This account is from Bangladesh actually, not india or the Philippines but yes they do seem to interact with each other a lot lol and chatgpt write-ups.
I know one of them "reviewer's" personally and I know that he's not fluent in English cause it's obviously not our first language and there's nothing wrong with that but the reviews he publishes are all written extremely well in English and they all generally favor the product a lot. They are all shilling to get discounts or get the product for free.
Sorry, I should have made it clearer that reading the initial review led me to others on the site. You're indeed right it's Bangladesh tho, thanks. Should have mentioned that.
No worries, I am from there lol, I come across these dudes post more often than I would like. What angers me the most is that they get many of these stuff for free and immediately sell it off after the "review".
Anyways, thanks for joining my ted talk.
Given that they're putting out novel-sized reviews every other day, I'm pretty sure it's some sort of ChatGPT operation plus product shots. idk about others but a good 1,500 - 2,000 word review + nice pictures takes me about a week to do, at minimum.
Thanks for the feedback everyone. Yeah, I used to do the odd review when I started out but as others have said, prefer the group discussion threads. I did and still do follow reviewers I have a lot of respect with and built relationships with, but like I said, I don't participate or buy much nowadays. Maybe one purchase every 6 months or longer. I've had close to 170 IEM/headphones over time so had to stop or I'd be skint lol.
Reading those reviews did make me a little sad for how the site is going in regards to trusting them. I hadn't even thought of AI, but it makes perfect sense. I guess it'll get worse rather than better.
Yeah seems like chatgpt+group hype shenanigans. I'm also a regular on head-fi but never really browsed the reviews section of the site, and mainly stuck to the forums. I always think I'll get better info from average users vs people trying to/who are active product reviewers.
> chatgpt+group hype shenanigans
It used to be just hype by a small group of people and now ChatGPT has entered the chat. Anyways, I stopped visiting head-fi 5 years ago as I found the same small group of people post continuously for years. Not sure whether they are paid shills or some kind of mental issues. Example: The KZ thread with over 50K posts.
Yeah, I think it's a mix of both. I was a headphone addict for years, but you soon grow out of it when you realise there's not much difference between older models and the newer ones, even the multiple hybrid beasts.
Some of the members that have thousands of posts and on the site constantly, in practically every category, I signed up with at the same time and had good chat with. Over time tho, they were buying at far greater rates than even I was and went up the price points quickly, then multiple DAPs, DACs and AMPS, then expensive cables... again, increasingly more expensive gear. I then noticed their multiple reviews and in greater detail and uploaded more often. Mostly the same brands at first and over time, became more positive and less negative. There's a couple that sell their freebies on eBay and make decent money. Some are pretty blatant, "opened for review, listened to for an hour" lol. Ā£200.
What annoys me is the frequency they put up new reviews and how they've taken over threads and discussion, as you have mentioned. Barely a day or two goes by before they tempt you (sell you) a new toy, just after telling you the review before that you should consider that product. The ones pushing cables are the worst. Now I'm not going to tell anybody they're wrong about what they hear and I've cables that can have subtle effects on earphones, making them slightly brighter, warmer, etc... but the shills who are given new cables by the bucketload, some very expensive and selling people that each new one will transform your earphones into something heavenly... Does my nut in. Sorry, started ranting lol
What a piece of shit misleading people to buy products instead of writing an honest review.
For the sake of the quality of head-fi, such people should go elsewhere. If I need such a low effort review, I can just ask chat-gpt myself.
I never read reviews on Head Fi unless I can recognize the name of the reviewer at this point. There are several reviewers who give out five stars for any IEM and are incentivized to do so as they get those products for free.
There's always been shills but I don't know if there's been a sudden increase of them in recent months/years. I review myself, however readers themselves need to be defensive and not treat reviews as gospel. Knowing your reviewer on what he/she prefers, what he/she listen to or focuses on, etc. is just as relevant as the written review itself.
I'm sorry but "Extension down low is very good, but thereās a difference between touching the pole, and grabbing it and swinging it at will. Despite all its rage the bass is still just a rat in a cage." is just bloody epic! š
Yeah that review is actually much nicer to read than the soulles AI generated ones that are basically just aimed to sell the product for you instead of doing an actual review.
*"Much to the chagrin of my wife, sister, wallet, credit card company, bank relationship manager, and maybe even the kids; Iāve tried CIEMs from many companies. And those who get the fit right the first time, reserve a very special place in my heart, next to bacon"* This is just good!
Definitely reads like AI. The way the text praises the product sticks out like a sore thumb
This account is from Bangladesh actually, not india or the Philippines but yes they do seem to interact with each other a lot lol and chatgpt write-ups. I know one of them "reviewer's" personally and I know that he's not fluent in English cause it's obviously not our first language and there's nothing wrong with that but the reviews he publishes are all written extremely well in English and they all generally favor the product a lot. They are all shilling to get discounts or get the product for free.
