[TWerk]

I've noticed a trend when I look at headphone reviews on virtually any headphone, which is that they all basically have a multitude of glowing five star reviews. 
 
I think that this hides the actual quality headphones from the more mediocre ones, but I suppose people who write a review for a headphone probably either really like it (most of the time) or really dislike it (sometimes) so you get this abundance of positive reviews for everything here, which makes sorting one headphone from another difficult.
 
I mean, really, who knows whether that one 5* headphone will sound better than that other 5* headphone? 
 
When you read reviews, even the content will vary pretty dramatically. One person sees the highs on a headphone as extended and detailed, and another finds them harsh. One finds a headphone dull, and another calls it warm and smooth. Many reviews contradict one another.
 
In addition, how does determine "strong" sub-bass in a headphone? You see this all the time in reviews... it has "anemic" bass or what not. What I determine as strong sub-bass might be very different than your definition. You can only "hear" a headphone when you listen to it, you cannot "read" it. And I think this is the main difficulty - how to describe something of the senses, like sound, in words, is not an easy thing to do, which accounts for the wide array of differing perceptions on a single headphone.
 
My own conclusion is that the reviews can give you a very basic guideline, but you've got to try things for yourself. Afterwards, you can go back online, write your very own 5* review, and confuse others who also need to try them for themselves to get anywhere.
 
TLDR: Are headphone reviews helpful to you? Is this a stupid rant? Thoughts?

 

[007shark76]

Reviews help me. Even the 5 star reviews have cons listed for each headphone. I also get a sense of what type of sound the reviewer prefers to know if I will agree or not with their opinions of the sound.

 

[zazex]

I find reviews to be useful, though I tend to concentrate on those
of more experienced reviewers.
 
Also, I think of reviews in a group context. 
 
Many great reviews means, to me, that the headphones are
probably quite good - maybe even great.

 

[TWerk]

That's a good point - probably the best way is to look at all the reviews and see where they meet on opinion. If everyone's agreeing on something, it's probably true.

 

[GettingBuckets]

People want to believe what they want to believe especially if they spent good hard earned money on it.
Remind me of something I read a few years ago that talked about how easy it is for people to find proof for whatever they are believing in. If you are constantly looking for reasons to be proven right, then it is pretty easy to do so. So even if a lot of people agree on something, it does not necessarily hold true for the individual.
 
Furthermore, most headphone reviews should be taken with a grain of salt since we do not know what context they are reviewing it in, what they are comparing it to, and whether or not they personally get some kind of profit from it.
 
Personally, it seems like this forum makes every single headphone and amp seem like the new best thing, so I only pay attention to a select few reviewers.

 

[DCofficehack]

There's no way to avoid this problem given that by and large most cans above $100 are really quite good, and the differences are often subtle and subjective. I noticed this when trying to figure out how much more I needed to spend to get something clearly 'better' than a $100 pair of cans. The answer is that a $200 pair is only a little better, a $300 pair likewise is only marginally better than the $200, although at that point we're talking about seriously diminishing returns. Beyond $300 one has to spend a lot to get 'better,' and for the most part one's really only talking about different rather than better. The exceptions are the real dogs, stuff that's radically over priced. Like Beats.
 
I have found that if one reads enough reviews one can see patterns and commonalities that make the most sense if one's looking for something specific. So, for example, I wanted a pair that would be terrific with classical music and either neutral or without anything exaggerated. Classical requires good bass but only in appropriate proportions. It has to be there, but only just enough...so, I read a lot and could tell that some things likely would be marginally more appropriate than others, while a few other options would be terrible. That said, I'm willing to bet that just about anything over $100 would have been a pleasure to listen too (again, unless the cans were real junk).
 
Also, I've found that comparisons are really what's required, but then there's the problem that many comparisons don't mean much unless one understands what the item is being compared to.  I've learned to really appreciate comparisons to HD600s and HD650s, for example, not because I've ever had the pleasure of listening to them, but because there's so much written about them that I feel like I understand what's being said when one's comparing a pair to them.  They serve as good benchmarks.

 

[zazex]

  There's no way to avoid this problem given that by and large most cans above $100 are really quite good, and the differences are often subtle and subjective. I noticed this when trying to figure out how much more I needed to spend to get something clearly 'better' than a $100 pair of cans. The answer is that a $200 pair is only a little better, a $300 pair likewise is only marginally better than the $200, although at that point we're talking about seriously diminishing returns. Beyond $300 one has to spend a lot to get 'better,' and for the most part one's really only talking about different rather than better. The exceptions are the real dogs, stuff that's radically over priced. Like Beats.
 
