seandtaylor, perhaps i shouldn't speak for maxgain, but i'm sure his feelings closely mirror mine: you are sticking up for someone who, in condemning things he doesn't like about the hi-end, uses the word "ALL" an awful lot.
personally, i can only agree w/esmeralda's item #'s 6 & 10: w/item #6, specific components are named. whether or not one agrees w/the judgment of these specific components, is another matter - at least the item gives his feelings about specific product, & how he feels about it. as for item #10, i, too, hate compressed digital recordings. (don't much care for compressed analog recordings, either, for that matter!) :>) but, this doesn't mean *all* digital recordings are compressed.
ymmv, doug s.
ps - i'm sure esmeralda is correct about the shame of all the etc, etc, etc, in the high-end, too, eh? ;~)