While I encourage people to use this as an opportunity to get some things off their chest, please BE RESPECTFUL while doing so. PERSONAL ATTACKS will NOT be tolerated! The average ZF viewer is old enough to know how to behave like an adult.
Hey man. I wanted to ask you a question if it’s not to much of a bother . I wanted to know. What’s the difference between the new Klipsch RP - 8000 and the new R- 800f. Thank you
I think a lot of hate for audiophiles is driven by people who can't afford high end audio equipment in the first place. Not everyone (including myself) can afford to spend $400,000 on speakers, amps and pre amps. Not everyone can afford to buy a Lamborghini either. There's a lot of envy out there. I've listened to Wilson Alexandria's XLF's in store and it was an insane experience, compared to my Klipsch speakers at home. There's no debate.
I think speaker manufacturers assume people know how to set up speakers, even great bookshelfs can sound great in a very large room, so speaker size is not related to room size (thats power handling and low frequency cut off). The general rule is speaker moved out into 1/3rd of the room from the back wall, pushing it back is nearly always a compomise that gives you soggy bass.
I'm a professional video/audio engineer, 30 years experience, both analog and digital. I have hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of pro equipment (not bragging, it's just my work stuff, and I got a lot of it second-hand at very good prices) but I own precisely zero "audiophile" interconnects. Why? Because they make so little difference. I use Belden and other quality brands, but these are not particularly expensive. Spending hundreds/thousands on cables/isolation platforms etc. is crazy. You'll always get a far bigger improvement spending that cash on better hardware! Audiophile cables are the biggest scam out there. Literally for people with more money than sense. The resurgence of vinyl is also totally crazy. Vinyl is a nice, nostalgic experience, but horrendously flawed as a playback medium. How anyone can be so smug and satisfied with a format where the last track on an LP sounds (and is, measurably) lower quality than the first track...jeez...it really makes no sense why people rave about it. The best turntable set up in the world will never sound as good as a decent-quality CD player. Anyone claiming otherwise is letting the romanticism of the vinyl experience cloud their judgement. By FAR the stupidest audiophile nonsense has to be "audiophile" power cords. Literally hilarious. So the power travels through hundred/thousands of feet of ordinary copper cable, but that 3-foot piece of pure silver (or whatever) power cord is magically gonna improve the quality of the Mains power? Give me a break!!! ABSURD! That really is 100% pure snake oil.
I am not an audophile, but I made a comparison between CD and LP that I owned, original material was recorded, mixed, etc. in analogue, only thing digital was conversion to CD (or so was claimed). Record was No prayer for the dying from Iron Maiden. True, I had a cheap system, low quality speakers, but I did notice vinyl sounding way more "pleasant" to the ear, not saying it was more accurate, it just sounded more pleasant. Call it warm or any other term that gets thrown around, because people think they know what it's supposed to mean. It was very noticeable in cymbal sound, that sounded quite harsh (lot's of unpleasant high frequency content on CD), that somehow got smoother on vinyl. My opinion is that most self-proclaimed audiophiles have very little objective knowledge about sound and acoustics, most of them have head full of some more or less (in)accurate technical specs, and they draw their mental fetish from that fact, all while defending "their" gear either because it sounds subjectively more pleasant to them or simply because they have to defend their overly expensive purchases. To be honest - what KIND of gear you use, makes less of a difference than a fact of WHERE you use that gear. I have first hand knowledge of what huge difference acoustic treatment to the ROOM makes.
I couldn't agree more! There is one component that I use in both my home recording studio and for the home theater equipment that has made a significant difference in the audio quality that, in my opinion, too few influencers ever suggest and that is powering all audio (analog and digital) equipment through a balanced power isolation transformer. In the studio I use a Furman IT-1210. That device eliminates any possibility of ground loops (60 Hz hum) and power line noise affecting either the recording or playback of audio. The home theater employs a similar unit from Equi=Tech. There is one difference between the two. The Furman unit is completely silent. The Equi=Tech unit emit a slight 60 Hz mechanical hum, I suspect because the windings in the enormous toroidal transformer were not fabricated in a way to eliminate some slight movement due to magnetic flux. The Equi=Tech unit is in an enclosed cabinet so it is not audible in any theater seating position. For the speaker wiring in my home AV systems I use 12 Ga speaker wire from Home Depot. In the studio I recently replaced unpowered monitors with powered monitors (a 2.1 configuration using Adam Audio products) that connect directly to the D/A converter with XLR3 balanced cables. I did not buy Mogami, I went with products from ProCo.
