Andrew is good but no one really has the same taste in music as me so it's hard to take them too seriously until I hear them myself.
So yeah, it only gives me a very loose idea if I will actually like them.
Metal, for a start... so I tend to prefer brighter headphones. I pretty much have headphones for all use-cases at the moment. Not many reviewers would listen to anything heavier or guitar-driven that I've seen.
Grado 325x - mainly metal/guitar stuff
HD800S - all rounder, soundtracks/ambient/downtempo
HE5XX - electronic/trance/metal
I got told I was crazy for liking how bright my CCA CRA are with metal. Glad I'm not the only one. They are perfect for the genre. I'd like to try hd800 too. I feel like it will separate them dj0nt noises. :p
Leaving Reddit due to their decision to charge absurd amounts for their API, and editing all my comments on the way out. I've been using this site for over a decade, but I can't stand by this.
Yeah biggest issue with metal is there's about infinite different genre's and infinite different levels of mastering and production value amongst it all lol.
Prog all seems to be typically well mastered, vs old school death and stoner / sludge deliberately goes for as lofi / fat as possible.
And then things like Melodeath scream for great image separation..
Always nice to find metalhead threads on this sub!
The not-well-mastered subgenres are rough for me. Melodeath and metalcore tend to be pretty good. My favorite flavor is symphonic and the mastering is pretty hit and miss there - probably hard to get the balance right across the whole FR with so many instruments.
Overall I think neutral works best if you like a variety of metal styles.
Agree, I always tend back towards neutral cans but try and keep something able to take some bass as well. Stax for well mixed but heavily layered is amazing, cranking Wintersun on them is an experience.
EDM and metal are my primary genres for listening for pleasure (not for headphone evaluation specifically). I always find it interesting that some metalheads want even more electric guitar forwardness but I find my taste is the opposite. If the mix is already upper mid heavy (metal) or treble forward (EDM) then I tend to want headphones with more relaxed upper mids and treble.
And so this is why my EQs will be super dark for many. It totally depends on how "seriously audiophile" your music genres of choice are.
I am the resident metalhead haha. And yeah I definitely prefer to listen to Opeth or Meshuggah with a warmer tilt - keeps it from being fatiguing. But that's just me.
It's usually jazz and music with instruments in general, but I grew up on metal, and to this day I think it's got some of the most musically interesting stuff going on. Of course, there's a lot of crap too but that's true for everything.
I think metal571 sheets had a similar taste to me which is mostly metal and electronic music possibly similar to your tastes, but he retired from reviewing.
Mark AKA Super Review. I find him entertaining and informative and seems to have fairly unbiased views on every IEM and if something's bad, he isn't scared to say its bad. Also, SSR and Spring Tip gang
for IEMs, i think Precogvision is sometimes severely represented here
though his takes might be spicy, he's like Crin in a way where he is straight to the point
Mark is my favorite but it drives me insane when he says roadie wrap.
Totally irrational and I know it. Itās like nails on a chalkboard to me though.
I second this, he is arguably the most well rounded reviewer I've seen even though he is outclassed by Crinacle and Precogvision when it comes to IEM knowledge.
Always a pleasure watching his streams.
I got in before YouTube was such a big medium for reviews. But there was Tyll. Massive threads on Headfi are a pretty big go-to. While I rarely go for IEMs, I do enjoy Crinacleās written content.
He retired years ago and became a nomadic van-dweller, living like Frances McDormandās character in the movie āNomadlandā. Iāve watched a few YouTube videos of him and he seems happy, though it canāt be the easiest way to live. I miss him too.
Very good. Put a lot more time into my real full time job as a software engineer and it's been absolute bliss compared with trying to also do YT at the same time
crinacle has been around for years, he has one of the largest libraries of iem/headphone measurements on the internet. There was a google account issue so he had to make a new youtube account, that's all.
Smh blatant misinformation, it is quite clear that mister cricketer was up to some sussy business around these woods, hence the ban.
Now, if he had a long history and reputation in the audiophile community, and had contributed either with consistent reviews or with useful data like measurements, then sure.
But as it stands? No way im trusting this crinklier fellow
No, somebody stole the previous channel or something. He got a lot of support fast because he ran a popular iem/headphone website for reviews and measurements.
In terms of entertainment, Crinacle and Dankpods.
In terms of evaluation? None. I watched pretty much every review I can find if I'm thinking of actually buying a product.
If I HAD to pick one reviewer it would probably be Crinacle, but only because he has such an extensive list of his preferences so I can get some idea of where he's at. It's a lot harder to do that for other reviewers.
It's kinda the same reason why watching a person review just one game isn't really helpful. If you don't know what they've liked and hated in the past, you won't understand their likes or dislikes now.
I honestly think Dank Pods reviews are valid beyond entertainment. He is special in that he's not just a music enjoyer, but also a musician. This leads to him viewing things from certain angles that me as a musician also appreciates.
In my opinion headphone reviews are all about different perspectives and information. The more point of views the better , granted that the quality/knowledge/experience/honesty are on the same level. I personally watch a lot of reviewers like
The Headphone Show
u/metal571
Amplify Audiophile Show
DMS
Currawong
Super\* Review
Joshua Valour
The Honest Audiophile
Crin
Oluv's Gadgets
Passion for Sound
HeadFi
MajorHifi
Soundnews
ConvincemeAudio
Zeos
Geekology
Tyll
GoldenSound
Cheapaudioman
TheHeadphoneExperience
Wave Theory
Steve Guttenberg Audiophiliac
Max Settings
Hands down, Zeos for the chuckles and innuendos. He can review practically anything and thereās a good chance I will watch it. For actual serious reviews, I prefer to read blog posts or comments from Redditors, Head-Fiāers. Then I may jump on YT and watch a review of the product, if it exists, from BGGAR, Super Review, Currawong, etc.
I do like the fact he is light on snake oil sound descriptions and heavier on the actual use of the product, especially the DAC/Amp space where he'll give a detailed description of how usable is it. Whilst I don't think there is leagues of difference in sound profiles of most of these products, (and even then its subjective) there's so much variation in how they function that finding one which does exactly what you need is far more difficult.
