[Blueshound24]

Everyone has an opinion. So, again, each to his own.

 

[DeweyCH]

On second thought let’s not go to this thread. ‘Tis a silly place

 

[bfreedma]

Not sure why the HE500 is being discussed in a thread about TOTL headphones.

Perhaps someone should start a thread titled "Mid Tier disappointments"...

 

[mmmadog]

Silly place indeed. I'm out. Enjoy.

 

[Blueshound24]

To those I may have offended with a crude comment I made, I am sorry and I apologize and have edited it out.

 

[TimSchirmer]

One of the reasons I rarely post here is having to sift through a bunch of glowy review bs to find real opinions from people who haven't been paid or given free gear to write reviews. If I wanted that sort of nonsense I'd subscribe to What Hifi.

 

[number1sixerfan]

One of the reasons I rarely post here is having to sift through a bunch of glowy review bs to find real opinions from people who haven't been paid or given free gear to write reviews. If I wanted that sort of nonsense I'd subscribe to What Hifi.

Or sifting through the bias in each dedicated thread of people that are biased and determined to prove their favorite headphones are the objective 'best' on the planet. A thread like this is actually a breath of fresh air and helpful, even if a bit contentious at times imo.

 

[Dickymint]

We need a disappointment thread, no price just gear that doesn't get your music juices flowing.

 

[TimSchirmer]

We need a disappointment thread, no price just gear that doesn't get your music juices flowing.

To bad this is head-fi, or I'd be writing pages about B&W speakers.

 

[TheRunningIr0n]

One of the reasons I rarely post here is having to sift through a bunch of glowy review bs to find real opinions from people who haven't been paid or given free gear to write reviews. If I wanted that sort of nonsense I'd subscribe to What Hifi.

From what I've observed by lurking over a fairly long period there appears to be a few angles to this:

First and foremost is the desire of those who have made a purchase (or are looking to do so) to manage public opinion in a positive direction not only to make themselves feel good about their decision but also to protect their investment in case they choose to resell.

Second is a desire to protect manufacturers because they are frequently portrayed as a source of ultimate authority. Surely if a company designs a product a certain way it must always be for a 'good reason' and therefore beyond criticism by everyone else.

Third is because Head-fi shifted to a sponsorship model for funding. If you look at any new product thread (especially the high end forum) there is a grace period of a year or two where negative analysis is targeted, trivialized, and/or subjected to a disproportionately heavy burden of proof relative to positive impressions. Either consciously or subconsciously, people conduct themselves in such a way as to provide the company with a protected production run where they can freely sell units without bad press.

Eventually the negative impressions no longer matter because the main production run has been successful. It works well for both the forum and the companies as buyers reporting a positive experience are highly visible and those who were misled end up quietly flooding the for sale forum with discounted units. You'll notice that the general consensus on a product becomes more and more accurate as time goes by. That's not just due to familiarity, it's because the social embargo has been lifted.

It also has the unfortunate effect of villainizing community members who dedicate a tremendous amount of effort into quantifying (measuring/deconstructing) and rating products while simultaneously celebrating members who write convoluted poetry or 'glowy review bs' as you put it. This site still has genuinely good people on it though, even if you need to carry around an audiophile Rosetta stone to figure out what the hell they're saying.

 

[TimSchirmer]

Yep, it's why I never believe anything from the audio press or self-proclaimed audio gurus. It's in the industry's interest to keep us all constantly "upgrading". Usually one page of head-fi meet or RMAF impressions is far more valuble than hundred page threads fluffing the latest flavor of the month. What scares the bejezzus out of me is how streaming will eventually give manufacturers the ability to brick older gear. I believe Sonos already tried to.

 

[Tachyon88]

It also has the unfortunate effect of villainizing community members who dedicate a tremendous amount of effort into quantifying (measuring/deconstructing) and rating products while simultaneously celebrating members who write convoluted poetry or 'glowy review bs' as you put it.

Indeed sir, indeed.

 

[Amberlamps]

One of the reasons I rarely post here is having to sift through a bunch of glowy review bs to find real opinions from people who haven't been paid or given free gear to write reviews. If I wanted that sort of nonsense I'd subscribe to What Hifi.

What hifi reviews are a fkn joke, free gear for good biased reviews.

 

[hoofman]

Recently I looked into Sennheiser IE900 and went to try it at a local store. I was so shocked. I own several cans from Sennheiser like HD650, momentum 3, Momentum in-ear, and my general feeling is that Sennheiser gears are good and fair in general. I thought it would be a quick buy.

Nope! It is light and fits well, produces great bass and a relax & wide imaging canvas. And it stops there. It could be because I tried it with symphony and metal which are demanding genres, everything became a muddy soup of sound: terrible sound separation and timbre. Percussion sounds funny, at times badly distorted. When the music turn a bit busy, it can be extremely hard to tell what is going on.

I thought I tried a faulty set but the persons who tried it before and after me didn't complain anything. I was curious so i went to read other reviews but people all seems to praise the new heavenly IE900 ...

 

[joshnor713]

terrible sound separation and timbre. Percussion sounds funny, at times badly distorted. When the music turn a bit busy, it can be extremely hard to tell what is going on.

This isn't how i would describe the IE 900 whatsoever. I would say something was wrong, whether the unit or source or something. Separation and natural timbre are standout qualities of the IEM. And should be distortion-free. Very weird.