I don't know what his motivations are for saying this, but I find it ridiculous.
What makes you think he has any motivation here. He is simply stating an opinion.
I happen to have heard Dbphd's system on a number of occasions and it is quite good. Asking John Atkinson a question doesn't make anyone a slave to Stereophile. I ask him questions too and take great interest in his measurements of components. BTW so does Roger Modjeski of Music Reference who happens to design some outstanding amplifiers and other components.
Dbphd's point to me was quite clear. Some people prefer playing the shiny discs over dealing with the nuances of computer audio (which is far from perfect). So why not go for the best player you can afford and enjoy your music. Personally if I had the sizable collection of CDs and SACDs that Dbphd has I would still be playing the shiny discs as I would not find the amount of time it would take to rip them to a HD worth it. In which case I would still be using my CEC transport and Lessloss DAC.