System videos in audio reviews.

[tima]

Caveat: I recognize there are people who don't value system videos or find fault with the very idea. Some will repeatedly tell you that any time the 'videos' topic comes up. That's fine, you have your opinion. There's no need to repeat it again in this thread. We'll accept that you reject videos as a tool wherever you find them. If you don't read reviews, that's fine too.

I am interested in what review readers think of including home made system videos in formal audio reviews. As I imagine it this is a video of the review author's system playing the same piece of music as described in words in the review. If words describe certain characteristics of what is heard, the video would cover that portion of the music the words describe. Is this useful to the reader? Would you listen to the video?

One reason to include a video of a specific musical passage is to veer away from generalized description. Another is to augment and connect the words with sound.

I did this in two of my reviews (here and here) and now it's time to get some feedback on this experiment. My goal is to be responsive to reader interests and to hear suggestions. Would you encourage other reviewers to do this? Are there downsides to the practice for those that listen to videos?

Thanks in advance.

 

[MarkusBarkus]

Tim, I had read and listened to the Atma-Sphere review prior to seeing this thread, as I am working on a small-form mono solution for a second system.

I found the review thorough and helpful, thank you very much. I like the concept of including videos, and in fact, it's a convenient leg-up over a printed review, and very convenient.

That said, I don't expect the video to exactly portray the experience the amps would have in my room, and I didn't even rig-up a headphone audit; it was sufficient (for me) as presented on my phone to get a flavor of the output, and to augment the written material.

It's hard to imagine a review without a few photos, right? For me, it should be hard to imagine an online review without videos (understanding limitations copyrights might present).

How I normally assess reviews is: I download the image from the music noted in the review to my phone. Later, I go back to the images to jog my memory to look up the tracks in my library or in Qobuz.

I listen to the tracks, and most of the time, I find it interesting (and sometimes get great new-to-me music), but often it just sounds OK, or I don't get the G-wiz excitement noted in the review. But that is A-OK to me.

The vids are just another dimension to explore. I don't make costly go/no-go based on vids online.

Boil-down: I like the vids in the reviews. And thanks again for the Atma-Sphere review. I gotta ping Ralph this week.

 

[mtemur]

I think attaching videos to reviews is a good idea. Maybe it won’t convey the actual listening experience in the room but it will surely add more enjoyment and depth to the review.

 

[bonzo75]

Caveat: I recognize there are people who don't value system videos or find fault with the very idea. Some will repeatedly tell you that any time the 'videos' topic comes up. That's fine, you have your opinion. There's no need to repeat it again in this thread. We'll accept that you reject videos as a tool wherever you find them. If you don't read reviews, that's fine too.

I am interested in what review readers think of including home made system videos in formal audio reviews. As I imagine it this is a video of the review author's system playing the same piece of music as described in words in the review. If words describe certain characteristics of what is heard, the video would cover that portion of the music the words describe. Is this useful to the reader? Would you listen to the video?

One reason to include a video of a specific musical passage is to veer away from generalized description. Another is to augment and connect the words with sound.

I did this in two of my reviews (here and here) and now it's time to get some feedback on this experiment. My goal is to be responsive to reader interests and to hear suggestions. Would you encourage other reviewers to do this? Are there downsides to the practice for those that listen to videos?

Thanks in advance.

Feel free to attach a text review to videos

 

[Rexp]

Yes, keep em coming! Particularly useful to compare with tracks recorded on your usual set up.

 

[tima]

That said, I don't expect the video to exactly portray the experience the amps would have in my room, and I didn't even rig-up a headphone audit; it was sufficient (for me) as presented on my phone to get a flavor of the output, and to augment the written material.

I think attaching videos to reviews is a good idea. Maybe it won’t convey the actual listening experience in the room but it will surely add more enjoyment and depth to the review.

Good points from each of you.

I count on the reader/listener to understand that, while I believe the video is representative, it will not be equivalent to what I hear in my audio room. That cannot occur if for no other reason that there is high variability in video playback systems.

I use a pair of mildly decent amplified wired desktop speakers fed through the DAC in my computer. I also playback through a wired Sonus soundbar + subwoofer. I consider those on the low end of possible playback but within the range of a typical home user. If in my judgement the video passes those tests for "representativeness", then I'll use it.

I did provide the following caveat in each review, but I don't want to spend much publication space explaining or justifying the inclusion of a video.

I'm going to try something different in this review by offering YouTube videos of my system reproducing music with the Aidas Mammoth Gold in play. You won't hear the music sound as good as it does from my in-room experience, but I believe the video sufficiently represents the cartridge's capabilities. At minimum you will need quality headphones or desktop speakers, or ideally your own system. Phones and laptop speakers will not cut it. If YouTube videos are not your cup of tea, okay, feel free to skip this.

Here is a Class D phone recording of Movement 1 of Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra. The music is very quiet at the beginning and later the dynamic contrast is substantial. You'll need more than a phone or laptop for listening. If you don't like system videos, just skip this.

I do like MarkusBarkus' idea of finding review music on a streaming service then using whatever playback the reader already has. Never occured to me as I'm vinyl only. Of course it is a different video and avoids the review component, but you may be able to connect the music to the review description in some way.

I consider reviews with or without videos as data points to factor with other inputs the reader may gather. Given the substantially reduced brick and mortar listening outposts or lack of local availability, a video offers sonic input apart from a written description.

 

[iaxel]

Hi Tim,

I'm not a fan of assessing sound through "home-made" videos.
But, I do like the idea of providing video extracts of the reviewed gear in the reviewer's system.
However, without any reference it would be tough to understand the differences.
As a general idea, I would have the reviewer provide some reference videos of his current system setup, with the same tracks, and over time when reviews are out you'll be able to compare the results to those reference videos.
Naturally, if the reviewer replaces/buys new gear, the reference videos will need to be updated accordingly.

That's my 2 cents.

 

[tima]

Hi Tim,

I'm not a fan of assessing sound through "home-made" videos.
But, I do like the idea of providing video extracts of the reviewed gear in the reviewer's system.
However, without any reference it would be tough to understand the differences.
As a general idea, I would have the reviewer provide some reference videos of his current system setup, with the same tracks, and over time when reviews are out you'll be able to compare the results to those reference videos.
Naturally, if the reviewer replaces/buys new gear, the reference videos will need to be updated accordingly.

That's my 2 cents.

Thanks for your input; it makes sense. At this point I'm not aware of other reviewers doing this. I do not know if Positive Feedback would publish reference videos outside of reviews. However you can see my Youtube channel for reference videos. I could put that link in my equipment list on PF.

 

[iaxel]

Thanks for your input; it makes sense. At this point I'm not aware of other reviewers doing this. I do not know if Positive Feedback would publish reference videos outside of reviews. However you can see my Youtube channel for reference videos. I could put that link in my equipment list on PF.

I'm familiar with you're YT channel. Thanks!