I'm not trying to take shots at anyone by saying this because I understand the business model of reviewing and if you guys don't get to examine a particular product for free than most likely its not getting reviewed. Though from a consumers point of view its pretty frustrating trying to find that one piece of equipment, whatever it might be, when you can't really trust that there aren't outside influences that skew a review or ultimately decide whether a product is even reviewed at all. To me, and I know it is impractical, but there are times when buying a product to review would make a lot of sense, instead of just snubbing a mfg. when they won't send something to you for whatever the reason. This has happened many, many times since I've been a forum reader here, and it really narrows down the brands from which to read about in specific price ranges on speakers, receivers and players. Coincidentally the three things I'm most interested in. Ive just surrendered to looking closely at what I can get my hands on and closely examining it in my own environment. Reviews these days play a very insignificant role in my purchasing decisions, and that's in large part because of identifying the types of things that are going on behind the scenes. These unwritten, unspoken rules of the game being played with what a manufacturer expects/gets in return for lending out the product. Like they say, nothing is for free.