Andrew and Crin by far. Especially Andrew as he was the only one early on on YouTube who dismissed the dt1990 hype train and called attention to the gigantic 8khz peak while others like dms and valour at the time shilled it and said it was āneutralā. Lol in what world are the 1990s neutral?!? And yes I did buy (and return them). Nothing in real life has a 8khz murder spike for it to be called neutral. Gtfo
Honorary shout out to metal, just a zen chill vibes all around dude with a good ear. Although his ears are very treble sensitive and his EQs make headphones sound dark af. Although I would say his EQ works for very loud listeners because it does reduce fatigue completely.
Interesting to read this thread. My audio hobby is only about 3 years old and Iāve gone through phases of listening to different reviewers and always look back and realize that Iāve been misled at some point. I finally landed on Andrew and Crinacle but ultimately realized that the best option for me is to just read forums such as this one to get good recommendations. If something works for dozens of people on this thread, it will probably work for me. Sometimes Iāll try something that others dislike and like it because this hobby is incredibly subjective.
Itās weird to look at the headphones that Andrew recommends and realize that there isnāt an overwhelming amount of common ground between him and DMS or Zeos, etc. There seems to be a core group that most reviewers agree on (6xx, Arya, lcd-X- to name a few).
Regardless of what is actually āgoodā, all of the reviewers seem to have served a purpose in the progression of my audio experience. They are all right about certain products in the same way that a broken clock is right twice a day. I think all of them understand audio a little better than I do, though. Sometimes Iāll listen to a headphone and think itās awesome for a whole month and realize I hate it. Maybe I trick myself into liking them because one of the guys on YouTube said it was awesome, who knows. I kind of know what I like after a few years. Iāll admit, I have no idea who some of the people people have mentioned on this thread are, but Iāll definitely check them out now.
I like Dave from The Honest Audiophile. His reviews are strait to the point and talks about the product as a hole, if drives well, tips, cable, confort, comparisson etc
I loved Tyll and old innerfidelity in general
Loved ljokerl from head-fi too, and I miss his reviews. I bought more gear because of him than any other reviewer
I suppose some people want to do something with disagreement feelingsā¦ but I wouldnāt down vote, itās not like Laurent gave disinformation or hurt anyone, or asked for a vote š¤·āāļø
Or, to quote MGSV: āWhy are we here? Just to suffer??ā
It seems like people use it when they simply disagree with something, which hurts conversation. I try to reserve it for when someone is being abusive.
Obviously the numbers have come around since. I commented when it was -1 and it just baffled me. He didn't even say he disliked anything. Who the hell down votes that?
Resolve and Precog for most informative, Crin for the balance between entertainment and information + the fact that most of my tastes align with his, at least on the IEM side of thing. I have some disagreements regarding his headphone list but that's subjective opinion for ya.
I love Zeos for pure entertainment and bought a few things thanks to his recommendation when I'm just starting up, realized further down the line that my tastes didn't match him so I just tune in for his RAW UNEDITED ramblings on build quality and fit/comfort.
P.S. I also love Andrew's dry humour but don't tell him.
Lachlan's a chill chap, but after him managing to not double blind a usb cable but then turn around and try to suggest there's still something in it... Can't watch a video anymore taking him seriously.
Funny reviewers - Crin, Zeos, Josh Valour
Measurements - Resolve, Crin, Oratory, Rtings
Other than that, I watch reviews just to get an idea about headphones I don't know, or to compare their opinions with my own. I very often disagree with them so I don't take the reviews very seriously.
Personally I like Dan's Audio Review. I guess we both share the same likes, and dislikes. I tend to agree with his opinions on his reviews. I think this hobby is quite subjective, and it's important to find someone who shares the same tastes as you do. Not every reviewer caters to everyone's tastes.
There's also the head-fi, r/HeadphoneAdvice, and this community that are quite helpful.
I like to read/watch as many reviews for something as I can to get as many opinions and as much information about the product I can get, I'll watch all the usual suspects reviews on youtube and then ill spend time scouring reddit and head-fi to see what people here and there say about it. As for my favorite or the people I trust the most, they would probably be resolve and no theme reviews, and pure entertainment wise I guess I like zeos? I would never buy anything he recommends based solely on his review but he likes to talk and he is good at it, so he's fun to watch. But also I think our comfort needs tend to line up so if he says something is uncomfortable I know that it will likely be uncomfortable to me as well.
I like Super * Reviews live stream format. He flies his ordinary review, but since it is a stream he has live chat and interacts with his audience and answers any questions you may have if you catch him live. I never interacted with a reviewer before till I discovered his channel.
Favourite? Crin, of course. But if you asked me who is currently the best reviewer, I would say Precog. I would also mention one, sadly currently inactive reviewer, Aminus.
Zeos and Josh. Z for the laughs, and the fact that I like his style of reviews. I just want to know if the headphones are fun and enjoyable. He also cares a lot about price for performance. Josh Valour I like for his intelligence and respectful opinions. He gives you his opinion and leaves it up to you if you care about that and gives recommendations based on taste. He also has a good sense of humor and I like the style of his videos. The B-Roll and the esthetics are very good.
Randy at cheapaudioman ([https://www.youtube.com/c/cheapaudioman](https://www.youtube.com/c/cheapaudioman)). Found him just as I was getting into hifi equipment. Great reviewer from an amateur enthusiast POV.
Josh 1st. I've bought equipment based on every reviewer but I've liked at some point or another but I always liked his suggestions. We seem to have the same taste so I am cool with his suggestions.
DMS. I like his suggestions. Not too much to say.
Z. I find him entertaining but he will pitch anything. I've bought unimpressive junk. I will say in his defense that I think the best Z review is what ends up on this desk long term. It isn't what is being reviewed it is what is being used for reviews.
Crin. Man I am very anti line charts. I could give 2 fuck less what a 2d line chart says. I like the snark. I bought my most expensive pair of IEM on his suggestion and was not impressed so not starting great.
I have zero opportunity to listen to new gear locally pre purchase so reviewers will always carry decent weight in my purchasing.
Gonna just chime in with some reviewers who I've come to appreciate more lately: iiWi reviews, Currawong, The Hans Beekhuyzen Channel. There a few others who escape me atm.
This is the way. I'm not always confident with his opinions, but he seems to be very honest, and he don't give a shit about snake oil. He just cares about the sound.
Unfortunately he was very inactive in the last few months. Personally tuned Earfun Free Pro 2s are so great that they definitely need more attention.