@@69vrana records are way more compressed (less dynamic range) than CDs, especially records from the 70s and 80s, ... For many people this compression just sounds better. That is fine. To each their own.
Here's a fun "behind the scenes" Fact! What you're watching is actually my third take of this otherwise unscripted video. In my first take, I was practically raging at the camera - microphone clipping and all! I decided that was a bit.... too dramatic, so I filmed the video again with the goal of throwing in some humor. Well, that didn't work out so well as my humor is dark and dry AF. So I decided to give it one more go by taking more of the chill route. :D
thanks for the video! at first I was a bit confused, it felt way too chilled out for a rant but with the explanation it all makes sense. and I whole heartedly agree!
Sean, I luv it you and Cheap Audioman put what has been needed to be put out for quite some time. Im proud of the fact that not only did you talk the talk but you walked the walk and admitted your own faults. Keep putting out outstanding content as usual. Your experience and connects in the Audio industry have put you in a great place for a video like this, thanks.
I really appreciated when you hit on the industry providing more information so people can dial their systems and set up’s in and also on backing up on what they say their audio is delivering. Thanks for the aha moments with these shared perspectives and insights.
Thanks For your Honesty ! 🎉I’ve been checking out a Bunch of you guys , thinking of getting back into the Stereo environment of vinyl /CD /streaming that we all enjoyed in the late 60’s & 70’s . There’s a Ton to decide on mixing old with new technology . Money is tight for most of us …. Retired ppl , But the joy of listening to what we all really enjoyed back than going to concerts buying the live albums playing it with your pals was like a repeat “almost“ like being there again together. Thanks to you & the cheap audio guy !☘️your both my kind of guys ☕️/🥃. 👍
Thanks for acknowledging Cheap Audio Man, as I follow both you guys and my initial perception of your video was that you were going to ape his content. Kudos for being transparent, and I also liked your take on the same topic. Great video.
@@williamnaman3570 and you are missing the context. Randy had a similar video that he pushed out earlier, and you know how topics fly through the RU-vidverse.
@@MJHiteshew Sorry, context is everything. I thought you didn't understand how much older this channel is and how long this reviewer has been in the industry.
Sean was one of the first you tubers that rep’d cheap audio man.. he did it on multiple live streams when Randy was just starting out. Between 2 speakers needs a returns
One of the things you mentioned toward the end, where when you were young, new to the industry you thought you knew more than you really did, and got away from this as you got older and more experienced.. It's called the Dunning Kruger effect and it's a fairly common thing where a person who's brand new to some field will tend to over access his/her own knowledge in that field. It's an interesting phenomena. It's our ego coupled with the fact that we don't know what we don't know yet.
A vreat example of dunning kruger effect are those that think they know all about the dunning kruger effect and love explaining it to people, but have never even read the paper
As someone who is brand new to the whole world of high-end audio, I really, really appreciate this video. I found your channel because your video on the SB-1000 Pro and SB-3000 Micro popped up in my search results. I've now come back to see if you've reviewed other specific things because I really appreciate your well-balanced, measured reviews. Funny, too, that Cheapaudioman was the inspiration for this rant, because he's the other one that I've gone back to multiple times. Thanks to you both for providing accessible information to a total novice in a way that doesn't make me feel like a complete idiot.
Rant #1 Is so spot on! Its amazing and not a surprise why really well built products never catch on because they DO NOT COMMUNICATE with their potential audience. I couldn't find information on some new items I bought and then the manufacturer wouldn't engage. Makes it hard for me to be nice! Spot on Sean.
