Rfogel8, I agree that many of us have "a few disappointing purchases," and that leads us to start listening and judging for ourselves. I will not go down the "advertising dollars for reviews" road, although I do believe the magazines can play their favorites by giving more coverage to those mfgs who support them with advertising. That's the way the world turns.
What amazes me is the number of times I read reviews where the reviewer has inappropriate supporting equipment, or a lack of relevant experience with equipment similar to, and competitive against, the piece being reviewed.
Regarding the Sony vs. Oppo, IMO SACD is going to become less relevant as more hi-rez software becomes available on-line. Therefore, if the sonics are close between the two, IMO the ability to play burned hi-rez DVD discs and also Blu-ray movies means the Oppo wins. I am really interested in how close a modded Oppo can come to a good player like the Ayre C-5xeMP and/or to a good computer set-up with an upper level DAC from Wavelength, Empirical Audio or equivalent. The Oppo (perhaps modded) seems like a good "last player" for many as they transition to computer audio.
