Is "WHAT HI-FI" a good read?

What Hi-Fi reviewers do not have a clue IMHO. It is also 90% advertising. It's not that they only review low to mid-fi equipment, it is that they seem to like the cheaper stuff over the higher end stuff by the same manufacturer. When the Rotel RCD951 CD player gets 5 gold stars and an editors choice award and the RCD971 gets 3 stars and so so comments, it makes you wonder who is listening. I think they listen to a lot of Rock music so if the component is rough sounding they think it is good.

They also have a phony rating system. A component rarely gets less than 3 stars. Most get 5 stars; and there seem to be three levels of 5 star ratings; 5 stars, 5 gold stars, and then the 5 star editors choice. They do not want to piss off any potential advertiser.

The British magazine that I have always felt does an excellent job reviewing low and mid-fi equipment is HiFi Choice. Go to http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/

I also think you are right and they do not take the time to burn in equipment and match systems. It seems in my experience better equipment needs more burn in time. Maybe why they seem to favor the cheaper stuff as I mentioned above.

There is a lot of consensus that the Cambridge Audio D500 CD player is a great value for a an under $400 CD player. They hated it and thought it was extremely dull and bland, which is how it sounds right out of the box before it breaks in.