While it does seem that Srajan's reference gear changes on a somewhat frequent basis, he's usually pretty upfront about his motivations and desires.
I've had my Druids (they were Runes until I had them upgraded back in April) for almost two years and have been very pleased. Srajan's review of the Druids also closely matches my experience. Whether he paid full retail or not doesn't really have much meaning for me. If I were a reviewer, I would expect manufacturers who want their stuff reviewed to ship it to me free of charge. In the case of the Definitions that Srajan bought, he clearly states that the deal was done at the end of the review (unless he's a completely dishonest lout), and that he told Sean Casey (co-proprietor of Zu) to bill him the difference between the Definitions and what he had paid for the Druids and Method sub.
In his review of the Druids, he indicates that he purchased them from Zu and many here have assumed that he didn't have to pay full price. There's no evidence that he contacted Zu to advise them beforehand that he was purchasing them in order to review them, so how can we categorically state that he must have got a deal? I got a deal when I returned my Runes for the Druid upgrade, but only because it took them longer to get the work done than had been estimated and the fact that the people at Zu are EXCELLENT in the customer relations department.
As a result, I'm inclined to say that it appears that Srajan may have bought the Druids at retail ($2,800), and there's a good chance he bought the Method sub ($2,500) in the same way, for a total outlay of $5,300 (plus shipping). The Definitions are $9,000 retail and if we accept that Srajan was invoiced for a difference between the Druid+Method combo and the Definitions, even at accommodation pricing, it would surely have been for much more than the $200 to $800 suggested above.
Accommodation pricing may be one of the necessary evils in the world of hi-end audio reviewing to get the exposure for equipment that might never see the light of day otherwise. As long as such deals are concluded after a review has been conducted, I don't see much of a problem.
My 2 cents...
