in your post, I beg to differ on this point. As proof, I submit a freshly taken pic of my belly, inclusive of the aforementioned underbelly region.

 

[breakfastchef]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wmcmanus /img/forum/go_quote.gif As proof, I submit a freshly taken pic of my belly, inclusive of the aforementioned underbelly region (or what Santa refers to as his 'cookie zone').

TMI!!!

 

[breakfastchef]

Quote:

Originally Posted by elbuzzard /img/forum/go_quote.gif there definitely are members who work for companies and do their best to raise awareness of products.

Not picking on you, elbuzzard, but there have been several comments such as yours in this thread, yet no one can point to a specific person(s) that are these things called shills. Does this problem really exist? I would think that general 'misinformation' on the forums is a larger problem doing a disservice to all Head-Fi members.

 

[pabbi1]

Wayne... bro... dude... you know how to lance a boil.

Search is the ultimate friend on Head-fi, making underbelly is less dark. Well, except in Wayne's case.

The true darkness, IMHO, are the attackers beating the drum against certain products, ESPECIALLY MOT who attack competing products in open forums, in violation of the TOU. That need not be fully dredged here, but is an opportunity for process improvement.