Any Advice for those Listening to Youtube Reviewers?


I’d like to recognize that it takes a great set of self promotional skills to become successful in the Youtube world. That said most of the audio reviewers I’ve seen don’t have the experience to review, or the kind of space that would really allow gear to shine.

Most of them start of with K-Mart like gear, did their formula and got popular, and jumped far up the audio food chain. Of course everything they review is going to be great compared to the Service Merchandise system they sold last year.

Just throwing it out there that people should be careful listening to these guys that are mostly working for the views/money (not that some aren’t passionate).

Anyone else seeing this?

bjesien

It seems like the OP is posing a question with the title of the thread:

"Any Advice for those Listening to Youtube Reviewers?"

The advice I'd offer would include the following:

1. Find credible sources prior to watching influencers. The Complete Guide to High-End Audio by Harley -- even an earlier edition -- is a good start.

2. Try to determine the reviewer's credentials somehow. Biography, other publications, etc. are a good way. One popular YouTube influencer has made a lot of money claiming to talk to dead people. That's a red flag.

3. Does the reviewer like everything? If so, they are not critical and are probably being remunerated for being non-critical.

4. How long has their channel existed and do they answer criticism? Audioholics and PS Audio respond to dialog.

 

@hilde45 

+1

Also only follow youtube reviews after reading this months Stereophile, The Absolute Sound and HiFi+.

I follow several reviewers regularly. Most of them indicate their particular interests and seem to tailor their sites to those interests. I wouldn't watch cheapaudioman for a review about a halo Sonos Faber floorstander, he isn't about that and doesn't pretend to be. For different reasons  I like watching A British Audiophile, because I like his level, methodical, analytical and comparative format. Having good  production values and a consistent pattern helps. (For YT reviews, I benchmark savagegeese because of the consistent method and high production values; it is an automotive site, not an audio site.)

One site I look at is ASR. I know there are many people her who dislike  Amir's approach. He has a take-no-prisoners approach and doesn't seem hesitant to pan gear that doesn't meet his particular testing standards. Those standards are open to debate as far as how well good performance in a user setting corresponds to good performance on his bench or in the spinorama. Products from cherished makers have sometimes seen a skewering. I have observed that he seldom reviews something well that doesn't also perform well. His methods skewer amplifier distortion, and he declines to do testing of tube gear because of its high levels of measurable distortion, euphonious or not. I can't see a brand bias; his SINAD scale places ultra high end next to low-end unknowns at both ends of the performance scale. He seems to prefer speaker offerings by KEF, and if there is a preference, it is for neutral coloration and flat frequency response and low distortion. I have heard some of his critics dismiss him, but few are able to persuasively explain why, except that he has expressed a dislike for a reader's cherished brand or model.