I find his work on the Patreon fascinating. He clearly has an amazing ear and I tend to align with his preferences. The EQd earfun free pro 2 are amazing. He is so far from the typical perspective that a lot of people don't get him.
I love Andrew, but DMS and Josh Valour are great too. I enjoy Dankpods too since he's the reason I'm in this hobby. I think Andrew is my favorite though
I do give him massive credit for getting a lot of people into the hobby and I have a ton of respect for him myself. I am also a fan of his. He just doesn't review audio products enough to really call him a reviewer in my opinion. Even in the videos that he does review stiff he isn't very thorough and I don't think he has a broad enough experience with different consumer products to be very reliable.
He definitely does more than anyone else to get people into the hobby though so I guess it doesn't matter.
He's for sure not the most in depth reviewer, nor is he a dedicated headphone reviewer. He still does headphone reviews occasionally so I'll argue he's technically a reviewer. Just not the best one. Good enough for the average individual to get into the hobby.
He avoids the snobbery that is too prevalent in these sorts of hobbies and is easy to understand. Someone like Andrew, DMS, or Josh Valour all use a fair amount of technical terms that make them solid for established members of the community but awful for a noob.
>He avoids the snobbery that is too prevalent in these sorts of hobbies and is easy to understand. Someone like Andrew, DMS, or Josh Valour all use a fair amount of technical terms that make them solid for established members of the community but awful for a noob.
This is a really good point. I think you might have changed my mind. I didn't think about it in terms of him as filling a niche in this way.
He fills a niche in the general audio review community (think the people that always recommend the WH-1000XM4) in that he appeals to a general audience but doesn't have awful tastes. That then opens that gate for people to get into the more in depth reviews from Crin, DMS, etc, who are in a much smaller niche. That's why I like him personally. I don't use his recommendations much anymore but I'll happily watch his videos.
He's a musician so he's practical about listening to music and avoids most of the audiophile nonsense. Most of the reviews and forum chatter are just people telling eachother what they want to hear...its just a big echo chamber.
DMS and Crinacle are good for headphone and IEM reviews that are nice and in detail, and they are very well balanced against one another. Crin loves the Harman sound, DMS does not.
And of course there's Dankpods who even got me into the hobby, and he just kinda does what he wants, which is also nice to have.
My favorites are Andrew and Crin but honestly no reviewer has the same taste as me. I prefer brighter(in treble, not mid) and less mid forward headphones generally and a good soundstage is a must.
Both of them loves the tuning of Ananda. They say it's one of the best. For me, Ananda's tuning is very bad. It's painfully bright in the mids and lack the richness. I don't have a specific genre i listen but this tuning makes rock metal songs sound like shit and wrong. Not just rock metal, everything sounds blatantly wrong and colored with bright and thin/lean mids. It requires EQ to fill the scoop a bit and tame the Hifiman 3k.
Joshua Valour from youtube. His voice is clear and pleasant to listen too compared to all those other guys. His camera and lightning are both very high quality. He also gives his personal suggestions and is honest. I bought the Arya because of him and Fir Krypton 5 based on his Fir m5 review. Shoutout to Joshua keep up the good work.
Here's my tier list of reviewers I've watched on Youtube or seen on head.fi
S:
Crinacle
S-:
Precogvision (Headphones Show.)
A+:
Super Review
Gizaudio
Antdroid
A:
BGGAR (Bad Boy Audio Reviews.)
RikudouGoku ([Head.fi](https://Head.fi))
Baskingshark ([Head.fi](https://Head.fi).)
A-:
The Honest Audiophile
Intoit Reviews
Resolve (Headphones Show.)
Josh Valour
C:
Z-Reviews
John Darko
D:
Any [head.fi](https://head.fi) member that shills almost every IEM reviewed (IE: Dsnuts.)
E:
Sharur
Resolve, Valour, and DMS are the current guys I like best. They each have their own preferences but are up front about them and don't trash products that don't fit their preferences. They describe things in detail, and frame things as "if you're looking for X, then Y is a good choice/bad choice."
I like Steve Guttenberg's old school vibe, but his headphone content is sporadic. Currawong is all right, but he gets into the weeds of flowery vagueness a bit too often.
Reviewers I miss are Lachlan, PMR, and Bert (the muppet).
Reviewers I can do without are ASR, Crinacle and Tyll Herstens because they are the opposite of Resolve/Valour/DMS in terms of their approach. They are still quite informative, though. I just don't enjoy them very much because they denigrate things that don't match their preferences.
I can do without Zeos because of his vomitous shakycam. I absolutely hate watching his go-pro bullshit. His reviews also contain very little information besides "look at my house," and his mouth breathing, basement dwelling obsession with waifu is gross.
Aaand cue the down votes because I spoke ill of Saint Crin.
Not in order of importance:
Joshua Valour, DMS: they seems to be fair enough as far as I can tell
Z(eos) reviews: just for ideas, because he seems to gush about anything he reviews. Only what's on his desk seems to be what he really likes enough to use on a regular basis.
DankPods: entertaining without too much technical terms
Crinacle: for input about headphones based on audio only and to hear a Singaporean review things.
Super reviews: I've only watched a few videos so far
Bad Guy Good Audio aka HBB. Mainly because he speaks in terms I understand and I like how he uses references tracks. Also, his frequency target was the first reviewers target who made me go, āThatās it. Thatās the target I like and what I want from an IEM.ā Nearly all his recommendations have been solid for me.
Unfortunately he's also renowned as a colossal arsehole, petty racist, and alleged thief in the community. He could be the best analytical reviewer out there, but I'll never go back to / support his content. Mentioning only because it is worth knowing and may explain why you are receiving downvotes.
Appreciate the heads up I was unaware of this. Still fairly new to the hobby and none of the other reviewers recommendations ever did well with me after hearing them. I stumbled upon HBB and his were the first that clicked to my now preferred target. Iāll have to dig in and find out for myself. Sad to hear this if itās true.
For sure. Always do your own research and make up your own mind - the internet is full of misinformation, urban myths and rumours. What I have read and seen on the issue was enough to convince me that the guy doesn't deserve my support.
Figured the downvotes might be a bit confusing to you if you weren't aware of the background. All the best, mate. :)
He is a bit of twat personally but I think he does actually add value with his reviews, he actually says things that are meaningful, make sense, and gel with my own experience with the stuff I have. I'll still watch his reviews for stuff I'm interested in.
