French_fries, I agree that you needn't be concerned. It has happened many times before in audio and no doubt will happen many times again. The only thing that matters is whether you are happy. A long time ago I came to the conclusion you will be happy with a choice as long as you decide you are happy. If on the other hand you quickly become bored or tired from listening to your system, something is wrong.
While it is obvious that reviews affect sales, one shouldn't put great faith in them. Fremer might feel justified making such remarks, but that may only apply to his system, and even then there may be technical issues not recognized and solved. The same certainly applies to Valin as well, who plays favorites all the time. Bottom line, you might not want to disregard something or become disenchanted with a purchase because a reviewer faults it, and by the same token never make a buying decision based on a review or online comments in lieu of personally auditioning the piece in your own system first.
While it is obvious that reviews affect sales, one shouldn't put great faith in them. Fremer might feel justified making such remarks, but that may only apply to his system, and even then there may be technical issues not recognized and solved. The same certainly applies to Valin as well, who plays favorites all the time. Bottom line, you might not want to disregard something or become disenchanted with a purchase because a reviewer faults it, and by the same token never make a buying decision based on a review or online comments in lieu of personally auditioning the piece in your own system first.