Is zeos as bad as people say?

Off-Topic
42

I haven’t seen any reviewer who hasn’t plugged their Patreon/Telegram options.

I watch Zeos for the enthusiasm and basic overview of a product. If I am interested in a product he reviews I cross-reference by listening to other reviewers, reading reviews, and researching the technical details provided by the manufacturer.

After over 40 years of careering down the HiFi rabbit hole and spending tens of thousands of pounds on equipment, the one thing I have definitely learnt is to never take any notice of what some self-professed ‘Golden Eared’ individual who believes the science behind the sound is as important, or even more important than the actual enjoyment of listening to the music.

Listening to music is a tonic for the soul, and cannot be defined by using a graph or conveyed by technical jargon. And no amount of reviews will ever replace actually listening to a device, as it will always be an entirely individual subjective decision.

6 Likes
43

I bet you he’d get a lot of people on there if people didn’t know it existed… Glad you’re not in my marketing dept bahaha

Yeah. I guess I get that. But I too have rather weird ears and just can’t stand certain types of rubber or anything too hard (fucking airpods) so I think that’s why I see his point. If you can’t endure the tips in the box, you shouldn’t use them to form your opinion on the product because no matter how good it sounds, if it sits bad your experience is gonna be bad.

Besides I think the difference in the way we perceive sound is bigger than the difference in tips, which is why I think it’s smart to take his, and anyone’s opinion, as just that. An opinion.

44

That isn’t necessarily bad, everyone has to make a living after all. It is just that there are numerous videos where he spends more time plugging or linking than describing the sound of a product. I wouldn’t watch his videos if I didn’t find them entertaining, but it is getting a bit silly.

45

That wasn’t my point at all. My point was that his consistency is all over the shop on the review side of things. No shit advertisement is important, but content is also important.

1 Like
46

Yeah, this has basically become a standard considering how arbitrarily YouTube enforces their policies…

1 Like
47

I like him. The specs might be a little off at times but his impressions of a product are all I really need anyway. I can read the specs on my own. One thing I’ve found is I need to be in the right “mood” for a Zeos review or I find it irritating. He’ll get around to points eventually but it’s a winding path. After I hear about the cat, the basement and the bugs, he usually covers the stuff I’m interested in. I find it entertaining most of the time and don’t get too hung up on most of the audiophile stuff anyway.

2 Likes
48

I think you can generaly pull this discussion open to a simple question.

What’s more important in a review? Telling you the exact specs of a product? Telling you a personal opinion on how something feels or sounds?

For those who find the first more important I can indeed see how Zeos is just a bad reviewer (though I stand by my point, nobody forced you to watch).

2 Likes
49

This is why I watch Z. I watch and read others for more exact info.

Also, z Kicked my Dog! Hes the worst! Jk.

1 Like
50

The biggest one for me was with the holo may review, way to put off a large part of your audience.

Are you suggesting a large part of his audience buys $4,500 DACs? Because that seems like it would be a vanishingly small number of people who would even consider something like that.

51

And of the amazingly small amount of people an even smaller amount will actually purchase this specific one, and of those… What part wll really hear the difference? How many of us have ears that are tier fucking Holo May :stuck_out_tongue:

Not at all knocking the product! The build and tech and dedication is amazing! But indeed. Calling Holo may buyers who hear the difference a ‘large part of his audience’ is a bit pretentious…

@Kron You might have those godlike ears and pockets. But most really don’t xD

52

I was more meaning the way he always comments that he can’t hear a difference in dacs, I’ll admit, I didn’t word that quite how I meant it :sweat_smile:

53

Sorry, I meant what I’ve just said above, worded it wrong

I can assure you, I don’t :sweat_smile: and I most definitely don’t have a wallet that big :joy: currently got the bf2 myself

54

I’m pretty sure you don’t need to reach the level of a Holo May to hear differences in DAC. You can grab a Geshelli J2 and a Modius, which will have small sonic differences, provided that you are trained to know what to listen to.

2 Likes
55

He has a job.

He has a job to do is o people o buy products

56

(that was about being a “budget reviewer”)
He has his moments. :stuck_out_tongue: Most of the time though, he is a “budget” reviewer. About DACs, after the Holo May review, he actually said he won’t ever review another DAC that’s more than 1K$. (Remember the Holo May is a “4-diamond” DAC and just a DAC, and the Element X is a dac-amp-streamer-bluetooth-roon-etc-etc).

1 Like
57

I said to myself I wasn’t going to comment on this thread, but here I am.

Zeos is all about “I can $ell lots of the$$$$e” I don’t blame him, it’s his business and he’s making a living at it, which is an accomplishment. he’s got nearly 1/4 million subs, head and shoulders more than anyone else that I know of, certainly more than any other high end reviewer. Again, another achievement. The guy’s built it from the ground up and seems like he loves what he’s doing.

Here’s the reason I’m jumping into the discussion though, Zeos didn’t just say he wasn’t going to review another high end (more than $1K) DAC. He said he can’t hear the difference between a $4K dollar DAC and other much cheaper DACS, he also said that all DACs sound the same and he said that he doesn’t recommend anyone spend more than $1K for a DAC because, well, they all sound the same. Watch the video, he says that, no need for interpretation or excuses.

That’s not just plain wrong, it’s ignant as shit and is a major disservice to anyone starting out in the hobby or someone looking to grow in their journey but because Zeos said so, they’ll never look beyond their $200 dollar DAC, because all DACS sound the same.

I see a lot of apologists and interpreters about what his intent is and what his technical abilities are and that since he’s entertaining, it excuses everything else.

There is constructive criticisms and it’s usually given as a means to improve someone work performance. I so understand the hyperbolic titles in these threads which immediately make people jump in to defend. Understand though, there’s opinion, which we can all have, and then there are facts there can’t be alternative to. In a number of stated comments the guy is just patently wrong on things he’s stated as fact to his quarter of a million subs. Whether it’s done out of ignorance or trying to $ell because that’s they reason he makes the videos in the first place, only the Z knows.

He can be shilling for dollars, wrong, and fun to watch they’re not mutually exclusive. Telling someone to not watch if they don’t like his videos makes you an apologist, because there’s no excuse for disseminating wrong information. Like I said, it’s just plain ignant, or part of the business model.

7 Likes
58

By no means an excuse, but I feel if he starts hearing differences in DACs he will lose quite a bit of his audience / reviewers in the entry level market, so I can understand it might also be a business decision.

59

First of all, what does ignant mean? Second of all, it can be a fact that he can’t hear a difference among different DAC’s. If that’s the case, then he is actually telling the truth. And thirdly, if you take a YouTube personality as speaking the word of God, then there are greater issues that need to be addressed. And fourthly, just calm down people. It’s a hobby for goodness sake.

2 Likes
60

I feel this is pretty accurate for a definition.

3 Likes
61

“I can’t hear differences in DACs” is a fact.

“All DACs sound the same” is not a fact.

4 Likes