Thank you,thank you,thank you! How refreshing to hear from someone who has undoubtedly forgotten more than I could ever hope to learn about an interest that I have become more passionate about than could have ever even imagined prior to delving into it. Little bit by little bit I have taken a hobby of mine by perusing mostly social media sites trying to understand how this often very technically challenging interest (at least for me) works without getting too bogged down that it becomes more of a frustration than a genuine hobby that I enjoy. You sir have given me at the very least some hope that there are people with a conscience who are not reluctant to admit that they were at one time in their life someone that was failing in a particular area of who they really are and decided to do something about it. I enjoy how you present yourself and the knowledge you possess that is also part and parcel of who I am or at least aspire to be. You have found something that you are very good at and my wish is that it should continue for you regardless of how some lesser souls that might not have the same wherewithal may perceive what you have to say. Namaste . ✌️☮️
Probably the 3rd-5th video of yours I’ve seen. This one made me subscribe. I’ve been subbed to cheapaudioman and Steve for a while now, you’re my third audio channel. Thanks for great the content!
I just could not let this slide by -here goes: I find your video extremely well done for Subject, clarity, well spoken and even joy and kindness. I just add our hobby/passion and practice as audiophiles, we do need the laugh (at our selves) once in a while too! Happy listening everyone!
Love the video! Some great points, especially the 1st one asking manufacturers to make videos demonstrating their products. I know REL does this but unsure if others will follow as many will find it difficult to prove their marketing claims!
This is the most wholesome content in the community I’ve seen in quite some time. I hope everyone begins to move in this direction and appreciate the passion together instead of infighting about stupid $#¡+
Great comments Sean! You are spot on regarding all of your points and your requests for others to pull their heads out of their ass and provide meaningful content. I agree 100% about product changes; I have experienced this and dumped products because of this; hope the manufacturers are listening. I have recently removed myself from 3 reviewers because of their “know it all” attitude. I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to remind us of obvious truth. Looking forward to your next video be it a rant, review or a discussion; I like all of your stuff because you tell like it is and you’re honest.
I haven’t watched this yet but I will. Real life calls. But I did watch Randy’s and I like the fact that you support each other’s channel. Really cool. Class act
This is great, lots of great points, and admitting to have been there, then developed, makes me like you even more 👍 Honesty and kindness...great values😊
Great video. I appreciate you doing this video and appreciate you for it. I’m still new to this community, 1-2 years or so, but I DEFINITELY DO NOT KNOW WHAT I WANT TO KNOW! Your video expressed some of the things that I want to know & learn.
Yes, Yes and YES!!! Well said sir! A wise man once said "It doesn't matter how expensive, how advanced, what brand, how much gear you have, what only matters is what your ears tell you".
Me and my wife listened to a 100K McIntosh system (in Upstate NY where it’s made). Unimpressed, my wife said our 0.5K (500 dollar) Denon sounded better.
@@homerjones3291 Maybe it shines at loud volumes, I don’t know. I like to brag to friends that I live in the town they started to make McIntosh, though:)
Well said, Sean. Another great, enlightening lecture on hi fi audio. I first got interested in listening seriously to music when I was 25, 26 in the very late 1980s. At that time when hi fi equipment was considered it was about brand name, and high prices to this audiophile standard; whatever that phrase meant. However, as time went by it was more than very high prices; and prestigious brand names.
I am glad people are finally saying things like this. I listened to Randy's rants your go right along with what he said. I also like that you talked about audiophiles and some of their beliefs that go against the sharing of knowledge. Once again thank you for saying these things.
Well done. Glad to see and hear someone admit there human. I’ve always been loyal to honesty ( sometimes to a fault ) . Been in this hobby now for 2 yrs , watching your reviews for 1 yr now. I’ve purchased gear based off of RU-vid reviews . After a while of watching reviews, U come to an understanding of who is serious and who is not , when producing a review. So , I now have 3 favorites and a few that I’ll check in on from time to time. I too am as guilty of judging personality over content. If the content is informative and true , then I no longer care of ones delivery or personality. All that took was a little humbling of myself. I replaced my passing judgment on a review, with making an effort to recognize & appreciate the personal time & effort it must take to produce a review. I am grateful for all reviewers. They are of great help to my decision making. Lastly , I wish there was a channel for beginner - aspiring audiophiles . Not dedicated to entry level products , but more to teaching the meaning of audio verbiage, with videos of connecting the same product to different applications . I.e using a portable dac in a 2 ch home rack mount system with separates or using same dac for headphones. Or why put this cable here or don’t connect to xyz terminal and why . Learned allot from u-tube reviewers with you being one of my go to guys. Keep it going. SEAN from NJ
I love your comment about ‘ manufacturers should give more (video) information about how to use their products and how to make the best of it. There are a lot of you tubers without self reflection who give an ‘expert opinion’ on products based on crappy testing, bad equipment and personal preferences.
