Hi-Fi Diary: How to Write a Good Review? How Are Hi-Fi Reviews Actually Done?

Over the past few years, the tracks BLOG owner uses for reviews have gone through several iterations. Some time ago, to better showcase the dimensions BLOG owner considers in reviews, and drawing inspiration from Liu Hansheng's "20 Essentials of Audio", BLOG owner, based on my own understanding, wrote the blog post "How to Judge/Describe Sound Quality? A Detailed Explanation of Hi-Fi Testing Dimensions" . And to better showcase some of BLOG owner's thoughts and philosophies during reviews, BLOG owner plans to chat with everyone about the story behind the tests, detailing the preparation BLOG owner makes for each review, and providing the experience and rationale behind them. Furthermore, it must be stated that since this BLOG has always been writing reviews, every product inevitably has a rating. However, over a long period, readers might easily notice that some products, which are clearly not outstanding, receive high scores from BLOG owner, while some flagship products, which are clearly quite good, receive lower ratings. This is mainly because each product's rating inevitably references its price; it's BLOG owner's independent assessment of their performance given their price point. In most cases, unless a direct comparison is made within an article, ratings between different articles are not directly comparable. BLOG owner hopes all readers can understand this.

0. Experience Showcase.
To do reviews well, the core is to improve one's own appreciation ability and professional level. BLOG owner resides in Guangzhou, China, home to the famous "Xinghai Concert Hall" . BLOG owner has listened to about 200+ concerts in this hall and dozens more across the country. As a hobby, BLOG owner writes lyrics and participates in some music recording and production. Instrument-wise, I've learned piano, guitar, harmonica, and flute, all at a novice/dabbler level . Regarding headphones, models I've purchased and listened to for extended periods include the Abyss AB-1266, Stax SR-009/007, Focal Utopia, Audio-Technica ATH-W5000, Grado RS1i/M1, Beyerdynamic T1, Sennheiser HD800, HD650, Denon AH-D1001, AKG K701, etc. For speakers, I currently use a Genelec system. System-wise, I've played with both tube amps (胆机) and solid-state amps (石机), having been in the hobby (烧了) for ten to twenty years. The current system's total value is about $20,000 USD). Regarding ears, I passed the Golden Ears test ten years ago, but definitely can't now. A retest in 2023 only reached -33dB.

1. Hardware and Software Preparation.
BLOG owner's review environment evolves over time, but it generally simulates the primary user and environment for which the device is intended. For example, portable DACs like dongles are usually tested on an iPad or a regular laptop, which aligns with the actual situation of users buying such products. Software-wise, due to the prevalence of streaming, BLOG owner also heavily relies on QQ Music for daily listening. Tests conducted on phones/tablets/laptops mostly use QQ Music for online listening. For more important, expensive review equipment, BLOG owner will listen on a dedicated PC-HiFi rig using HQPlayer to ensure a better sound output environment.

2. Ear Acclimatization
Unlike general device burn-in, the most important thing when a new device arrives is actually "ear acclimatization." Spend some time listening to the device every day, switching between different headphones, speakers, and environments. Play around with it more, satisfying your curiosity while also letting your ears get used to the device's sound. Sometimes, when a new device arrives, the first listen might feel uncomfortable or unpleasant. This is very likely not because the device itself has a problem, but because its style differs too much from what you usually listen to. The human ear is a magical thing; basically, even a style you initially can't accept, if you listen to it continuously for a week or two, you'll generally get used to it. Only when you are not harboring negative emotions can you possibly do a good review.

3. Adjusting the Test Environment.
The review environment is very important. Different devices have very different environmental needs based on their own characteristics. For example, with TWS (True Wireless Stereo) earphones, the sound of the Bluetooth connection can be very different on different devices. Or, even for devices using USB transmission, the sound difference between a tablet and a phone can sometimes be significant. Or, for some small speakers, different placement methods and different acoustic environments will also result in different sound presentation characteristics. However, BLOG owner's review philosophy will still try to be as realistic as possible. For some entry-level to mid-range products, considering that most users may not have a perfect usage environment, BLOG owner might ultimately compromise and choose a platform with better sound to build the review environment.

Mobile Phone/USB-C+Dragontail	PC/USB2.0	PC/USB3.0	PC/USB-C+Dragontail	Notebook/USB3.0	Notebook/USB-C+Dragontail	iPad/USB-C+Dragontail
5	5.5	6.5	7	7	8	6

4. Selecting Review Tracks.
In most cases, review tracks must be ones you are familiar with, and preferably the ones you've listened to most recently. Of course, review tracks still have certain requirements, such as excellent recording quality, not being too obscure (preferably tracks that can resonate with some people), and whether the track corresponds to the test items, etc. If based on BLOG owner's personal preference, priority will be given to works with short intros, little stylistic difference from beginning to end, and not too noisy. Finally, regarding the sound quality of streaming media, actually, most of the review tracks BLOG owner chooses are from self-purchased, legitimately ripped files. If the difference between streaming and ripped files is not significant, streaming will still be prioritized. If using HQPlayer, self-ripped or reliably sourced legitimate audio files will definitely be used.

5. About the Review Text.
Starting from 2025 (Note: The original post date is 2022, so this might be a future plan or a typo), BLOG owner's reviews will transition from focusing on products to focusing on the music itself. For each product review, besides discussing the product's sound characteristics, BLOG owner will also try to recommend excellent musical works to everyone. Hi-Fi should not just be about cold equipment; it should be about music with warmth. Putting all the emphasis on the equipment is undoubtedly missing the point. Therefore, BLOG owner hopes that after reading each review, readers can be introduced to some excellent musical works, which, combined with the recommended equipment, will form complete music review content. At the same time, BLOG owner will compile all recommended musical works into separate posts quarterly for sharing. If you happen to be reading this, BLOG owner highly recommends you click on the "Music Diary" section to see the tracks BLOG owner has recommended.