Over the years I've been asked a number of times for professional reviews of my products. I figured I'd take some time to talk about my review policy.
First off... I'm abnormal. You should understand that to begin with. I'm not your average person, company nor designer. I don't play by typical marketing rules, I guess because I'm a stubborn individual. I run my own company because I want to do it my way, not someone else's. This is important to understand because my policy on reviews is strongly influenced by my abnormal personality.
I don't like most equipment reviews. I think that one of the fundamental problems is that they contain mostly subjective information. I don't read reviews about audio products for the same reason I don't read reviews about beer, wine or cigars. It is largely someone's personal opinion and their personal opinion is not mine. Add to this the fact that most audio reviewers know little to nothing about physics. Some do and others with non-technical backgrounds have brushed up to the point where they can sound credible. Still... it nags at me that a potential vendor can snow them with bullshit and they just are not armed with the knowledge to refute it. Nor do they have the motivation to do so, as I'll get to later.
The objective information in a review is often not sufficient to draw any conclusions. I've measured enough loudspeakers to determine that what I end up liking, rarely can be described by a couple measurements. How we perceive sound is a complex subject and the pursuit of understanding measurements is a lifetime project. Its just not something the average reviewer is going to be able to describe in enough detail to give meaningful insight into, within the context of an article. It is something that could be approached in a number of articles. I think I'll give a go at it myself some day.
The best part of reviews is typically the pictures. I like to look at the industrial design. The artistic side of making a product look good/bad is interesting. I find my views don't always coincide with my customers, but such is life.
There are individuals that I respect, for whom I've learned to trust their opinions. Those individuals are not reviewers though (go figure). There are guys who write about technical matters, that I enjoy reading. I enjoy learning but I find even those with very good technical backgrounds, sometimes, hold views for which have an irrational basis. Why is this so? I guess because we are all human and a combination of both rational and irrational thought. Sometimes we find ourselves holding onto an idea that is proven to be false and its hard to admit when we are wrong. Sometimes we have a financial motive and its not prudent to admit that our commercial interest isn't as good as it should be. Sometimes we just don't want to look foolish in front of others. For all these reasons, even those who I respect for having a good knowledge about acoustical engineering, I still hold their opinions carefully, with light fingers, so that I can drop them when I find it prudent.
Another issue I have with reviews is the nature of the industry. The motive of magazines and web-zines are not always pure. Their perspective, goals and motives are often complex and not always openly stated. This is the case even within the context of the same publication. Different reviewers have different agendas. Some are very noble in their pursuit, others are nothing short of scam artist looking to get free audio equipment. Anyone, that has spent any time in this industry, has heard stories about reviewers asking for handouts, money, or even prostitutes in return for favorable reviews (I'm not kidding... I have a reliable friend in the industry that had a request for a paid room and prostitute at an audio show). To let my opinion of all audio reviewers be determined by these few bad-eggs would be unfair. But the sad fact is that I'm just human and I tend to let individuals in a group shape my opinion of the whole.
I've found that much of the industry is driven by reviews. People buy equipment because of reviews. This has led to some rather blunt conflicts of interest in audio publishing. Want a good review? You have to advertise first. The bottom line is that I find a lot of this game distasteful. I don't like playing the game. I don't like smooching someone' s butt for a good review. I don't like the fact that my ability to pay the bills, feed my kids and pay for their education is based upon my popularity with people whom I don't necessarily respect. As a result of this I've made a policy that if my products cannot sell without reviews, I will move on and do something else. I absolutely refuse to be beholden to something as unreliable as published reviews for my ability to provide for my family. If it takes reviews in order for me to sell loudspeakers, then I won't sell loudspeakers.
That doesn't mean I refuse to have my products reviewed. It just means I'm going to be very selective and careful about who and how they are reviewed. I have no desire to play games or give away products as motivation. I do have a lot of customers who review their purchased products. I encourage customers to write reviews on my forum and on the product pages at my site. I think that for the most part, their opinions are more valid than a commercial reviewer. Their motivations are simple and pure for the most part. I'm also happy to say that I've sold loudspeakers and amplifiers to the publishers of magazines and reviewers. In all cases, they have been sold at full retail price. I don't ask for reviews nor do I expect them. They bought them for the very simple reason that they wanted what I was selling. A good and simple motivation.
This has gotten long. I'll just wind up by saying that I like several individuals in this industry who review equipment. My purpose isn't to slam on them. I like the people, but not the realities of commercial reviews. The biggest reason I do what I do is because I enjoy learning about the art of loudspeaker design. I sell other products but I find the aspect of the loudspeaker and it's fundamental engineering the most interesting thing I do. I am motivated by the simple lure of building a better mousetrap, of designing something that pleases me. I like designing things and solving problems in unique ways. I think its cool and it motivates me to get out of bed in the morning. I find I can do all this and still pay my bills and feed the kids. I work for those financial reasons, as most of us do, but my passion is for design and learning. My passion is for building a lineup of products I'm proud to sell. My passion is to solve problems in unique and novel ways. It is for those selfish motives, that I work and they are the things determine what you see at my site.