Fantastic video, Sean. All excellent points, but I especially couldn’t agree more with your first point, when so many brick and mortar stores are closing down, and there’s really no way to audition a product. Many thanks for this vid, Sean.
We went to Ithaca, and the guy doesn’t have anything to listen in the store. He says you can take one home, then return it if you don’t like it. We’re not driving an hour to Ithaca to return gear. So we left.
You, CAM, Audiophiliac, and Darko are my favorite audio channels, and a big part of that has to do with the combination of passion and honest grounded-ness.
Funny enough, the folks you mention are the classic "audiophile" poets who talk authoritatively about audio gear without presenting a shred of evidence for their verbiage, except the underlying "trust me, I've heard everything and I have Golden Ears"
Good stuff, Sean. It's all about enjoying the music, first and foremost! Of course we want it to sound great, but there are a few who get caught up in the specs, looks, $$$$, etc....... Have fun! That's the most important thing........
Well said. I’m in New Zealand and we have some real clowns who run audio shops. They think because they have been selling it for thirty years they know all the answers to what you are seeking without listening to you. I think more and more of us are relying on people like you to help us make a decision where to look for new products. Your frustrations with the industry are so valid. Never heard you say press that button I want to hit ………… subscribers. Well done. Love your natural style.
I didn't outright say it in the video, but yeah, a lot of the folks who own retailers tend to exhibit this "know it all" behavior. It's easy to fall into that trap when ya live in a bubble.
this was so well structured it was not a rant at all, great opinions i can stand by :) i heard that first time was a catharsis and successive runs became more calm and collected. my biggest gripe with hifi at the moment is ported designs, people think that you can get extra bass for free. sound quality comes first(it is hifi after all), then extension of bass, subwoofers or dsp does the extension.
I have learned one thing from the many years i have been into audio equipment. Cost doesn't matter. Just because something might cost thousand, doesn't mean it's price is justifiable. I had many years ago a all Audiolab system, the speakers were a pair of Castle Avon's. That system sounded so good, no system i have owned since has had the same emotional effect on my as that system. The sound use to give me goose bumps, ant the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. What i'm saying is, if it sounds good to you that is all that matters
Well done, as per usual for you Sean. I think you took a good tone. A calm and rational rant, heartspoken from lots of personal experience, with sound advice well supported by sound, logical reasoning...Damn it! After all it's just Audio, not an important factor in current world crisis's of wich there are currently lots. But conducting ourselves thoughtfully even in these types of matters..matters.
Great video! I enjoyed the Cheap Audio Man video and yours was icing on the cake. No where is this industry guilty of all you points more than portable audio and headphone/Iem segment. I hope people really take your points to heart
Thanks Sean! Few people on the hifi train are as frank as you are, and I think it's good to do some public soul searching. Benefits anyone who's willing to look in the mirror. At the end of day, figuratively and literally, after all is said, done, and analysed, everyone kicks off their shoes, flops into their cushy chair and lose themselves in the warm embrace of their favourite music. And in that state of bliss, no one is conscious of just how lovely the highs, lows or mids are. Just the music.
Sean, you are the very best of the best in what you say and believe. I for one believe these type of rant videos are absolutely necessary. Thank you for your passion to help this industry.
Interesting rant, hopefully some of the manufacturers audio stores are tuned into what you said. I like the point you made about pairing electronics with specific speakers would make it a whole easier for the consumer to make better purchasing decisions. It would be win/win for seller and the consumer, how novel is that!
Electronic/speaker recommendations would be great, but it's a fairly dangerous game to play when you're a manufacturer. Especially if you have dealers. This is mostly due to politics. If a speaker manufacturer starts telling customers that their products sound best with certain brands, it WILL bite them in the ass. Now imagine you're a dealer. You've spent a lot of time with a customer who is finally ready to pull the trigger on a system that you recommended to them. Then, right at the last second, they change their mind and say they only want to buy the speakers. Confused, you ask them what happened? The customer proceeds to tell you that the speaker manufacturer told them that there are better options out there for those particular speakers. The speaker company basically just f***d you. They compromised your time as well as potentially thousands of dollars. All because that speaker company THINKS something may be better with their product, which in many respects, is a subjective opinion. This puts you in a compromised, almost no-win position. So yeah.... this is one of the primary reasons why most hi-fi companies do not make those recommendations.