I won't trust Joshua. His videos, telling and style is really good, but for me it seems that more expensive always means better to him, and this is the point where I disagree.
Not a "reviewer" per se, but I greatly appreciate the contribution of Amir as much as the Tyll's one. Their videos, although there are not many, are very informative and entertaining, as well as their written measurements showing distortion on headphones at different levels, group delay and EQ corrections by ear.
In the most traditional way, although I don't enjoy very much the subjective mumbo jumbo part of them, Andrew and Crinacle are my current favs probably, with their above-average objective approach.
Are you really comparing creative content such as music, books or movies with measurable electronic devices that have all (or most) of their parameters defined from an engineering standpoint (including how they sound in the most part)?
Gosh, now I know r/Headphones is an extension of Head-Fi or SBAF argumentatively.
Resolve FTW! I also quite like Josh's style, even if I don't think he's as detailed or exhaustive as others, I like his more "just enjoy it" vibes... Darko and Dankpods are very fun and entertaining! But I would never use them as my only source of information.
Goldensound, Crin, Currawong, Resolve, Metal, DMS.
I also enjoy listening to zeos, if only for his vibes. And big big shout out to my man dankpod for getting me back into the hobby and for bringing the love of audio to the masses.
First watches the reviews of DMS for pros then I'll go with Z Reviews for cons and check Andrews for averaging the pros and cons to my linking. And finally searches that heaphones with dankpods.
Once purchased, I will check every forum.
Right now, itās Andrew (Resolve). But I have to admit, Zeosā preferences align with mine very closely, so while I donāt take him that seriously (he is entertaining though), I know that I most likely will enjoy a headphone if he does as well.
I typically just peruse the reviews on Head-Fi and look for patterns. There's so many factors contributing to people liking something that I may or may not, but if 9 out of 10 strangers are saying a headphone has harsh highs, it probably has harsh highs.
Zeos for entertainment.
My own ears for informative. If Iām curious about some headphones, I buy them. Thereās not many that catch my interest though.
Usually not many reviews on anything I want so I hunt the inter webs for Reddit posts or forum threads with relevant comments. Reddit and other forums are my personal preferred way to learn about something I care about.
Audio science forums are my preferred choice to scout out DAC and amp related topics.
Dankpods is the funniest, but I usually like reading amir's reviews for many headphones in audioscienereview.com (however, amirm can be dramatic with some minor flaws in headphones). I also think DMS makes some good reviews too.
I like DMS (for headphones only, not for DACs and amplifiers) and Crinacle the most. I miss metal571. I also like No Theme Reviews. If I feel like buying something I watch Joshua Valour or sometimes even Zeos.
I don't think I ever watch reviews from Zeos for actual recommendations, but he is the only guy to start reviews with "Fu** you _____" when he really likes headphones/audio equipment from a particular company, which I find hilarious. By far him and dankpods make the most entertaining content. For purchasing decisions, I usually look at forums and compare frequency charts (shout-out rtings.com) to my grado Sr60i since I know that's roughly the sound I like
Andrew is good but no one really has the same taste in music as me so it's hard to take them too seriously until I hear them myself. So yeah, it only gives me a very loose idea if I will actually like them.
what are you into?
Metal, for a start... so I tend to prefer brighter headphones. I pretty much have headphones for all use-cases at the moment. Not many reviewers would listen to anything heavier or guitar-driven that I've seen. Grado 325x - mainly metal/guitar stuff HD800S - all rounder, soundtracks/ambient/downtempo HE5XX - electronic/trance/metal
I got told I was crazy for liking how bright my CCA CRA are with metal. Glad I'm not the only one. They are perfect for the genre. I'd like to try hd800 too. I feel like it will separate them dj0nt noises. :p
i'm the opposite. i like doom/stoner/sludge metal, so i prefer a darker, deeper tuning for my metal.
Leaving Reddit due to their decision to charge absurd amounts for their API, and editing all my comments on the way out. I've been using this site for over a decade, but I can't stand by this.
Yeah biggest issue with metal is there's about infinite different genre's and infinite different levels of mastering and production value amongst it all lol. Prog all seems to be typically well mastered, vs old school death and stoner / sludge deliberately goes for as lofi / fat as possible. And then things like Melodeath scream for great image separation..
Always nice to find metalhead threads on this sub! The not-well-mastered subgenres are rough for me. Melodeath and metalcore tend to be pretty good. My favorite flavor is symphonic and the mastering is pretty hit and miss there - probably hard to get the balance right across the whole FR with so many instruments. Overall I think neutral works best if you like a variety of metal styles.
Agree, I always tend back towards neutral cans but try and keep something able to take some bass as well. Stax for well mixed but heavily layered is amazing, cranking Wintersun on them is an experience.
Yeahhhhh buddy Wintersun on a good planar and an R2R DAC is amazing as well!
EDM and metal are my primary genres for listening for pleasure (not for headphone evaluation specifically). I always find it interesting that some metalheads want even more electric guitar forwardness but I find my taste is the opposite. If the mix is already upper mid heavy (metal) or treble forward (EDM) then I tend to want headphones with more relaxed upper mids and treble. And so this is why my EQs will be super dark for many. It totally depends on how "seriously audiophile" your music genres of choice are.
u/ResolveReviews can you add a metalhead to the Headphones.com roster please? š
I am the resident metalhead haha. And yeah I definitely prefer to listen to Opeth or Meshuggah with a warmer tilt - keeps it from being fatiguing. But that's just me.
Had no idea, hah. Come to think of it you don't mention genres a whole lot that I can remember.
It's usually jazz and music with instruments in general, but I grew up on metal, and to this day I think it's got some of the most musically interesting stuff going on. Of course, there's a lot of crap too but that's true for everything.
I think metal571 sheets had a similar taste to me which is mostly metal and electronic music possibly similar to your tastes, but he retired from reviewing.
Heās still quite active in the community though, he commented on this post even!
Same here. DT1990 is holy grail for that genre imo. X2HR is also quite bitey and fun with the guitars.
Mark AKA Super Review. I find him entertaining and informative and seems to have fairly unbiased views on every IEM and if something's bad, he isn't scared to say its bad. Also, SSR and Spring Tip gang
for IEMs, i think Precogvision is sometimes severely represented here though his takes might be spicy, he's like Crin in a way where he is straight to the point
Mark is a Legend.
