@Zilly I think BSA, though thoroughly tactless in his presentation, has his heart in the right place. What he means (I think) is that it's a very natural rookie mistake to accept empirical data as fact, to be drawn to products with fluffy reviews. Most of those reviews, particularly customer reviews, were written by people such as yourself who've had very little experience in critical listening, examining quantitative measurement data, learning from mistakes, or building reputation. Without having heard how good a system can sound, you simply don't have a frame of reference upon which to judge greatness. It's not a flaw. It's simply what is. And without that frame of reference, you're content with mediocrity.
Put it this way. Pretend you live in poverty in a third world country. All you've ever eaten are grains soaked in water, maybe an occasional lizard. Now someone comes along and gives you a McDonald's hamburger. It's the best thing you've ever tasted! Those Fluance XL7F towers and BIC subwoofer are the McDonald's hamburger. We are trying to get you to try a thick cut of medium rare kobe beef ribeye with a garlic bleu cheese Bordeaux glaze, but you're sticking with McDonald's. From your point of view, how could anything be better than McDonald's?
I hope you don't take BSA's criticism as an insult. And we recognize that your journey must start somewhere, just as ours all did. We just hope your journey continues, and that you'll allow us point out the pitfalls and scenic overlooks along the way.
