Head Fi update, full blown advertisement site

Which is pretty much the experience I've had with all forums that I'm a member of that have done a complete migration to a different forum system.

And the truth is, having worked in IT myself, is that you can test, and test, and test, but you'll never be absolutely sure if it really works correctly until you finally give access to the monkeys.

Debbie in HR can break anything.

 

I can't even log in. And when I try to reset the password I don't get an email.

Then I went to check some reviews and all the reviews are in one place... all the DAC's, headphones and IEM are all in one place.. how can anyone expect to find anything that way? Then I go and check the user reviews for a headphone and all the user reviews are just stacked on top of eachother.... no overview or sorting.... then I went to look at something else and the link was broken. Did they even focus test this site? What a mess. That site need weeks more work, maybe months.

 

They're getting spam-flooded.

 

Change just makes people angry and migrating forums is never pretty. I missed parts of Changstar, now I don't remember anything I missed and I'm sure I'd be frustrated with it now. Once they sort through the changes to a new forum, Head-Fi will still be Head-Fi. The new UI is fine, nothing special.

The thing I find a lot more interesting is if Jude being completely in charge of the servers and the advertising style and what not. I think in a year or so there'll be some odd fallout to this move.

 

Its funny that I'm learning how to navigate headfi's new interface on SBAF.

I think its great we have this thread. Its an outlet for headfier's to honestly vent their frustration without worry of censorship or ban.

The econimization of headfi was happening for some time but the recent revamp makes it so obvious.

IMO, Jude was called to be the leader of a community (IMO, the real source of his influence, that is now quickly diminishing), but instead he is becoming a spoke person for the industry. Its sad that headfi is becoming the Cnet of personal audio.

Headfi is losing credibility. One of my biggest draws for me was the user reviews, but I am no longer sure if a review is a shill or not. The lines have become so blurred at headfi, but not so much here.

For example, although I'm a big fan of audio-gd products, I don't mind that Torq ripped their new Singularity 19, which in turn, (I hope) would challenge and motivate Kingwa to improve on the design. It goes a long way when reviews are honest and highlight not only strengths but expands on weaknesses, compares performance relative to other products, and evaluates the product in the context of the complete system and user sound and music preferences.

I think this is an opportunity for SBAF to channel the frustration and disappointment of many headfiers into joining the community here. I understand the idea of expansion may not be a popular idea, but headfi's transformation into a corporate magnet has created a void of unmet needs and provide a window of opportunity for SBAF to establish itself as the true place of community for headphone enthusiasts, like the Headwize of old.

My hope is that the frustration of headfi posted here isn't merely to vent or ridicule headfi's mishaps, but can also be used to inform how SBAF can be better resource for serving the needs of the community.

 

It's horrible. But then, it wasn't nice before. The front page with all those nasty "Head-fier Tosser gets his hands on and catches up with the Blanindac: get up to date here" taglines that just make me want to vomit. Now it's super-tag-line day unless you mouse-over.

If I was still visiting, I guess I'd make a lot of use of the ABP Element Hider. BYE-BYE NOBLE. But I'm not. And now have even less to makeme want to return. For the sake of the people still there, I hope they sort themselves out.

SBAF... prepare for mass immigration. Refugees by the boatload. This may not be pretty --- for anyone.

 

Not that I want to encourage mass migrations....

But, if you need to run a fundraiser to get some funds to upgrade the server, etc., I will donate some more funds for that.

 

The JH Audio hypno-logo still hasn't lost any of its appeal. What were they thinking with that one? Surely Jude doesn't want to popularise ad-blockers?

 

@Marvey

Maybe if you put up some ads here and there and let the industry feel safe about advertising here, you know gave out a nice industry vibe. Then you could crack down on all those gear bashing trolls around here. Maybe do a news video about all the great new products the industry is releasing once a week or so.. then you might be able to afford more server space and we can have lots of new fantastic members... COME TO THE DARK SIDE...



I'm joking... I'm joking.

 

Time to lock subscriptions.

 

I was already using ABP Element blocker on their front-page slide-show banner.

What next, Jude, Flashing type? Wouldn't surprise me. Tasteless. Go read a book on design basics

 

Might be a good idea. The first crowd to leave will be those who can't even stand it if some margin changes size.

(Disclosure: I once had a big row with a site owner over one black line. We're friends again now. And the black line is still there)

 

I don't know if there isn't or is more good information on SBAF than on HF, but there is definitely less bad information to sort through here. It's obvious almost immediately that a much much higher percentage of what's said here is by long time enthusiasts if not full on professionals... and grown ups. With that in mind I'd imagine that someone who found SBAF first would be less likely to spend their cash on blind and regrettable purchases based on hype from kids hyping their gear. The bad news, at least in my case, is that after a few weeks on this site I find myself fighting the urge to apply for a home equity loan for the sake of an EC Studio/DNA Stellaris and some Utopias.

I kind of wish we had Psalmanazar around right now to give his perspective on the new HF.

 

In my imagination, I don't foresee Head-Fi members leaving Head-Fi, in any large number, over this website change. There will be initial unhappiness with the changes, a few things will be fixed and most of the members will get used to the new setup over time. I think that the members that leave will be leaving for the same reasons that they always have.

I also imagine that Head-Fi will end up with the software that says something like "We see that you are using ad blocking software. We depend on ads to support the operation of this site. If you wish to continue using this site you need to whitelist it in your ad blocking software...".

Anyway, those are my predictions. Time will tell.

 

Had the same issue. Changing the browser/platform helped. Looks like the password recovery form expects some specific http referrer header to actually send an email.