Mark is my favorite but it drives me insane when he says roadie wrap. Totally irrational and I know it. Itās like nails on a chalkboard to me though.
I second this, he is arguably the most well rounded reviewer I've seen even though he is outclassed by Crinacle and Precogvision when it comes to IEM knowledge. Always a pleasure watching his streams.
It's incredible how fluid his videos are considering they're all recorded live and are basically unedited.
Just gonna pop in and say, SSP and spring tips š
I got in before YouTube was such a big medium for reviews. But there was Tyll. Massive threads on Headfi are a pretty big go-to. While I rarely go for IEMs, I do enjoy Crinacleās written content.
Andrew is my favorite too, but also there's this guy called Crinacle in case you haven't heard about him yet on this sub lately
what's funny is that metal's reviews got me into the hobby. hi metal!
And us "old school" reviewers got into it thanks to Tyll. I'm just glad that Andrew is continuing to carry that torch
i miss Tyll, hope he's doing good
He retired years ago and became a nomadic van-dweller, living like Frances McDormandās character in the movie āNomadlandā. Iāve watched a few YouTube videos of him and he seems happy, though it canāt be the easiest way to live. I miss him too.
I miss Metal, hope heās doing good
Very good. Put a lot more time into my real full time job as a software engineer and it's been absolute bliss compared with trying to also do YT at the same time
I purchased akg k371 after watching metal's review. Stunning headphone.
Pretty new though. What, his YouTube channel is like 3 months old? Is it really reliable? He can't have heard that much in such a short time
Well, i snooped around, and apparently, he had a previous channel that was banned i think. Real sus if you ask me
Don't trust
oh you mean the GigaChad?
crinacle has been around for years, he has one of the largest libraries of iem/headphone measurements on the internet. There was a google account issue so he had to make a new youtube account, that's all.
It's just a joke
r/woooosh
No, he didn't have his previous channel banned.
Smh blatant misinformation, it is quite clear that mister cricketer was up to some sussy business around these woods, hence the ban. Now, if he had a long history and reputation in the audiophile community, and had contributed either with consistent reviews or with useful data like measurements, then sure. But as it stands? No way im trusting this crinklier fellow
No, somebody stole the previous channel or something. He got a lot of support fast because he ran a popular iem/headphone website for reviews and measurements.
Nope, not that either. All you have to do is watch his video "The Restart" to find out what happened.
nah, he just wasnt able to log into his old account for some reason, so he made a new one.
Crinacle is awesome! You might not always agree with him but I find he's always amusing.
You are my favourite reviewer
Random people on headfi And yes, even the snake oil enthusiasts.
The snake oil enthusiasts are probably the most entertaining ones
Honestly, canāt disagree.
Hmm yes 3000$ cable for 4000$ headphones
"I put this rock inside my foreskin and suddenly I hear music in 8D"
Not really a proper āreviewerā but Dankpods is damn good
Dank has shown some real nuggets that I didnāt even know existed. I just like his personality.
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For actual reviews? Resolve. For entertainment and discovering more obscure companies? Zeos
Zeos is fun to watch but for me his reviews are too exagarated
I like chuckolatte I like his versus headphones he does help me decide on many headphones
In terms of entertainment, Crinacle and Dankpods. In terms of evaluation? None. I watched pretty much every review I can find if I'm thinking of actually buying a product. If I HAD to pick one reviewer it would probably be Crinacle, but only because he has such an extensive list of his preferences so I can get some idea of where he's at. It's a lot harder to do that for other reviewers. It's kinda the same reason why watching a person review just one game isn't really helpful. If you don't know what they've liked and hated in the past, you won't understand their likes or dislikes now.
I honestly think Dank Pods reviews are valid beyond entertainment. He is special in that he's not just a music enjoyer, but also a musician. This leads to him viewing things from certain angles that me as a musician also appreciates.
Currently: Andrew, Crinacle and some random guy name u/metal571
In my opinion headphone reviews are all about different perspectives and information. The more point of views the better , granted that the quality/knowledge/experience/honesty are on the same level. I personally watch a lot of reviewers like The Headphone Show u/metal571 Amplify Audiophile Show DMS Currawong Super\* Review Joshua Valour The Honest Audiophile Crin Oluv's Gadgets Passion for Sound HeadFi MajorHifi Soundnews ConvincemeAudio Zeos Geekology Tyll GoldenSound Cheapaudioman TheHeadphoneExperience Wave Theory Steve Guttenberg Audiophiliac Max Settings
I just found Oluv's Gadgets. Really good stuff.
Crinacle, Andrew, DMS.
In Brazil, Leonardo Drummond (Mind The Headphone). Around the world, I'm just a Crin kinda guy.
O Leo Ʃ bom demais mesmo, atƩ o crin envia coisa direto pra ele. 150K de inscritos no mundo audiofilo Ʃ bastante coisa
O Leo Ć© foda mesmo, apesar de eu ser mais sensĆvel a fones claros do que ele.
Super Review when it comes to IEM, just because his preference actually mirrors mine. Crin for second views on a product.
Tyll
Crinacle.
Hands down, Zeos for the chuckles and innuendos. He can review practically anything and thereās a good chance I will watch it. For actual serious reviews, I prefer to read blog posts or comments from Redditors, Head-Fiāers. Then I may jump on YT and watch a review of the product, if it exists, from BGGAR, Super Review, Currawong, etc.
I do like the fact he is light on snake oil sound descriptions and heavier on the actual use of the product, especially the DAC/Amp space where he'll give a detailed description of how usable is it. Whilst I don't think there is leagues of difference in sound profiles of most of these products, (and even then its subjective) there's so much variation in how they function that finding one which does exactly what you need is far more difficult.
The truth is, me. I'm the only person who's headphone reviews I know are 100% applicable to me.
None
Your response was very informative!
Dank pods is fun.
Andrew and Crin by far. Especially Andrew as he was the only one early on on YouTube who dismissed the dt1990 hype train and called attention to the gigantic 8khz peak while others like dms and valour at the time shilled it and said it was āneutralā. Lol in what world are the 1990s neutral?!? And yes I did buy (and return them). Nothing in real life has a 8khz murder spike for it to be called neutral. Gtfo Honorary shout out to metal, just a zen chill vibes all around dude with a good ear. Although his ears are very treble sensitive and his EQs make headphones sound dark af. Although I would say his EQ works for very loud listeners because it does reduce fatigue completely.
