KCB: i agree with the 'name game' now, more than ever.

before the internet and forums like this one, research was limited to what the local (and, sometimes, not so local) B&M stores had to show and tell. they were always rigged demos with manufacturer propaganda as a sales pitch.

other than that, were the 'stereo review' type mags that seconded what the sales people told you.

a perfect example, for me, is meridian. super high end stuff. very tweakable, cutting-edge technology. pretty to look at. prices that are higher than a giraffe's tonsils. heck, the dvd industry adopted meridian lossless packing! they MUST be good.

i visited their booth at CES. their multi-channel display was an acoustic nightmare, very 'sit-down-and-demo UNfriendly' and the sound was thin, brittle and...well...crap.

i have since learned a bit about HOW their mlp scheme was adopted vs 3 other competitors. you hear about them? neither did i.

it's a small group of big companies that care more about copyright protection and profit and keeping a stanglehold on the 'market' than consumer convenience and sound quality.

dvd-a/sacd ia a perfect example. no bass mismanagement, no delay, analog outs and remixed 30 year old analog tapes. imagine how much more slowly it would progress without the internet.

people like bob carver, david chesky, SKG and outlaw audio are the mavericks, the rare few who break the mold and have success and they are usually poorly received in the 'press'.

htf is a clubhouse of people who parrot the anthem of the forum. a lot of them wouldn't wait for the 950 and paid too much for something else instead. now that the 950 is readily available...the last thing they want to hear is that they should have waited.

this forum is unprecedented in the marketing world. i suspect a lot of companies hate the idea of it. i wouldn't be surprised to find out who some of the 'attackers' really are.

i originally bought the onk 898 receiver-as-pre-pro. it had terrible software glitches. i called repeatedly and was referred to a local repair center. the company lied, saying they had never heard of the problems. the repair center said they had no idea what was wrong or how to fix it. i was the first (and for a good while, the only) person to post the problem at audioreview. i sent it back and sure enough, other similar posts began to appear. if not for the internet, i would have thought i was the only one with a defective unit.

sorry for the rant. again...it was great to read how you handeled the situation at htf. i could never have kept my cool like that, and it showed the depth of your knowledge on the subject, which makes your opinion of the 950 a valuable one.