Up and Over sampling EXACTLY the same thing

I find it interesting that the statement "we need to evaluate equipment on how it sounds and not on the technology used to get there" is being put forward by someone who clearly understands the technology well.

If this statement is taken to mean that people can get drawn in by marketing hype around techie words, then I agree. If this statement means that performance should be evaluated based upon sonics and not on design, then I disagree. Case in point - The shoot-out between VHS and Beta format is a fascinating technology story. Warms my heart to know that R&D can really break through what look like fundamental performance barriers. I will always hold out hope for digital play back, and want to know the story along the way.

Germanboxers, The VHS/Betamax story is much more interesting. As I recollect: The original betamax was a superior medium for encoding audio along with video. However, in the best spirit of technical competition, a multiplexing scheme was developed for VHS that kept them in the running quality wise. The format wars ensued with better quality being produced at every iteration. This was great reading back in the days when people were deciding what type of machine to buy. Ultimately Betamax lost out due to SONYs shortsightedness with regard to exclusive patent rights.