Earlier this week, BKAV’s AirB and AirB Pro headphones reached customers in Vietnam, including local tech reviewers.
Shortly after receiving the headphones, several Vietnamese tech YouTube channels posted reviews. Most reviewers said the AirB didn’t stand out compared to other headphones on the market, especially criticizing the sound quality. Some complained about Bluetooth connection issues, poor build and hardware quality, and ineffective active noise cancellation.
In response to the negative reviews, BKAV CEO Nguyễn Tử Quảng posted on social media, accusing reviewers of lacking expertise, saying they base their opinions on what manufacturers provide, and tend to give positive feedback when paid.
“Lack of professional expertise!
This is my observation as a tech producer about most so-called tech reviewers today.
These people depend on tech companies like BKAV, Apple, Samsung, and Chinese brands. Directly or indirectly, they get paid to talk about these products.
Getting paid can be acceptable as compensation. But as I said, most don’t have the expertise because they don’t work directly with manufacturers to understand the technology behind research, production, mechanics, electronics, software, and industrial processes.
Without expertise, their reviews mostly repeat what manufacturers give them. They lack the objectivity and independence a true reviewer should have. Those who get paid often tend to speak positively about the brand. If not paid, they don’t talk.”
Quảng then pointed out many mistakes reviewers made during their evaluations.
“One guy obsessed with headphone sound, showing charts and specs that seem professional, heavily criticized AirB. But he lacks basic knowledge of electronic signals and audio.
For example, he said AirB lacks frequencies from 5Hz so the bass is weak, then joked with another reviewer in an absurd way. Basic fact: human hearing ranges from 20Hz to 20kHz. All headphones follow this, except some ultra-expensive models costing billions of VND that support down to 16Hz for special hearing.
Google “Magico M9” and you’ll find a speaker priced at 17 billion VND boasting an ultra-wide range from 18Hz. So the claim that AirB lacks 5Hz frequencies and has bad bass is unbelievable.
This reviewer is nicknamed “professor” by others, probably because he throws around technical terms to dazzle fellow reviewers. So you see how credible these reviewers really are.
Another reviewer, who apparently has gold and silver YouTube buttons, admitted at the start of his video that he has “deaf ears” but still went on to critique the sound. Maybe he’s so used to parroting manufacturers that he doesn’t realize how ridiculous that is. Deaf ears and sound reviews don’t mix.
One top channel gave the sound a 5/10 rating with the comment: “I CAN’T CLEARLY FEEL the sound, but overall I rate it 5/10.” How can you score something you can’t feel?
Some others cover up their lack of expertise by focusing on the packaging and seals. They don’t even get that right. We purposely put a bigger seal so users can easily peel it off, but they criticized it for being ugly and not fitting perfectly. It’s a one-time seal, peeled off immediately after opening, not meant for long-term use.”
This is why BKAV decided to stop working with reviewers starting this year. Quảng also said BKAV doesn’t need to pay reviewers because their products get way more views than competitors.
“The truth and dark side of the reviewer world have never been clearer. You can see it from the recent launch of BKAV’s AirB true wireless headphones.
Seeing the nature of these reviewers, their approach doesn’t help consumers or the market, so we decided not to work with them anymore starting this year.”
“Now you know why we can’t accept these reviewers evaluating products that represent the hard work of hundreds of our skilled engineers.
Even if we don’t work with them, they’ll still ride BKAV’s product wave because these get way more views than others. So why should I pay them? They end up promoting AirB anyway.”
Finally, CEO Nguyễn Tử Quảng said few people truly understand BKAV’s research and production process, so he will personally share information.
“As a pioneer, I face the reality that few have enough knowledge to understand our research and production process. That’s why, as CEO, I directly share the work of BKAV’s engineering team. It’s also a chance to spread tech knowledge to society, especially young people passionate about this field.”
