Reviewers need to use tools and not only give opinions

[TheEAR]

Reading many audio mags from around the world I find too many reviewers and too many here in North America do not use proper instruments when reviewing subwoofers.

One of the few credible reviewers is Tom Nousaine,most spend half the review describing how their weak backsides hurt after moving a little 100lbs sub.And then claim the walls shook and the people in the house across the street complained(where do they live in a bidonville? a slum?).

And yet when I measure the performance at home and read Tom Nousaine chart I see false claims made by the bozo reviewers are worthless and blown out of proportion.

Good to see there is one serious reviewer(Tom Nousaine).And thank god i can borrow any sub I want and test it at home to unmask the pretenders from the real performers.

take for example the cambridge newton subs,these have output so weak its almost funny and yet they claim to perform like large subs! Compare a Sunfire to a Newton sub and you will see how badly the newton gets pounded into the ground by a similar size Sunfire.

Just a short Sunday night rant

[Bruinsrme]

Well if you were living in the States I would say that is a great campaign speak.

Ear you have provided excellent advice to many forum goers and if you were to write a review what tools would you use to quantify your results?

[TheEAR]

To start why not use a very basic,simple and inexpensive tool anyone can buy at a rat Shack,the trusty SPL meter.

All subwoofer reviews MUST provide max SPL at 20,31.5,40,50 and 60Hz.

And reviewers who want a complete review should have tools to measure THD at these frequencies,like Tom Noisaine.THD and SPL are two aspects of subwoofer performance that can be measured.And no opinion can counter facts(measuredperformance).

Also values as output at 1m,2m and sitting position should be provided.Even if each room has its own acoustics this would still indicate how much performance one can expect in a given room.

Much better than "this sub woke up the peeps across the street" type of BS.Or "so loud my family pictures fell from the walls" yeah in a wooden shack a F1 tornado dispatches.

[MrMcGoo]

I agree that facts are more important than BS in reviewing subwoofers. With full range speakers, there is some room for subjectivity. With subwoofers, the numbers are more important.

Bill

[Bruinsrme]

Thank you Ear, I agree. although some people have the special tools and whatever else but most users are only armed with the spl meter, something to document the numbers and a disk of test tones.

Also it would be nice to have a standard of measure, say 1 or 2 meters.

alsoit would be exceptuinally awesome if they performed the tests in home theaters of the common folk buying the products. Real wprld results!!!