Does anyone do honest reviews?

[Loren Littlejohn]

Seriously you can't pick up an issue of EQ or recording or (insert any trade mag here) and find an honest opinion.

I understand why, but out of curiosity does anyone do honest reviews? No one piece of gear is perfect and the flaws should be discussed as well as the good.

 

[Robert W]

If you want honest reviews, then use forums like these to solicit them.

As you said, no trade mag is going to pan a product that spends big $$$ to advertise itself in its pages.

 

[if6was9]

Tape Op had some good reviews. Really miss that mag over here(ireland)

 

[AudioGeekZine]

it's difficult to do an honest review.
With magazines and many blogs, the review gets the product for free, insulting the company is not a good idea. Many times the company pays for advertising in the magazine and a bad review may mean pulling ads and lost income for the mag.

A review is a promotional tool.

Everyone has different needs and expectations for a product especially with audio gear so that makes it even tougher. Sound on Sound do good reviews but they don't seem like real engineers writing them.

When I review something I usually send it to the company to proof first and make sure I'm not just mistaken about how to use a feature.

I guess tape op is the most honest.

I think I'm pretty honest with the reviews on my site fwiw

 

[Trevoire520]

Sound on Sound seems pretty decent on reviews.

One thing I will mention is that the general quality of mid level audio gear is actually very good these days, so normally con's of a piece of gear are more because of missing features or nothing that makes it stand above it's competition than any real flaw with the gear itself.

 

[abt]

SoS is not bad but it's still tainted. Very rarely does anything get a caning let alone a hard word.

 

[Zorran]

i think nowadays with reviews you gotta read between the lines.

 

[Kazrog]

TapeOp, and forums like this one. Try before you buy, and/or take advantage of return policies.

 

[drew_drummer]

Go try the gear out.

 

[greyskull]

tapeop

 

[Sloan]

Tape Op has useful reviews, any other mag is just a fucking ad.