I've gotta say the magazines not 'wasting space' on poor products is at the very least a bad decision for consumers who are hit more by advertising then decent reviews. At the worse - it's poor, and unethical journalism to withold the truth.
I would love to see some crap products reviewed that are very, VERY price concious and see how well they do.
The Onkyo S770 HTIB system for example is one of those products that looks like a great value, yet most reviews seem to be done by idiots. "Well, the speakers are big, so they get marked 20% down for that - should have used 2" cubes instead, like Bose." Arggghh!
Audiosource for example has incredibly priced in-ceiling/wall speakers. How do they sound FOR THE MONEY?
I don't know how many times I have seen products that are given a bum rap because they don't measure up to products costing thousands more, so reviewers only look at the more pricey gear. Honestly, I want to know how the S770 from Onkyo stacks up against a $2,000 setup as well as how it compares to other $500.00 HTIB packages. My belief is that it will blow them away and that people should know that other packages don't measure up. 10 average $500.00 HTIB, 1 or 2 outstanding, 1 or 2 (hundred?) sub-par packages.
When I got my $2,000 projector I took it into the high-end retail store I worked at and split the feed going to a $12,000 Runco projector. My projector had higher black levels, a little more noise, and lower resolution. From 12 feet you couldn't tell the resolution. The noise was only discernable during fast motion, and wasn't obnoxious, so the black levels were the only thing that really stood out, and it wasn't really that noticable unless you were doing an A-B test like I was. Oh - my projector was brighter as well.
The bottom line was that while my projector was not at the same level as the Runco, it was clear that the Runco was incredibly overpriced at $12,000 and that even at $5,000.00 the Runco might be overpriced compared to the $2,000.00 Panasonic which only looked a little bit worse.
I like the reviews here and other places, but could really deal with some "this product is overpriced" or "most competitors give you a lot more product for the money" reviews.
Like the Denon 5805 - It's an awesome machine, but why not 2 3805s instead? The 5805 seems to have very limited use for most people... hello! 10 amps?
Seriously, tons of people shop Best Buy - why not take 10 minutes to walk a Best Buy or Circuit City, then send out some emails to manufacturers to test the products you just saw. The Yamaha 5890 (I know it's a 1500, but this is what people SEE), the Sony $80.00 DVD player, a Samsung TV, or Mitsubishi rear screen projection CRT. There needs to be something out there so 'average joe consumer' can actually say "I know it's inexpensive, but it is all that I need right now."
Just trying some constructive criticism