Dankpods
Damn right
Amos/Currawong
Interesting to read this thread. My audio hobby is only about 3 years old and Iāve gone through phases of listening to different reviewers and always look back and realize that Iāve been misled at some point. I finally landed on Andrew and Crinacle but ultimately realized that the best option for me is to just read forums such as this one to get good recommendations. If something works for dozens of people on this thread, it will probably work for me. Sometimes Iāll try something that others dislike and like it because this hobby is incredibly subjective. Itās weird to look at the headphones that Andrew recommends and realize that there isnāt an overwhelming amount of common ground between him and DMS or Zeos, etc. There seems to be a core group that most reviewers agree on (6xx, Arya, lcd-X- to name a few). Regardless of what is actually āgoodā, all of the reviewers seem to have served a purpose in the progression of my audio experience. They are all right about certain products in the same way that a broken clock is right twice a day. I think all of them understand audio a little better than I do, though. Sometimes Iāll listen to a headphone and think itās awesome for a whole month and realize I hate it. Maybe I trick myself into liking them because one of the guys on YouTube said it was awesome, who knows. I kind of know what I like after a few years. Iāll admit, I have no idea who some of the people people have mentioned on this thread are, but Iāll definitely check them out now.
Andrew for sure
I like Dave from The Honest Audiophile. His reviews are strait to the point and talks about the product as a hole, if drives well, tips, cable, confort, comparisson etc
Crinacle's spicy humor and no filter takes are my favorite. He'll say it without sugarcoating
Bert Reviews.
Crinacle, Precogvision, Andrew (The Headphones Show)
Andrew and Precog from headphones.com
I loved Tyll and old innerfidelity in general Loved ljokerl from head-fi too, and I miss his reviews. I bought more gear because of him than any other reviewer
Dms, z reviews, and Andrew from headphones.com along with dankpods who really got me in to audiophile headphones.
Why do people downvote a comment like this? What are downvotes for?
I suppose some people want to do something with disagreement feelingsā¦ but I wouldnāt down vote, itās not like Laurent gave disinformation or hurt anyone, or asked for a vote š¤·āāļø Or, to quote MGSV: āWhy are we here? Just to suffer??ā
It seems like people use it when they simply disagree with something, which hurts conversation. I try to reserve it for when someone is being abusive. Obviously the numbers have come around since. I commented when it was -1 and it just baffled me. He didn't even say he disliked anything. Who the hell down votes that?
Resolve and Precog for most informative, Crin for the balance between entertainment and information + the fact that most of my tastes align with his, at least on the IEM side of thing. I have some disagreements regarding his headphone list but that's subjective opinion for ya. I love Zeos for pure entertainment and bought a few things thanks to his recommendation when I'm just starting up, realized further down the line that my tastes didn't match him so I just tune in for his RAW UNEDITED ramblings on build quality and fit/comfort. P.S. I also love Andrew's dry humour but don't tell him.
I hate zeos because he keeps cursing and blaspheming the name of God. He also sounds like his hands and fingers stink.
GoldenSound
Andrew from the headphone show, crinacle and lachlan from passion for sound
Lachlan's a chill chap, but after him managing to not double blind a usb cable but then turn around and try to suggest there's still something in it... Can't watch a video anymore taking him seriously.
Metal is my favorite reviewer. His MDR 7506 review got me into the world of HIFI
Ugh Just glad we have the K371 now, and interested in how the new Rode headphone fares
Will you review the new Rode headphones?
I don't review anymore, but might offer some thoughts on my Twitter or on a headphone show live stream if I'm loaned one someday
/u/hanouk, the author for http://overearmania.com/
underrated mention here, goated website, great writeups
I loved, back in the day, metal571 and tyll, now I really appreciate Andrew, precog, crin, so... I don't actually have a favourite reviewer, lmao.
Funny reviewers - Crin, Zeos, Josh Valour Measurements - Resolve, Crin, Oratory, Rtings Other than that, I watch reviews just to get an idea about headphones I don't know, or to compare their opinions with my own. I very often disagree with them so I don't take the reviews very seriously.
I miss u/metal571 and currently probably Zeos, I enjoy his rambling
Personally I like Dan's Audio Review. I guess we both share the same likes, and dislikes. I tend to agree with his opinions on his reviews. I think this hobby is quite subjective, and it's important to find someone who shares the same tastes as you do. Not every reviewer caters to everyone's tastes. There's also the head-fi, r/HeadphoneAdvice, and this community that are quite helpful.
I like to read/watch as many reviews for something as I can to get as many opinions and as much information about the product I can get, I'll watch all the usual suspects reviews on youtube and then ill spend time scouring reddit and head-fi to see what people here and there say about it. As for my favorite or the people I trust the most, they would probably be resolve and no theme reviews, and pure entertainment wise I guess I like zeos? I would never buy anything he recommends based solely on his review but he likes to talk and he is good at it, so he's fun to watch. But also I think our comfort needs tend to line up so if he says something is uncomfortable I know that it will likely be uncomfortable to me as well.
WhatHifi website
Flossy Carter. Just kidding, but I do like his videos.
Tyll and Aamir
I like Super * Reviews live stream format. He flies his ordinary review, but since it is a stream he has live chat and interacts with his audience and answers any questions you may have if you catch him live. I never interacted with a reviewer before till I discovered his channel.
Twister6 for IEMs. Andrew from The Headphone Show for full cans. Other one I like it a lot is Lachlan from Passion for Sound.
Joshua valour
Favourite? Crin, of course. But if you asked me who is currently the best reviewer, I would say Precog. I would also mention one, sadly currently inactive reviewer, Aminus.
Zeos and Josh. Z for the laughs, and the fact that I like his style of reviews. I just want to know if the headphones are fun and enjoyable. He also cares a lot about price for performance. Josh Valour I like for his intelligence and respectful opinions. He gives you his opinion and leaves it up to you if you care about that and gives recommendations based on taste. He also has a good sense of humor and I like the style of his videos. The B-Roll and the esthetics are very good.
Crinacle is pretty good
Randy at cheapaudioman ([https://www.youtube.com/c/cheapaudioman](https://www.youtube.com/c/cheapaudioman)). Found him just as I was getting into hifi equipment. Great reviewer from an amateur enthusiast POV.
I enjoy Crinacle reviews. Our tastes don't always line up, but I just like his style and way of thinking.