Whilst you both make very valid and reasoned points, in my experience, this has been happening and still is happening for a long time (40 years that i remember). Richer Sounds in the uk were just a little shop in London Bridge when i was young , but they always sold recommended combos then and though they now a big national chain they still do combos.. Just not so much. As recently as last year, when I was buying Naim Atom, there was national drive to pair them with some chord speakers, same pairing in most of the hi fi outlets. Im a little contrary though, so I bought something else.. So just saying, for some of us, its not unusual to see electonics paired with certain speakers, though I appriciate others may have had a different experience! Its certainly a helpful option...
Oh my! This is superb video!!! Thank you, Sean! I've noticed something about myself 😊 Also, linking to rant #2, I want to share my story with IFI Neo iDSD. I bought it as a gift to my bf and it was almost straight away after the launch in 2019. It is in use as for a table set up with computer and active speakers alongside with headphones option to switch as needed. Everything was great until a new firmware came up - improved performance, fixed issues and better this and that. After the update switching between speakers and headphones changed - can't mute headphones output because speakers stop to play. But not completely - if you make it loud - you can still something disturbed. Contacting IFI - long correspondence back and forth, finally they're admitting new behaviour - but no option to roll back an update. They sent us a new Neo iDSD with a new hardware (!) for which this firmware update was released. Issue become worse - now the noise in headphones. After almost 6 months debates they finally agreed to send us old hardware build of Neo iDSD with old firmware. Issue resolved. Now we can't expect any improvements from firmware and can't trust IFI further on. So sad.
Very good honest rant, that addresses some important issues in the hi-fi industry, from someone who knows it well. Keep up the great work of discussing things that help the industry improve the customer knowledge, understanding, and appreciation, creating an all round better hi-fi experience for everyone.
Hi Sean, the points made are very relevant and as someone who cannot go into a shop (store) and listen to the multitude of Hi-Fi gear around I solely depend on your judgement and experience. My kit is made up of all your effort’s from your reviews and explanations of other related topics such as cables, connections etc which is also important when considering any product(s). Thank you for all you do.
Hey Sean. Any chance you will be reviewing either the 1723s or 1723 Arendal tower speakers? For 2 channel reviews I've only seen their monitors. Value to performance ratio may be top tier. Maybe.
Yeh, I too watched cheap audio man’s video and as with your video, agree with and approve of the contests. I do think that a good number of veteran audiophiles will by now have wised up, and although not consciously thinking about it, will be aware of the validity of your words. I’ve been into audio since the early 80s. I knew nothing when I started my journey as an end user. 40 years later, I know considerably more than I did back when. I’m now far more confident of making informed purchase decisions, but, I still have a heck of a lot to learn and I know that if I’m still around in 40 years time, I will still not know everything and still have a heck of a lot to learn. I think a major stumbling block for many novice audiophiles is that you can ask 1 question of 10 people, manufactures, retailers, reviewers Etc. And get 10 opposing answers. I have 1 question I’d like you to answer please. Define the over used term ‘high end’? I have put this question to many RU-vid reviewers, the only man so far, brave enough to tender an response is OCD hifi guy Mike. I respect your opinion and would love to hear your response.
Sales and Manufacturing could learn so much from watching this video! Who would have known that music would lead to evolving from a jackass grandstanding know-it-all and robbing yourself of learning to a humble person that is able to learn from that and grow. Keep up the good work and shooting straight from the hip!
Hi, I don’t know if this place is inappropriate for this question. But, I am unable to decide which amplifier should I buy to drive a pair of JBL TL260 limited edition tower speakers. Appreciate your recommendation.
I like your honesty and desire for balance. There’s always something to learn. I had, at one time, sacrificed my sheer love of music for audio gear and the pursuit of rainbows. Obsessiveness and self-justification is at the heart of any of the bitter rebukes.
