So I just read Darth Nut's review of the O2s, and wow, it is without a doubt the best review of a piece of audio equipment I have ever read, hands down, no contest.

What really blows my mind is how conceptually clear the review was. He basically articulated a coherent conceptual framework for audio review and applied it to an actual piece of audio equipment in a consistent, logical manner and backed it up with supporting evidence. It combines both his subjective perceptual experiences and his concepts in a way that shows the reader his thought process.

Honestly this should be required reading for anyone interested in describing audio equipments.

Yep, very good review indeed.

A link would be cool.

It really is the best review ever written. I think I have it in pdf form and I'll try to find it. Edit: Found it...

The O1 vs. O2 comparison is right on the money as well. Read it here.

that review was like the 3rd thing I read on head-fi back when I joined... it is one of the founding documents of the hobby.

Bugger me, it's even longer than I remembered, and I remembered it being very long.

Bugger me, it's even longer than I remembered, and I remembered it being very long.

It sure is. I need to fins a SRM-T2 one of these days... \

that review was like the 3rd thing I read on head-fi back when I joined... it is one of the founding documents of the hobby.

Same here, really educational review and superbly written. I especially liked the soundstage / headstage differentiation.

It sure is. I need to fins a SRM-T2 one of these days... \

Good luck with the Kings ransom on that one.

Good luck with the Kings ransom on that one.

Thanks, I think I'm up for it.

Never liked this review, too much intellectual masturbation bullshit from a dude who seems to have a very inflated opinion of himself.

Never liked this review, too much intellectual masturbation bullshit from a dude who seems to have a very inflated opinion of himself.

I've read that review as well, and did not sense any pompousness or inflated ego. Quite the opposite really. The reviewer thought a great deal about headphones and the specific issues revolving around how they reproduce sound. He then came up with his own methodology and terminology to explained those issues in as clear and concise a manner as possible.

I think our hobby needs more of this. Right now there is no real centralized authority on headphones like the speaker world has. Sure the happy, "it's good if you like it" attitude makes us all feel good about our gear, but if we're to move forward as a hobby we need more well-thought out reviews to help define and give shape to the language and concepts needed to describe what we hear and how well a piece of equipment recreates sound. It would help give our hobby more legitimacy; which is something we are lacking.

Never liked this review, too much intellectual masturbation bullshit from a dude who seems to have a very inflated opinion of himself.

This is crap IMO. The review is spot on and is a benchmark against all others should be judged. The reviewer has been in the headphone game longer then most (search Headwize for his posts) and has a clear understanding on what makes them tick.

Yeah this is a hella good review. I've read it a few times. One of the things that convinced me to get a Stax SR-404...unfortunately it was no SR-007

Skimmed it and saw no rating out of 100%, or numerical ranking compared to other headphone. Thumbs down

Skimmed it and saw no rating out of 100%, or numerical ranking compared to other headphone. Thumbs down

LOL!!!!

He has a nice way of articulating such a subjective thing. I really enjoyed reading Carlo's posts and reviews. I know he rubbed people the wrong way but I just felt he was so right on with a lot of his impressions, I liked his directness and clear cut No BS way of presenting things.

That review should be mandatory reading for anyone with an interest in reviewing or discussing audio components. It's a terrific example of clear and organized articulation of a very abstract and difficult topic.

But, it's going to go way over the heads of the average public, especially because of the length. It's a case of the review being much better than the audience. People don't want an organized discussion filled with novel concepts - they want a short largely monosyllabic blurb with simple numerical ratings and lots of "lawlz" and "roflcopter" thrown in.

LOLERZ ROFLCOPTER

It's a great review. I also like the fact that it took him 4 years to summarize his findings.

There are way too many "impressions" out there, mine included. I prefer real reviews.

I've pretty much accepted the fact that I can't write reviews for beans, I worked on a Senn 580 vs. Grado 225 review on & off for around 2 years before giving up and putting it away. Impressions, no problem, I can crank those out in an hour or two at most but I have issues with long term reviews, I just don't know what the hell to put in them without making it sound like the pretentious garbage found in Stereophile or TAS.

Its the best of the best of the best. Whatever you consider the best book ever, War and Peace, Lord Of The Rings, Catch-22, the Bible. Its that.

I can go on at length and I do my best, but I cant touch that review. I don't think I ever will.

I've pretty much accepted the fact that I can't write reviews for beans, I worked on a Senn 580 vs. Grado 225 review on & off for around 2 years before giving up and putting it away. Impressions, no problem, I can crank those out in an hour or two at most but I have issues with long term reviews, I just don't know what the hell to put in them without making it sound like the pretentious garbage found in Stereophile or TAS.

Ditto. I've been working on a review of the whole Lambda line for over a year now and it's mostly been an overview of the history and what changes were made with a few impressions thrown in.

If darthnut shows up in this thread, I'll give him my HeadAmp Aristaeus.

If darthnut shows up in this thread, I'll give him my HeadAmp Aristaeus.

[me=darkless]tries to figure out a way to make "darkless" into "darthnut" [/me]