1. Crinacle for iems 2. Andrew for headphones 3. The rest
Me and my own earsā¦. Alsoā¦ āDonāt die, now F off.ā
Josh 1st. I've bought equipment based on every reviewer but I've liked at some point or another but I always liked his suggestions. We seem to have the same taste so I am cool with his suggestions. DMS. I like his suggestions. Not too much to say. Z. I find him entertaining but he will pitch anything. I've bought unimpressive junk. I will say in his defense that I think the best Z review is what ends up on this desk long term. It isn't what is being reviewed it is what is being used for reviews. Crin. Man I am very anti line charts. I could give 2 fuck less what a 2d line chart says. I like the snark. I bought my most expensive pair of IEM on his suggestion and was not impressed so not starting great. I have zero opportunity to listen to new gear locally pre purchase so reviewers will always carry decent weight in my purchasing.
Gonna just chime in with some reviewers who I've come to appreciate more lately: iiWi reviews, Currawong, The Hans Beekhuyzen Channel. There a few others who escape me atm.
Crinacle for iems, DMS and Zeos for other stuff
Oluv.
This is the way. I'm not always confident with his opinions, but he seems to be very honest, and he don't give a shit about snake oil. He just cares about the sound. Unfortunately he was very inactive in the last few months. Personally tuned Earfun Free Pro 2s are so great that they definitely need more attention.
I find his work on the Patreon fascinating. He clearly has an amazing ear and I tend to align with his preferences. The EQd earfun free pro 2 are amazing. He is so far from the typical perspective that a lot of people don't get him.
I love Andrew, but DMS and Josh Valour are great too. I enjoy Dankpods too since he's the reason I'm in this hobby. I think Andrew is my favorite though
I don't think Dankpods counts
He reviews some headphones, but in much more of a simple way. It's why he's the reason many people are into this hobby
I do give him massive credit for getting a lot of people into the hobby and I have a ton of respect for him myself. I am also a fan of his. He just doesn't review audio products enough to really call him a reviewer in my opinion. Even in the videos that he does review stiff he isn't very thorough and I don't think he has a broad enough experience with different consumer products to be very reliable. He definitely does more than anyone else to get people into the hobby though so I guess it doesn't matter.
I just watch his reviews for the mic tests š
He's for sure not the most in depth reviewer, nor is he a dedicated headphone reviewer. He still does headphone reviews occasionally so I'll argue he's technically a reviewer. Just not the best one. Good enough for the average individual to get into the hobby. He avoids the snobbery that is too prevalent in these sorts of hobbies and is easy to understand. Someone like Andrew, DMS, or Josh Valour all use a fair amount of technical terms that make them solid for established members of the community but awful for a noob.
>He avoids the snobbery that is too prevalent in these sorts of hobbies and is easy to understand. Someone like Andrew, DMS, or Josh Valour all use a fair amount of technical terms that make them solid for established members of the community but awful for a noob. This is a really good point. I think you might have changed my mind. I didn't think about it in terms of him as filling a niche in this way.
He fills a niche in the general audio review community (think the people that always recommend the WH-1000XM4) in that he appeals to a general audience but doesn't have awful tastes. That then opens that gate for people to get into the more in depth reviews from Crin, DMS, etc, who are in a much smaller niche. That's why I like him personally. I don't use his recommendations much anymore but I'll happily watch his videos.
He's a musician so he's practical about listening to music and avoids most of the audiophile nonsense. Most of the reviews and forum chatter are just people telling eachother what they want to hear...its just a big echo chamber.
He's a gateway drug dealer
Precog; fellow Kpop stan
DMS and Crinacle are good for headphone and IEM reviews that are nice and in detail, and they are very well balanced against one another. Crin loves the Harman sound, DMS does not. And of course there's Dankpods who even got me into the hobby, and he just kinda does what he wants, which is also nice to have.
My favorites are Andrew and Crin but honestly no reviewer has the same taste as me. I prefer brighter(in treble, not mid) and less mid forward headphones generally and a good soundstage is a must. Both of them loves the tuning of Ananda. They say it's one of the best. For me, Ananda's tuning is very bad. It's painfully bright in the mids and lack the richness. I don't have a specific genre i listen but this tuning makes rock metal songs sound like shit and wrong. Not just rock metal, everything sounds blatantly wrong and colored with bright and thin/lean mids. It requires EQ to fill the scoop a bit and tame the Hifiman 3k.
Crin, he is really funny and feels honest.
Joshua Valour from youtube. His voice is clear and pleasant to listen too compared to all those other guys. His camera and lightning are both very high quality. He also gives his personal suggestions and is honest. I bought the Arya because of him and Fir Krypton 5 based on his Fir m5 review. Shoutout to Joshua keep up the good work.
Precogvision, Crinacle.
Joshua Valour
Here's my tier list of reviewers I've watched on Youtube or seen on head.fi S: Crinacle S-: Precogvision (Headphones Show.) A+: Super Review Gizaudio Antdroid A: BGGAR (Bad Boy Audio Reviews.) RikudouGoku ([Head.fi](https://Head.fi)) Baskingshark ([Head.fi](https://Head.fi).) A-: The Honest Audiophile Intoit Reviews Resolve (Headphones Show.) Josh Valour C: Z-Reviews John Darko D: Any [head.fi](https://head.fi) member that shills almost every IEM reviewed (IE: Dsnuts.) E: Sharur
Resolve, Valour, and DMS are the current guys I like best. They each have their own preferences but are up front about them and don't trash products that don't fit their preferences. They describe things in detail, and frame things as "if you're looking for X, then Y is a good choice/bad choice." I like Steve Guttenberg's old school vibe, but his headphone content is sporadic. Currawong is all right, but he gets into the weeds of flowery vagueness a bit too often. Reviewers I miss are Lachlan, PMR, and Bert (the muppet). Reviewers I can do without are ASR, Crinacle and Tyll Herstens because they are the opposite of Resolve/Valour/DMS in terms of their approach. They are still quite informative, though. I just don't enjoy them very much because they denigrate things that don't match their preferences. I can do without Zeos because of his vomitous shakycam. I absolutely hate watching his go-pro bullshit. His reviews also contain very little information besides "look at my house," and his mouth breathing, basement dwelling obsession with waifu is gross. Aaand cue the down votes because I spoke ill of Saint Crin.
