All this will surely go to his already huge head, but hey--I'll chime in, too. MC is opinionated, arrogant, but, well, sort of brilliant in this weird corner of fetishland. His occasional revelations of political leanings scare me, but I guess that that's just another expression of his passion. And he's a very good writer, which (sorry) can't be said for many on this site.
But all that's beside the point, right? The only relevant question concerns his "expertise" in things audiophilic. And in that arena, his knowledge is vast, and he offers it with real generosity. Shilling for products? I don't believe it, and anyway, I don't care; we're all adults here, we can make brand decisions for ourselves. All I can say is that he has helped me with fairly obscure problems I've had, proposing solutions no one else came up with, that worked. He's also advocated for things that, IMO, don't work, like Schumann resonance generators. But that's ok; it was fun giving those a try anyway.
Chuck, if I may call you that, I hope we have the chance to meet one day. We'll disagree about a lot, but what's the point of associating only with those who mirror one's own worldview? You've given a great deal to this forum, and as this thread proves, many of us appreciate it. So: thanks.