Coincidence that you post this now. I've recently been going through my old Stereophiles (80's, early 90's), that mag was so much better then, everything was comparatively reviewed, tons of context. I may not renew, where I could read the old mag for a month, I can get through present Stereophile in an hour or two, very little context, Fremer may be the last there doing comparitive reviews on a regular basis.
It does seem rather peculiar that reviewers play it so 'safe' today, they must be afraid of losing add revenue. Also, seems a lot of reviewers these days haven't auditioned a sizable amount of equipment, calls their judgment into question. Finally, I doubt some of these systems have enough resolution to properly evaluate the equipment.
I can't remember the last time I bought something based on a formal review. I generally make my purchasing decisons based on lots of feedback over a long period of time. Relying on the 'professional' reviewers is like trusting your investments to the genius financial service industry gurus, very few are worth listening to.
