CR at it again.....

[yogitunes]

CR claiming 10 of the best machines to buy.......what I really love is the use of only an 8 pound load for a test.....I thought these machines were suposed to handle 4 times that amount, 8 pounds refers back to machines of the 50/60's.....

its all about efficiency....no mention what so ever about with low water usage of being EFFECTIVE!

http://shopping.yahoo.com/news/10-m...tMjMzOC0zOGVhLWFkNTUtM2Y1MjE0NTA5MzExBHNlYwNt

 

[mrb627]

8 LBS

 

<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">Eight pounds used to be the average load size for the standard family of four.  Of course that was back when laundry was properly sorted before washing.  Now, with the craze of the bigger is better washing machine, people load em up as if it was a dishwasher.  When it is crammed full, add detergent and start on the generic normal cycle.</span>

 

<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">People are slowly returning to running smaller loads as filling the machine to capacity seems to degrade performance.  Especially in the rinsing category.</span>

 

<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">Malcolm</span>

 

[danemodsandy]

I Long Ago....

....Rated Consumer Reports "Not Acceptable."

 

[petek]

I just got the latest ish the other day and there's barely anything in it I want to read anymore... It seems like every month it's all crap about cell phones, carriers, laptops, tablets ad nauseum.
Then when they do a piece on something interesting you often read where they tested 30 different models but only give a short synopsis on the top 5 perhaps. And often without even a picture of all of those.

 

[launderess]

Most Of The Juicy Content

For CR is now online. So after paying for a subscription one is supposed to pay again for online access? I don't think so.

Haven't purchased CR in years. A friend who does passes along his when he's done, which is usually one day after it arrives! Just one more stop before the recycling bin.

Aside from articles on healthcare it seems the same sets of reviews keep coming again and again. cars, consumer electronics (cell phones, smart phones, etc...) but even there you rarely get reviews anymore on audio equipment or such.

 

[mixfinder]

On Line

I have an online subscription with a love hate relationship. Never have I encountered a site so slow and cumbersome. Clicking on a single item or it's reviews and then returning to the story can take forever to let go and reload. Its the same cost as the magazine which I sometimes buy if I want to share the info.

 

[frigilux]

CR tests washers with both a standard 8-lb. load and one at the machine's maximum capacity, both using warm water and the default Normal cycle with no added options. These scores averaged together make up the machine's washing performance (cleaning) score. Sometimes washers with a middling washing score do fine with the 8-lb. load but falter when loaded to full capacity.

I understand peoples' frustrations with CR; they've really short-handed what used to be a lot of rich information concerning their tests. And I, too, get sick of not being able to tell one issue from the next because they all have either a phone, a computer, or a TV on the cover.

Having said that, I have both a magazine subscription and an online subscription and I always check their ratings before buying. It's a good place to start, and I certainly trust their tests more than I do manufacturers' claims.

I also find user reviews of limited use, as people who generally dislike, misuse, or get a defective product are the ones who post, not those who like the product. I love my LG dishwasher; it cleans better than any machine I've owned (Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Kenmore/D&M), is very quiet, a miser with water, and has given me not a single problem in four years of very hard use; but I've seen scathing user reviews of the same model. It makes me wonder if we're even talking about the same dishwasher!

CR is far from perfect, especially for those of us who'd like to see a return of the long-form text that used to accompany tests; but I'll keep my subscriptions and use CR as a starting-point for purchases.[this post was last edited: 12/2/2012-19:54]

 

[lordkenmore]

you rarely get reviews anymore on audio equipment

Frankly, I don't consider that a huge loss. I lost respect for CR back in my hard core audiophile years when they tried to tell me that a cheap stereo receiver under test was just as good as the more expensive receiver, because the two had roughly similar measurements. At no point, apparently did they come up with the idea of actually hooking the receivers up to an audio system and doing listening tests. Their comments might, of course, be of value for those buying a receiver to drive test equipment in their living room. But their comments were completely and totally worthless for normal people looking to use this receiver as part of an actual audio system.

 

[rp2813]

CR gave me a bum steer

And they lost all credibility with me.  That was back in 1996 when they top-rated the Raytheon Amana washer, and since I was in the market and the price point was much more attractive than a comparable Kenmore, I bought one.

 

Enough said.

 

[whirlcool]

And our electronic Whirlpool set was the top washer in 1993, so we bought that. Turned out it was a TOL special order only model. Why would they review a model that most people wouldn't buy?

 

[alr2903]

Is it December 2012?

"... often see a woman beaming, as She is breezing past.....".   " Substance over style",  does anyone else read stereotyping, sexism, or

 

political incorrectness ? alr

 

[frigilux]

Bum steers from CR: This can certainly happen, as some of you have pointed out. To minimize the prospect of a disappointing purchase, I always check the reliability rating for a particular brand as well as an individual product's test score. Granted, the reliability ratings are collected from CR subscribers so it's not a scientific poll, but again, it's a place to start.

For instance: The current top-scoring dishwasher is a Bosch, with a composite score of 81. It is recommended and labeled a best buy. The LG model LDF7932 (almost identical to mine, but without the third (cutlery) rack) follows closely on its heels with an 80; yet it is not a recommended model due to the dismal reliability rating for LG dishwashers (the worst of all the brands for which they have data).

Even though I've had good luck (so far, anyway!) with my LG dishwasher, I know that many have not. It was the highest-rated and quietest dishwasher available in my small town, and the LG dealer does his own repairs, so I figured that if problems arose, I would be covered. I've heard many horror stories about people dealing with LG's nationwide service, and knew I would only buy the dishwasher if service could be done locally. I often spend many hours at a time in the kitchen, and I found listening to a dishwasher fatiguing. I don't hear the LG at all over the ambient kitchen sounds.

I'd love to have a Bosch (which has the best reliability rating) but the nearest dealer is in Iowa. They'll sell me a dishwasher and install it in my house, but the company they hire out to do their service work won't come here.[this post was last edited: 12/3/2012-13:14]

 

[rinso]

In the past 15 years or so, CR's test results seem to be all about the facts and data entered into a spreadsheet from their test jigs. I realize they probably don't have the resources to editorialize like in the past. One was able to get a better idea of what to expect from a test item as an interacting user. Each product was given a write-up along with the test results.