I’m ultimately okay with Steve Guttenberg’s Daily show because a lot of the time he advocates for affordable Hifi Stuff. I also enjoy the general enthusiasm. But he certainly exists in that “Audiophile range” where I can’t gauge what the stuff he recommends because all he seems to listen to is hyper well recorded jazz and classic rock. And I’m like, sure this will sound great with a Chesskey album or some DSD 512 of The Rolling Stones but what if I put on something like Igor, or Technophobia, or Gunship, how will that sound. Z, however brief it is, listens and samples a range of music during his reviews.
As for Darko, I keep him at arms length. I found him through his website first where he has a whole mission statement about reviewing affordable hifi stuff and yet everything he reviews is horrendously expensive. From having 400 dollar USB cables to touting Roon, which is possibly the most expensive Music Server service at the moment and like 5000 dollar music streamers. I am also wary of how slick his production values are for how few followers he has (this is just me being wary of high production value Influencers and Youtubers in general and recognize it’s totally subjective.)
Audio Bacon (not youtube but Web) is another one I tend to avoid. He does like 1000 dollar coax cable comparisons.
All reviewers are both good and bad. They’re good because unlike most of us they’ve heard a ton of gear so they have many reference points on which to base their opinion. They’re bad because they’re sharing their opinion. Their opinion (sound preferences) may not match mine. Or yours.
I take reviewers’ and forum members’ opinions as a group. If the majority of the group has good things to say about a component, it’s worth a try. Will my sound preference match with the group’s? Maybe, maybe not. But at least I know the component is not a turd.
I was liking John Darko channel till I saw his video on audio quest cables with batteries on them, I immediately stopped watching his videos after that.
I don’t think I can classify them as clear cut as good or bad. What I usually do is to watch a few videos to gauge their biases and then weigh their opinions accordingly.
Since everyone seems to be sharing their opinions here.
i just watch Zeos becaus he is entertaining, i dont particularly like his style of describing audio quality. he does review the features very well but he hardly talks about the audio quality. his heaphone reviews only tell me whether the headphones he reviewed are bassy or not and if they have wide soundstage or not. i am ok with that because i dont watch his videos for the details.
the metal571 talks in detail about the sound quality but the reason i cant watch his videos past halfway is because he is so boring and he constantly breathes into the mic and laughs for no reason.
Just because someone is into gear doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy music. I may never post in the music section of this forum, but I have a massive library with almost all genre that I listen to daily, and it’s rare to not find me listening to music. That being said I equally enjoy the gear and love to discuss it and own it for even more enjoyment. I’m not metal, but just because someone is very technical doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy music. It is a review after all, and he does review the product, so I don’t see an issue
He is indeed a good reviewer just not as entertaining. i bought my K712pro after watching his video review. the only thing i learned from Zeos’ k712 pro review is that they are comfortable and they have better bass than other AKG’s he reviewed.
i will gladly watch metal’s review to hear his opinion on something i am in interested in buying but i will watch any random Zeos video just to get entertained.
I am more of a by ear guy, and don’t really worry with measurements, but how something actually sounds and functions. Something might have garbage specs but sound great, but some people focus on measurements. If something doesn’t add to my enjoyment, I don’t own it (except the grados)
anyone here remembers Lachlan from lachlalikesathing. i used to like his reviews sadly he doesnt make videos anymore. i mostly watched his videos for his no nonsense approach and his australian accent.
I look at YouTube reviewers the same way I look at karaoke singers at a bar. I admire the guts of someone who will put themselves out there when I won’t. I take the good with the bad and try to enjoy all of them.
