The Hi-Fi Journal

Reviews

Equipment Reviews
Ratings Explained

Welcome to Reviews section.

A lot of confusion reigns regarding different rating systems
Is a 5 star £50 product better than a 4 star £100 product or a 3 star £400 one? Who knows! It depends what you call better. Does it sound better is it more musical is it better built/easier to use. Our rating system has been dissected into key areas of importance as well as giving an overall score.
The 4 main sections are

Ultimate Sound quality

Our main gauge here is just how good does the product sound, how musical is it, as well as taking into account areas such as definition, imaging, timing, rhythm. With this score you will know ultimately which sounds better.

Value for money

How much bang for your buck / performance for your pound do you get. A £200 product that gives exceptional performance for the money may still only get 3.5 for sound quality but could get a 9 for value showing that it is exceptional value for the money. Both of these scores are worth 40% of the overall rating showing that they are both equally important in the real world.

Ownership experience

Some products are a pleasure to use and give immense satisfaction each and every time; others are simply a pain in the butt. Why did they put that button there? The panels don’t line up or fit, the packaging was terrible and no instructions. A small selection of the many annoying areas that on their own appear small but combine a few together and the shine can quickly fade from your new piece of kit and joy can quickly turn to sorrow.
We feel that if a manufacturer has spent the time and money on the small things that matter and make the product a pleasure to own it reflects well on the attention they would also have lavished on other areas like quality of components and design.
A number of areas are covered here. Ergonomics, aesthetics, build quality, packaging, design integrity, instructions and desirability to name but a few.

Compatibility

Compatibility is an often overlooked area. How easy is it to partner with other equipment? Are the speakers easy to drive, is the amp unstable at RF frequencies. Is the output level a mismatch to your inputs etc?

Both count as 10% each towards the overall rating, giving you the final overall score. This system enables you to choose the relevant information for you.
On top of this we can then award a rosette if we feel a product merits it these come in 3 levels, recommended, best buy (group test winner) and product of the year for products and recommended, best in town and dealer of the year for the mystery shopper.