Regarding Roger Skoff's article, some in the media have discussed the topic of aesthetics and casework since the 1980s.
Probably no one more than Sam Tellig at Stereophile, who had shall we say, a more than comfortable relationship with several manufacturers, which translated into a disproportionate numbers of reviews for them. Sam's reviews featured far more manufacturer quotes than any reviewer I can think of, including some actual figures at times. He once mentioned a manufacturer spending 40% of a particular component's unit cost on a faceplate.
I don't know Roger personally, and have never owned any XLO cabling. But he's long carried a reputation as one of the better and more forthright and trustworthy people in the business
Probably no one more than Sam Tellig at Stereophile, who had shall we say, a more than comfortable relationship with several manufacturers, which translated into a disproportionate numbers of reviews for them. Sam's reviews featured far more manufacturer quotes than any reviewer I can think of, including some actual figures at times. He once mentioned a manufacturer spending 40% of a particular component's unit cost on a faceplate.
I don't know Roger personally, and have never owned any XLO cabling. But he's long carried a reputation as one of the better and more forthright and trustworthy people in the business