Spicy! Darko and I dig in to some spicy subjects for Darko.Audio Podcast #45.
If you’re new to these Podcasts where I join Darko, we typically cover some HiFi news, which we do here, then dig into the meaty subjects, and finish things off with an album recommendation each. For #45, we also bat around issues like do digital filters matter, does the DAC chip make the DAC, and why I mispronounce most things.
On the subject of negative reviews, I’d like to share two links of reviews I’ve written that are unabashedly negative. The first is a review of the Atelier Audio First Horn which was written for 6moons. Here’s one quote from that review:
The first version of the First Horns did not work for me in any way, shape or form. The fact that the transformer plate came about during the first review period leads me to believe someone at Atelier also heard something they felt needed fixing. However, Atelier never characterized this event as such. Instead, we are told the plate add-on is meant for those who prefer its sound over the horn version (though all new production will now ship with it). We are also told that the transformer plates improve bass performance from 70Hz to 30Hz, equalize the mid-bass and mids and provide a more focused sound overall. One has to wonder who would prefer the First Horns without these improvements.
The other was written for AudioStream c.2011 where I wrote about the Paradigm Shift Active Atom A2 desktop speakers wherein I said:
I’m sorry to say that for me this hiss is a deal breaker for a desktop speaker. No matter how well the A2s do the other things they do, and yes they play music very well and are capable of playing it really loud!, I cannot see living with a hissing speaker.
The point being, I have written negative reviews of products I could not recommend buying. It’s not a fun thing to do, but it is my job to be clear about products that have some obvious flaws that make them, for me, unlistenable. If you’re wondering why I haven’t written more negative reviews, the reason is I have not encountered other products that are unlistenable and the main reasons for this fact is I am careful about the products I choose to review and there are not a lot of crappy products out there in my experience. The people who believe there are a lot of crappy products out there that should get negative reviews but don’t rely on a mountain of conspiracy theories that make Pizzagate look perfectly sensible.
One more thing I’ll note (that we talk about in the Podcast at more length)—my job is not to figure out if I like a product or not. If that were the case, there would be no need for words.
Enjoy!