[Editorial] Popularity poll: which are the most popular reviews on TNT-Audio?

December 2023 editorial

Which were the most popular reviews on TNT-Audio during the last six months?

...and the winner is: Fosi Audio V3!

Author: Lucio Cadeddu - TNT Italy
Published: December, 2023

While waiting for the end of the 2023 to evaluate our yearly access statistics (here you will find those relating to the first six months of 2023), I took a look at which were the most read reviews among those we have published to date. The motivation was to check what interests our readers most; I would say that there were some obvious results and some surprises.

At the top of the list, with 98,149 views in less than six months time, the review of the Fosi V3 amplifier, a small minimalist Class D integrated amplifier, costing around €100. In second place with 97,630 views, is another small amp Class D amplifier, the Aiyima T9 , of similar cost, but equipped with many more features. These results were expected, in some sense, given that our readers, often young, are more interested in products that are small, unobtrusive, inexpensive and good-sounding, than in those that are expensive, obtrusive, and demanding. Also, these two reviews were fairly recent, so it's obvious they received more clicks.

The first surprise comes from the third place, still an integrated amplifier but this time of vintage heritage: it is the Marantz 1060, a kind of milestone in the history of HiFi, to which we have dedicated a well deserved place in our Jurassic (S)Park!. It received 96,910 views! This is a sign that the interest in good vintage gear that made HiFi history is still strong.

More curious is the fact that three amplifiers occupy the first three places; I would have expected something different. A second surprise was that more two amplifiers placed fourth and fifth: the Argon SA1 and the pair of ZeroZone power amps, with 95,727 and 95,547 views respectively. Consider that in the same period we reviewed many different products: digital sources, streamers and DACs first and foremost, but also several speakers and lots of analogue-related gear. Surprisingly, amplifiers rule, whether old or new, integrated amps or power amps, minimalist or full-featured.

It is well known that audiophiles have always accorded amplifiers a privileged place, as the heart of their system, because all the music “power” comes out of them, even if much of the sound and even the sound pressure depend largely on the speakers.

The other consideration is that while it is true we have mainly reviewed low-cost products, and hence it is normal that these score high in the “popularity” rankings, it is also true that the audience of TNT-Audio readers is obviously oriented toward products with a good quality/price ratio. However, it is undeniable that a large part of the wide market is attentive to low-cost products that sound good, and that orientation should suggest a thought or two to dealers and distributors (and even journalists!) who insist on offering components with stellar costs.

Gentlemen, those numbers speak loudly: all these amplifiers have attracted, in less than six months, the interest of around 100,000 readers each, and these are compelling figures in what is a small niche market. Maybe we should start taking this into serious account, what do you think? Or do we want to continue with this madness of HiFi components costing €50,000+?

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