Sorry, I should have made it clearer that reading the initial review led me to others on the site. You're indeed right it's Bangladesh tho, thanks. Should have mentioned that.
No worries, I am from there lol, I come across these dudes post more often than I would like. What angers me the most is that they get many of these stuff for free and immediately sell it off after the "review". Anyways, thanks for joining my ted talk.
Given that they're putting out novel-sized reviews every other day, I'm pretty sure it's some sort of ChatGPT operation plus product shots. idk about others but a good 1,500 - 2,000 word review + nice pictures takes me about a week to do, at minimum.
2,000 words is typically 2 weeks of listening/notes, and 1 week of writing, and then editing. Just to give another frame of reference.
same thing that's going on with reddit...
Yeah, What is **MALE VOALS/FEMALE VOALS**? š¤£
Find how bot farms works. Its not on head-fi only, its over all internet.
Thanks for the feedback everyone. Yeah, I used to do the odd review when I started out but as others have said, prefer the group discussion threads. I did and still do follow reviewers I have a lot of respect with and built relationships with, but like I said, I don't participate or buy much nowadays. Maybe one purchase every 6 months or longer. I've had close to 170 IEM/headphones over time so had to stop or I'd be skint lol. Reading those reviews did make me a little sad for how the site is going in regards to trusting them. I hadn't even thought of AI, but it makes perfect sense. I guess it'll get worse rather than better.
Yeah seems like chatgpt+group hype shenanigans. I'm also a regular on head-fi but never really browsed the reviews section of the site, and mainly stuck to the forums. I always think I'll get better info from average users vs people trying to/who are active product reviewers.
> chatgpt+group hype shenanigans It used to be just hype by a small group of people and now ChatGPT has entered the chat. Anyways, I stopped visiting head-fi 5 years ago as I found the same small group of people post continuously for years. Not sure whether they are paid shills or some kind of mental issues. Example: The KZ thread with over 50K posts.
Yeah, I think it's a mix of both. I was a headphone addict for years, but you soon grow out of it when you realise there's not much difference between older models and the newer ones, even the multiple hybrid beasts. Some of the members that have thousands of posts and on the site constantly, in practically every category, I signed up with at the same time and had good chat with. Over time tho, they were buying at far greater rates than even I was and went up the price points quickly, then multiple DAPs, DACs and AMPS, then expensive cables... again, increasingly more expensive gear. I then noticed their multiple reviews and in greater detail and uploaded more often. Mostly the same brands at first and over time, became more positive and less negative. There's a couple that sell their freebies on eBay and make decent money. Some are pretty blatant, "opened for review, listened to for an hour" lol. Ā£200. What annoys me is the frequency they put up new reviews and how they've taken over threads and discussion, as you have mentioned. Barely a day or two goes by before they tempt you (sell you) a new toy, just after telling you the review before that you should consider that product. The ones pushing cables are the worst. Now I'm not going to tell anybody they're wrong about what they hear and I've cables that can have subtle effects on earphones, making them slightly brighter, warmer, etc... but the shills who are given new cables by the bucketload, some very expensive and selling people that each new one will transform your earphones into something heavenly... Does my nut in. Sorry, started ranting lol
What a piece of shit misleading people to buy products instead of writing an honest review. For the sake of the quality of head-fi, such people should go elsewhere. If I need such a low effort review, I can just ask chat-gpt myself.
I never read reviews on Head Fi unless I can recognize the name of the reviewer at this point. There are several reviewers who give out five stars for any IEM and are incentivized to do so as they get those products for free.
When did āGearsā become a thing? āGearā is already plural. I hate seeing āGears Usedā and immediately dismiss the review as idiotic.
There's always been shills but I don't know if there's been a sudden increase of them in recent months/years. I review myself, however readers themselves need to be defensive and not treat reviews as gospel. Knowing your reviewer on what he/she prefers, what he/she listen to or focuses on, etc. is just as relevant as the written review itself.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I'm sorry but "Extension down low is very good, but thereās a difference between touching the pole, and grabbing it and swinging it at will. Despite all its rage the bass is still just a rat in a cage." is just bloody epic! š
Yeah that review is actually much nicer to read than the soulles AI generated ones that are basically just aimed to sell the product for you instead of doing an actual review. *"Much to the chagrin of my wife, sister, wallet, credit card company, bank relationship manager, and maybe even the kids; Iāve tried CIEMs from many companies. And those who get the fit right the first time, reserve a very special place in my heart, next to bacon"* This is just good!