Serious question. . Has any one seen/read a review of the Expert upgrade from someone without a somewhat vested stake in the outcome? Specifically, have any trade mags or sites compared a d200 to a D220 or a d400 to a d440?
All of the reviews I have seen are on this site and from people that have upgraded so. . .there may be confirmation bias - definition "the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories.". So. . We all think/want the upgrade to be worth the money we spent (multi-thousands) so convince ourself it is better. . .substantively better.
Not meaning to insult. . Just a serious question and would like some opinions or third party reviews. Note that I have ordered the upgrade myself. . .
(19-Nov-2016, 20:30)actx76092 Wrote: [ -> ]Serious question. . Has any one seen/read a review of the Expert upgrade from someone without a somewhat vested stake in the outcome? Specifically, have any trade mags or sites compared a d200 to a D220 or a d400 to a d440?
All of the reviews I have seen are on this site and from people that have upgraded so. . .there may be confirmation bias - definition "the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories.". So. . We all think/want the upgrade to be worth the money we spent (multi-thousands) so convince ourself it is better. . .substantively better.
Not meaning to insult. . Just a serious question and would like some opinions or third party reviews. Note that I have ordered the upgrade myself. . .
Some of us compared at dealers before making the decision, does that count?
I have the pro 440 now since Monday, first observation is that some music is sounding worse and some much better... did not had the time to go in to the details to find out why there is a difference...
My advise is to go to a dealer and do a comparison to find out.
It would be good to see an actual professional review comparison, although I'm hesitant to put a whole lot of faith in those either. You rarely see a bad one. What you hope is that someone who has a lot of experience with different systems puts in the time to do an extensive review and comparison. I'm not sure the Expert Pros have been available long enough since most review rags have a fairly extensive schedule and lead time.
There was the Jeff Fritz review of the 1000pro where he compared to the 200 and essentially said two things; it was hard to tell them apart with certain music, and the 1000Pro was up there with the very best. (Sorry can't remember where it was posted but it's here somewhere)
As above I wouldn't trust reviewers opinions anyway - who knows what their biases or incentives are.
There were a few people on here that either had reservations about the upgrade or flat out didn't like it, but yes the overwhelming opinion is it's better. How much better will depend on certain factors like how much £3K means to you, and how much better it sounds to your ears. I doubt a magazine review will help you much there.
Personally I prefer trying to find people that post more impartially here, and using their ears as my guide. Beyond that it's a demo or take a gamble, knowing the feedback here is on your side. Or just rely on expectation bias
(19-Nov-2016, 21:02)Hifi_swlon Wrote: [ -> ]There was the Jeff Fritz review of the 1000pro where he compared to the 200 and essentially said two things; it was hard to tell them apart with certain music, and the 1000Pro was up there with the very best. (Sorry can't remember where it was posted but it's here somewhere)
As above I wouldn't trust reviewers opinions anyway - who knows what their biases or incentives are.
There were a few people on here that either had reservations about the upgrade or flat out didn't like it, but yes the overwhelming opinion is it's better. How much better will depend on certain factors like how much £3K means to you, and how much better it sounds to your ears. I doubt a magazine review will help you much there.
Personally I prefer trying to find people that post more impartially here, and using their ears as my guide. Beyond that it's a demo or take a gamble, knowing the feedback here is on your side. Or just rely on expectation bias
I haven't been able to find a dealer that has the new line in stock...seems odd to me. Here in Vancouver, BC, Canada we have two dealers and neither have them in stock. I was in Europe in the last few weeks and the dealer in Vienna, the city of music, didn't have them in stock either. Odd.
Thought Jeff Fritz's review was somewhat sloppy and not up to his more usual rigour. The source was less than stellar among other issues.
(20-Nov-2016, 17:42)Wdw Wrote: [ -> ] (19-Nov-2016, 21:02)Hifi_swlon Wrote: [ -> ]There was the Jeff Fritz review of the 1000pro where he compared to the 200 and essentially said two things; it was hard to tell them apart with certain music, and the 1000Pro was up there with the very best. (Sorry can't remember where it was posted but it's here somewhere)
As above I wouldn't trust reviewers opinions anyway - who knows what their biases or incentives are.
There were a few people on here that either had reservations about the upgrade or flat out didn't like it, but yes the overwhelming opinion is it's better. How much better will depend on certain factors like how much £3K means to you, and how much better it sounds to your ears. I doubt a magazine review will help you much there.
Personally I prefer trying to find people that post more impartially here, and using their ears as my guide. Beyond that it's a demo or take a gamble, knowing the feedback here is on your side. Or just rely on expectation bias
I haven't been able to find a dealer that has the new line in stock...seems odd to me. Here in Vancouver, BC, Canada we have two dealers and neither have them in stock. I was in Europe in the last few weeks and the dealer in Vienna, the city of music, didn't have them in stock either. Odd.
Thought Jeff Fritz's review was somewhat sloppy and not up to his more usual rigour. The source was less than stellar among other issues.
Except for the couple of sessions they had over in Melbourne showing of the new 1000Pro's I don't think there are any of the Pro units in any stores in Australia (there certainly aren't any over here in Perth
).
(19-Nov-2016, 20:43)Xander Wrote: [ -> ]I have the pro 440 now since Monday, first observation is that some music is sounding worse and some much better... did not had the time to go in to the details to find out why there is a difference...
My advise is to go to a dealer and do a comparison to find out.
Would You be so kind to write more about: "some music is sounding worse and some much better"?
I have posted my findings earlier in another thread. I wanted to and was pretty sure in advance to upgrade my 200 to 220Pro, but decided to go 400 after a Side by Side comparison of 200, 220 and 400. I didn't compare to 440 as that move was over budget anyhow. The old expert range has a different sound than the Pro to my ears and it matters what speakers you drive, your acoustics and your personal taste whether you prefer the one or the other. The difference is easilly heard, but needs some time auditioning before you decide. Upgrade to 400 instead of 220 Pro is very much an option still now as long as there are ex demo 200 models available.
First impression was that 220 beats 200, but doesn't beat 400. Longer listening brought more differences to light. Not all in favour of Pro. Apart from taste and match with your speakers the Pro looks like an upgrade compared to their predecessors, but also was a little less neutral to my ears. Some speakers and setups might benefit from that, but not all I can imagine. I am not saying the Pro is or isn't better than the Expert or other way around, but you have a choice (also in sound characteristics) to make there. So I can only advise you to go and compare them yourself and make sure you decide what is best for you. I found it quite hard to decide against all raving reviews, but came back to the same decision again and again. Be prepared to use different firmwares too. Expert on 7.1.3 sounds different than 10.0.5.
Listened to 1000 Pro too, and that was jaw dropping good, but out of reach for me now and probably the distant future. Was great to hear what it is capabel of though, and maybe I will upgrade to the next super Pro successor in five years time.