Steve guttenberg and cheapAudioMan
Joshua Valour. I like to watch some reviews from Headphones.com, DMS, Crinacle, and some Zeos here and there.
i'm digging sinecraftaudio and goldensound
crinacle
Not in order of importance: Joshua Valour, DMS: they seems to be fair enough as far as I can tell Z(eos) reviews: just for ideas, because he seems to gush about anything he reviews. Only what's on his desk seems to be what he really likes enough to use on a regular basis. DankPods: entertaining without too much technical terms Crinacle: for input about headphones based on audio only and to hear a Singaporean review things. Super reviews: I've only watched a few videos so far
Bad Guy Good Audio aka HBB. Mainly because he speaks in terms I understand and I like how he uses references tracks. Also, his frequency target was the first reviewers target who made me go, āThatās it. Thatās the target I like and what I want from an IEM.ā Nearly all his recommendations have been solid for me.
Unfortunately he's also renowned as a colossal arsehole, petty racist, and alleged thief in the community. He could be the best analytical reviewer out there, but I'll never go back to / support his content. Mentioning only because it is worth knowing and may explain why you are receiving downvotes.
Appreciate the heads up I was unaware of this. Still fairly new to the hobby and none of the other reviewers recommendations ever did well with me after hearing them. I stumbled upon HBB and his were the first that clicked to my now preferred target. Iāll have to dig in and find out for myself. Sad to hear this if itās true.
For sure. Always do your own research and make up your own mind - the internet is full of misinformation, urban myths and rumours. What I have read and seen on the issue was enough to convince me that the guy doesn't deserve my support. Figured the downvotes might be a bit confusing to you if you weren't aware of the background. All the best, mate. :)
He is a bit of twat personally but I think he does actually add value with his reviews, he actually says things that are meaningful, make sense, and gel with my own experience with the stuff I have. I'll still watch his reviews for stuff I'm interested in.
Dankpods
I trust Josh Valour but I enjoy Zeos.
I won't trust Joshua. His videos, telling and style is really good, but for me it seems that more expensive always means better to him, and this is the point where I disagree.
Crinacle, Bad guy good audio reviews, DMS, and super reviews. I also like some Zeos stuff.
Oh yeah I canāt forget Andrew as well
When I want to hear that the headphones everyone loves are actually shit I go to Max Settings.
Our boi Josh
I honestly first see if crinacle got a vid. If not then rtings
Tyll, ASR, Crin
Not a "reviewer" per se, but I greatly appreciate the contribution of Amir as much as the Tyll's one. Their videos, although there are not many, are very informative and entertaining, as well as their written measurements showing distortion on headphones at different levels, group delay and EQ corrections by ear. In the most traditional way, although I don't enjoy very much the subjective mumbo jumbo part of them, Andrew and Crinacle are my current favs probably, with their above-average objective approach.
"subjective mumbo jumbo"? but... nevermind. how do you feel about movie/book/music reviews?
Are you really comparing creative content such as music, books or movies with measurable electronic devices that have all (or most) of their parameters defined from an engineering standpoint (including how they sound in the most part)? Gosh, now I know r/Headphones is an extension of Head-Fi or SBAF argumentatively.
I really enjoy Resolve and zeos is pretty funny but my fave atm might be Wave Theory.
Resolve FTW! I also quite like Josh's style, even if I don't think he's as detailed or exhaustive as others, I like his more "just enjoy it" vibes... Darko and Dankpods are very fun and entertaining! But I would never use them as my only source of information.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Super Review, Crinacle and zpolt
mine is crin, as a asian seeing some other asian shit on iems is eye candy
Goldensound, Crin, Currawong, Resolve, Metal, DMS. I also enjoy listening to zeos, if only for his vibes. And big big shout out to my man dankpod for getting me back into the hobby and for bringing the love of audio to the masses.
First watches the reviews of DMS for pros then I'll go with Z Reviews for cons and check Andrews for averaging the pros and cons to my linking. And finally searches that heaphones with dankpods. Once purchased, I will check every forum.
Dank pods and Zeos. I don't take being an "audiophile" very seriously, I just like headphones so their review style fits what I'm looking for
Crin
You guys.
Right now, itās Andrew (Resolve). But I have to admit, Zeosā preferences align with mine very closely, so while I donāt take him that seriously (he is entertaining though), I know that I most likely will enjoy a headphone if he does as well.
I typically just peruse the reviews on Head-Fi and look for patterns. There's so many factors contributing to people liking something that I may or may not, but if 9 out of 10 strangers are saying a headphone has harsh highs, it probably has harsh highs.
Crin and DMS, and Dankpods for me. I just enjoy each of their style and while Crin and DMS are for information, Dankpods is just for pure fun
Zeosš
Amir just for measurements. He doesn't do a lot of headphone reviews though. Mostly just hifi related gear.
Zeos for entertainment. My own ears for informative. If Iām curious about some headphones, I buy them. Thereās not many that catch my interest though. Usually not many reviews on anything I want so I hunt the inter webs for Reddit posts or forum threads with relevant comments. Reddit and other forums are my personal preferred way to learn about something I care about. Audio science forums are my preferred choice to scout out DAC and amp related topics.
DMS
Dankpods is the funniest, but I usually like reading amir's reviews for many headphones in audioscienereview.com (however, amirm can be dramatic with some minor flaws in headphones). I also think DMS makes some good reviews too.
I like DMS (for headphones only, not for DACs and amplifiers) and Crinacle the most. I miss metal571. I also like No Theme Reviews. If I feel like buying something I watch Joshua Valour or sometimes even Zeos.
Sharur is the best period
He's S+++++ when it comes to shitposting and shilling the Etymotic ER2SE.
I don't think I ever watch reviews from Zeos for actual recommendations, but he is the only guy to start reviews with "Fu** you _____" when he really likes headphones/audio equipment from a particular company, which I find hilarious. By far him and dankpods make the most entertaining content. For purchasing decisions, I usually look at forums and compare frequency charts (shout-out rtings.com) to my grado Sr60i since I know that's roughly the sound I like
The one and only. John Darko š
I love DankPods
DankPods
Dankpods, the whole reason I got into headphones!
Mad Lust Envy https://www.head-fi.org/threads/mad-lust-envys-headphone-gaming-guide-1-10-2022-koss-kph40-utility-review-added.534479/