When people hear 1 bad review out of 20 good reviews and think that only the bad review is true. The viewers then think this reviewer is the only good guy in the scene and no one else should be trusted.
That actually has a bit of truth to it. Most reviewers won't give a bad review, they'll just not review the product. A bad review can be helpful in evaluating how other reviews address particular issues a product may have.
The only time I'll buy into bad reviews is if there's a pattern. If none of the bad reviews are the same and they are minimal, you can chalk it up to "shit happens". If most of the reviews involve similar issues and there's a decent amount, it's a manufacturer problem.
I don't pay attention to reviews where they only say good things about the product. If they won't compare it to similar options and point out things that might not be perfect for everyone about it then I'm watching an infomercial and not a review. It takes guts to say "For some people this other component may be better"; because the people that sent the product you are reviewing may not send more stuff. And don't even get me started on the "I'm doing paid commercial videos for them too but I really love their speaker!"
I thought that if I bought good speakers and a good integrated amplifier I would get good sound. Wrong! This journey has been frustrating. Thankful for guys like you, Randy, Andrew, Thomas, Jay, etc.
This is great, thank you. I just hope that HiFi industry doesn't end up at two extremes: smartphones and a few extra wealthy people trying to find an excuse to expend their money.
" stop having an opinion about something you have no experience with" - i loved this one. I have been saying this on my channel for a very LOOONG time. Many people love to be opinionated about the lambos of that the world yet their reference point is a Hyundai. Seriously!
Hi, I was thinking of buying a Bluetooth record players , what do you think of them and would you recommend I buy one, do you think the sound of Bluetooth record players are good
@Zero Fidelity... Any experience with BAT amps and Pres? Had a used local sale come up for a vk255se power amp vk43se preamp that has a pretty sweet price. Have no clue if this is good stuff or not.
Shawn/Sean, You have grown, and that's why I have come to respect you. Lots of things about reviewers have bothered me, but nothing bothers me more than seeing the same couple of reviewers slap each other on the back and mock the thoughts and feelings of other people who are just being honest about their experiences. Thanks for making this video as we should all look at our behaviors once and a while and ask ourselves just what is it that we can change to make ourselves and what we love better than it has been.
Regarding rant #1, you're spot on. I'm in the market for dual subwoofers and love, I mean love, how REL breaks down what makes the sub good and in what environment it works best. Nearly 100% based on how they describe their various, I'm heavily leaning towards REL's S series in my choice.
Great video @Zero Fidelity , I especially liked the part to the Audio Press, if you are putting in the work why shouldn’t you make something for it, and the channels that claim they are Independant while accepting thousands of dollars of free gear and sponsorship then go on a moral grandstand about it are wack. You just gained a new subscriber. 👍🎼
This maybe out of topic but did you have a chance to review Yamaha m-5000 and c-5000… just curious… and if you did can you share with us your take about those two? Thanks a lot
AMEN! Every single point you make during this "rant" I'm violently shaking my head in agreement. I particularly agree with the lack of creative use of video and the internet by manufacturers in demonstrating and explaining their products to customers in clear and easy way. EVERY manufacturer of almost EVERY product could and should do this- step by step "how to" videos would be more than welcome.
BRAVO. Loved all your points but especially the first: a company telling/suggesting to the consumer how to get the most out of their particular product. As a newbie, I really wish that speaker manufacturers would give us suggestions on what amps, integrated amps, and the such to pair their speakers with, and if that company makes their own amp, so be it. I mean have to test the speakers and why not share some info on the gear they used? Why shouldn't a speaker brand shake hands with an amplifier company? It would surely take the guess work out of things. Bravo Sawn. Stay Cool
Excellent editorial piece Sean! I agree with you on all points. I must admit not even being a reviewer I have still been guilty of some of those points. Thank You much for another awesome make you think video.
As far as speaker breaking goes I heard Andrew Jones talking about it and he said something that made perfect sense to me. He said the part of a speaker that really needs to break in is the spider because it's doped linen or something very similar. The surround and the pole piece and the motor structure doesn't really have to break in it's just that one piece, the spider. He went on to say that it doesn't take hundreds of hours it takes maybe an hour or two and then if you let it sit it'll stiffen back up again. That made sense to me.
