Amen Philefreak. Case in point, the Halcro/Rockport room at the Hilton. It sure didn't have the musical involvement of the Joseph/Manley room, not by a long shot, IMO nor per my tastes. Some of these reviewers just get a bit too carried away with such statements. It isn't so bad except for the fact that Bolin probably hasn't heard all the competition in a complementary system. I can't tell you how many times over the years I have read the statement or to the like "The new benchmark" or "redefines The state of the art" etc. It is just meaningless other than the fact that it is worth considering or auditioning.
It may be the best measuring amp and maybe that equates to greater transparency but this is not all there is to a musically involving system of the first order. Ozfly, I believe Mikey Fremer also had such accolades concerning the Rockport Sirius tt. However there are others that feel the Walker Proscenium tt at a bit more than a third the price is its equal or at least, very close. The more I read some of these reviewers, with some exceptions, the more I read their reviews more for entertainment than gaining serious insight. Many just aren't good at conveying their perferences. There are many on this site who's opinion I hold in higher regard.
It may be the best measuring amp and maybe that equates to greater transparency but this is not all there is to a musically involving system of the first order. Ozfly, I believe Mikey Fremer also had such accolades concerning the Rockport Sirius tt. However there are others that feel the Walker Proscenium tt at a bit more than a third the price is its equal or at least, very close. The more I read some of these reviewers, with some exceptions, the more I read their reviews more for entertainment than gaining serious insight. Many just aren't good at conveying their perferences. There are many on this site who's opinion I hold in higher regard.