If true, then .........

[Neil McCauley]

I draw your attention to the text shown in this now completed eBay ad from a seller unknown to me. If what is said there is true, and I have no way of knowing one way or the other, then as both a retailer and an audio hobbyist consumer I find the statement re an untypical review sample to be highly disturbing!

http://bit.ly/e7VDwH

[John]

Crazy price no matter how good this is if not working

[Lodgesound]

What an incredibly confusing listing...............what on earth are those modifications and honestly there cannot be much more to cause the described fault UNLESS as I suspect we are not quite hearing the full story here...

I wonder if MF are missing a prototype.......

And yes completely agree - crazy price for a non-working machine. You would be looking at least around 300-400 pounds for an engineer to fix something like this.

[alfie2902]

First, welcome back Howard!

Hmmm.... Well if there is any truth in the claim of "special" review samples then this would explain why I thought several reviewers were either deaf or on the pay role!
I think today most serious enthusiasts now take most reviews with a pinch of salt, but this could explain why we do!

If true I agree that it is most disturbing! In that some companies, well the one here & potentialy others, have allegedly purposely tried to deceive their potential customers to better there own ends!

[MartinT]

Very interesting. I would not have thought that Musical Fidelity would participate in making review specials? Dodgy practice but we only have the ebay lister's word for it, although I'm certain that it does happen.

[hifi_dave]

I have no knowledge of the product in question but what a long, rambling listing !!!

As a reviewer/writer for many mags over the years and as a dealer, I have, several times, been presented with 'special' versions of products.

The first of these was from a very large and successful speaker manufacturer who sent me a new bookshelf speaker of modest price. Looking inside, as I do, it had a wonderful crossover using premium parts and expensive OFC wiring. The cabinet was damped on all surfaces and the wadding was expensive long strand wool. The speaker sounded very good and I said so in my report. A couple of months later, I heard a pair at a friendly dealer's premises and they weren't as good, so I took a peek inside. Gone was the crossover, just a cap. No OFC wire, no panel damping and a section of BAF instead of the wool. I pointed this out to the Editor and was severely rebuked for nit-picking a very popular product.

I have had several beautifully built amps from a large manufacturer to try. Once again using premium components but the production models were severely pared down with impaired sound.

These are just examples and I dare not mention the names but it has happened more times than I can mention. The companies, in my experience, have always been large and successful. I have never had anything like this from the small, specialist manufacturer.

[Neil McCauley]

I have no knowledge of the product in question but what a long, rambling listing !!!

As a reviewer/writer for many mags over the years and as a dealer, I have, several times, been presented with 'special' versions of products.

The first of these was from a very large and successful speaker manufacturer who sent me a new bookshelf speaker of modest price. Looking inside, as I do, it had a wonderful crossover using premium parts and expensive OFC wiring. The cabinet was damped on all surfaces and the wadding was expensive long strand wool. The speaker sounded very good and I said so in my report. A couple of months later, I heard a pair at a friendly dealer's premises and they weren't as good, so I took a peek inside. Gone was the crossover, just a cap. No OFC wire, no panel damping and a section of BAF instead of the wool. I pointed this out to the Editor and was severely rebuked for nit-picking a very popular product.

I have had several beautifully built amps from a large manufacturer to try. Once again using premium components but the production models were severely pared down with impaired sound.

These are just examples and I dare not mention the names but it has happened more times than I can mention. The companies, in my experience, have always been large and successful. I have never had anything like this from the small, specialist manufacturer.
Thank you Hi-Fi Dave and everyone so far. Frankly, all in all a bit of a pisser as far as the industry, the reviewers and the buyers are concerned. A solution is beyond my limited mental horsepower currently. Possibly there isn't one.

My instinct wants me to believe that these instances are rare. Maybe that’s me being naive. I’m certainly not immune to that reaction.

What I will tell you is that before rejoining AOS I sent the link to a very well known UK audiophile magazine editor. What I got was: “Thanks and hmmm” That’s it. No point identifying the editor in question. He’s no fool. But he’s pragmatic. My guess that anyone in the industry that still has a mortgage has to be pragmatic.

[hifi_dave]

Perhaps I am a bit naive but I thought this was all common knowledge. .:scratch:

I know of a few manufacturers who have been doing this for years but no one seems to care. Special editions get good reviews and these make the products easy to sell. What's not to like ???..:eyebrows:

[Clive]

The was a big hoohaa when MF did a reviewer special for I think the B1 amp, glowing reviews but the production version was very different.

[Reid Malenfant]

MF are very naughty in other ways as well :( I purchased a pair of P150 stereo power amplifiers a few years ago, under warranty from the hifi shop i puchased them from for a 3 month period. As with anything old i took the top off to have a look inside...

What i found were a couple of extremely swollen main PSU electrolytics, luckily they hadn't leaked. As i happened to have the heatsink (top) off i just happened to check the rail voltages & found them to be +/- 69V DC idling...

The capacitors were only rated at 63V DC :eek:

Luckily i happened to have to hand some 80V capacitors of the same size & value so proceeded to quickly replace the lot of them :rolleyes:

These aren't the only amps that they do this trick with i have established :steam:

[MartinT]

Going over-volt on reservoir caps is unforgivable. There should be at least a 20% safety margin. I've had one go bang once and it's not funny.

[Techno Commander]

Totally agree. To do otherwise would be negligent and bordering on criminal.

[Neil McCauley]

Interesting comments. Thank you all. If correct, then such an action is reprehensible by any maker in any field. Somehow I doubt if Audi would stoop to this, or Olympus, Canon, Nikon. Boeing, Rolex and countless others.

However my faith in reviews, already weakened because of my experiences of being a freelance and ad-hoc writer for Hi-Fi News (my review of the full Townshend was spiked apparently because it would ruffle the feathers of the heavier hitters on the block) are now at an all-time low.

Frankly I cannot see the rationale for blaming the reviewer – unless of course they were complicit in the deceit. The position though is not necessarily so benign re editors though.

Many of you might be unaware that reviewers, unlike the old days, are in the main point-blank refused permission to be talent scouts. Thus a well-intentioned review by a decent (in every sense of the word) reviewer will not be paid for – unless sanctioned in writing by the editor and/or publisher. I assure you that reviewers are told what to do and how long they can take doing it. In today's arena a reviewer, other than in truly exceptional circumstances might only get 72 hours to hear the gear, write the review and submit the copy to the sub-editor. Running in? Rarely!

Logically then, the editor with the birds-eye view of the industry probably knows both (a) where the ‘bodies’ are buried and (b) who did the ‘burying.’ Or put differently, who are the good guys and who are not.

More on this topic if any of you are interested.

A safe and comfortable weekend to you all.

HP