As of late I have had requests for more reviews, with some suggesting that I hire reviewers to help provide more coverage. I’ve resisted doing this for a multitude of reasons, the most important being that I want everything on my sites to reflect my own opinions and judgement. I’ve been deeply involved with electronics, audio, video, and photography on both a personal and professional level for over 30 years, having started when I was a teenager. I have amassed a lot of knowledge and experience in that time, and I get the sense that when readers hear from me, they want it to be ME that is talking. Sound Advice is a very personal endeavor and I think it is likely to remain that way for the indefinite future. (I do have a record reviewer on deck to review records for Sound Advice Vinyl, but he is an expert who I not only trust, I know he is equipped to do that job better than I can.)
I have come up with a solution that I believe will allow me to expand my coverage while keeping everything under my own personal roof. I call it Product Points Reviews(tm).
In a Product Points Review(tm) I will take all my notes from the review period and condense them into a number of bullet points. When you read all the points I think you will have a really good sense of what the product is about, where it sits in the marketplace and whether or not it is for you. I will also have a number of original photographs, ratings for Overall, Performance and Value and a written conclusion.
Not only will this format allow me to create more reviews myself, I think it will offer benefits to readers as well. While I appreciate an in-depth review as much as anyone, who has the time to read through all that these days? Attention spans seem to be getting shorter for everyone and besides that, we have lots of things competing for our attention in this smartphone-driven world. With a Product Points Review(tm) you will get all you need, and fast.
My first two Product Points Reviews(tm) are up. One is the ZVOX SB380 soundbar on Sound Advice Speakers, and the other is the excellent Music Hall MMF-1.5 turntable on Sound Advice Vinyl. The Music Hall MMF-1.5 is my new favorite under $400 and will be featured in my newspaper column soon. I hope you enjoy this new review format, and look for lots more reviews across my websites in the near future!
-Don Lindich
Questions? Send to donlindich@gmail.com. Please include your city and state in your email.