I'm tired of the conspiracy argument--read in between the lines and always the real "review" comes out.
This is the essential advice of the previous post, which should not be overshadowed by the opening "shot across the bow". The Absolute or Stereophile reviews can be helpful, read with a grain of salt and jaded attitude ... just as one would approach car reviews or, for that matter, wine (or beer) tasting notes.
Because these mags have wider circulation (and, therefore, more scrutiny) than reviews on some of the more esoteric web sites, there's good reason to examine what's said, as it is written under a presumption of eventual challenge. The truth is almost always "between the lines" and the key is to get to the point where you can approximately discern what's important to your tastes from indirect inferences gleaned out of what's written.
Reviews are part of a mosaic that helps choose paths in the audio adventure. No more, no less. The specific elements and their relative weights need to be determined individually.
Karl