I have found that if one reads enough reviews one can see patterns and commonalities that make the most sense if one's looking for something specific. So, for example, I wanted a pair that would be terrific with classical music and either neutral or without anything exaggerated. Classical requires good bass but only in appropriate proportions. It has to be there, but only just enough...so, I read a lot and could tell that some things likely would be marginally more appropriate than others, while a few other options would be terrible. That said, I'm willing to bet that just about anything over $100 would have been a pleasure to listen too (again, unless the cans were real junk).
 
Also, I've found that comparisons are really what's required, but then there's the problem that many comparisons don't mean much unless one understands what the item is being compared to.  I've learned to really appreciate comparisons to HD600s and HD650s, for example, not because I've ever had the pleasure of listening to them, but because there's so much written about them that I feel like I understand what's being said when one's comparing a pair to them.  They serve as good benchmarks.
 

 
 
+1

 

[KlarkKentThe3rd]

After about a year of NOT POSTING, I have a negative review ready to be written.... soon.

 

[DCofficehack]

Please do. I tend to disregard lone negative reviews, but if enough people point something out, than it becomes clear that there really is a problem. When selecting my DT880s, for example, I noticed that several people complained of the poor comfort of the K7xx and other K7__ variants.  Given how much I wear my phones, that matters, and I was able to cross the AKGs off the list regardless of their many merits.

 

[DCofficehack]

What I want to do, if I had the time, is write reviews of reviews, especially video reviews on youtube.  So many are just complete wastes of time. Maybe I could raise the overall quality if I panned the terrible ones and praised the ones that had merit.

 

[moriez]

  My own conclusion is that the reviews can give you a very basic guideline, but you've got to try things for yourself. 

 
Can we get a sticky? That's absolutely bullseye and the bottomline really. I can't imagine a different approach. 
 
Reading reviews = reading someone's impressions. Isn't that what says it all? Almost all the time dude will hear differently by ear and gear and will have different taste.
Next up is that he tries putting into words what he (thought he) just heard. Even if the guy is a very experienced listener with awesome writing skill it's still completely affected by ear ie. what's harsh highs to him may not be to me, different gear and taste. 
 
I started asking myself not so long ago what's the use of all these headphone impressions anyway when practically all of us have very different chains? Ok, slightly off-topic but something important to take into consideration to say the least. In a good review you will read about at least what amp and dac is in use so you can better relate or not.

 

[jmills8]

5 stars or 3 stars lasts a month then they out there looking for another better headphone. If its 5 stars why look for another 5 stars ?

 

[jraul7]

First off, I estimate the price I'm willing to pay for my new headphones... because there are tons of great reviews for headphones that are dependent on price (e.g., "great headphone, for the price"), so it's important to look for headphones in your price bracket, because in ALL price bracket you will find a "great headphone, for the price".
 
I also think it's great when the reviewer would compare the headphone being reviewed to a very popular headphone like the Sennheiser HD600 or HD650 (and of course, you need to try to listen to the popular headphones). But ultimately, as DCofficehack, most cans above $100 are really quite good. 
 
My recent example is this, I have a friend that owns the Audeze lcd2 headphones. I listened to them and loved them, but I was not willing to pay that much for my first pair of "good" headphones. I was comfortable with spending about $400, so after reading various reviews of headphones in that bracket, which would sound somewhat similar to the lcd2, I ended up with the Hifiman HE-400s. The reviews helped, but listening to a couple of headphones and defining what kind of sound you're looking for, it's the best thing you can do to make sure you get something that you like (and avoid having to buy tons of headphones and lose money selling/trading).

 

[jmills8]

Great at its price is total bull. Better would be better or worth more than its price. I had $2000 iems but now I am enjoying my $400 iem much much more.

 

[Audioholic123]

I find reviews useful and had always consulted them here on Head Fi and elsewhere on the internet before buying a particular headphone. But I definitely think the number of critical reviews is outnumbered by overly positive ones.
 
I don't read them now as I don't plan on buying anymore headphones, i'm happy with my HD600/AH-D5000 combination. Sound quality doesn't really get much better than that.