Guys that don't like (or don't *want* to like) something are prone on the internet to wave their hand and dismiss everything else as 'fanboys', 'shills', 'hype', etc. and further sometimes extend it out to ad homenium attacks aka, attack the character of those that do prefer the 'other' option.
From that end of it - this is often a bunch of nonsense. "Hype" is what is done when someone raves something up before they have hand's on experience with it. If some one tries something, gives their real world experience and shares their opinion - it is their opinion. Not hype. There's no 'hype' with the CLR. It's real world proven, it's been used extensively by *many* guitarists across the globe. Like it or not, it's a successful product for what it was designed to do.
When you read the negative and the positive; always consider the source. Look at the context they add to base their opinions on. Be careful accepting sweeping generalizations - either pro or con - as gospel truth. Look at the history of the reviewer, look at their track record and what they do, how they do it and decide if the data point provided adds value or subtracts credibility from the value of that data.
There are people on this forum and other forums that are so destructive with their negative framing and consistently dogging specific products, people that own them and companies that make them so that it fully undercuts their credibility entirely. The onus is on the reader to vet that credibility though; and given that everyone doesn't have the time or inclination to do so that can be an issue. Whenever you see 'camps' for any sort of 'this vs. that'; pop up your credibility radar and take some time vetting what is really going on. When one's agenda supersedes their credibility, take their opinion with a grain of salt.
When you read 'hype' as a descriptor though, I would hope your spider-sense is tingling. Other code words that make any opinion suspect are listed in my first sentence. I gig weekly and have done so for decades. I've been a live performer playing guitar since I was 14. I know what I like and I know what I am doing for my own purposes. When I do not know something, I do the research and consult with the people that do until I can understand what I needed to know.
Specific to the CLR - the box itself is the definition of anti-hype. The performance of it in live and studio settings is the closest I've ever found to accuracy and the absence of any hyped frequencies for less than $2500 for this application. The value for a powered CLR wedge versus an unpowered Meyer (which is still the king daddy of all boxes I've used, albeit for only a few bigger festival shows where they were provided by the sound company) is not hype.
IMHO, and having owned and run (gigged/studio) and also designed/programmed and built out rigs for hundreds of others using the Axe-FX (Standard/Ultra/II) in a direct-to-FOH rig paradigm spanning genre's from folk acoustic to chant rock to classic rock to P&W to metal and all points in between is that the CLR does the job, is very versatile, dependable and consistent. It's frequency response, noise floor and SPL level are excellent.
I have personally owned many of the powered monitors (and unpowered monitors) from JBL, EV, Mackie, Alto, QSC, FBT, Tannoy, Atomic, and reviewed, used, demoed and/or gigged MANY more. I've got firsthand experience with Matrix, EAW and many more. There are great products, good products, usable products and bad products. I've run conventional guitar cabs my whole life. I've run live sound, recorded, engineered, mastered music for over 20 years. I owned and ran a mastering house for 3 years professionally. I do not make it my practice to denigrate any product that I do not recommend, I just do not enter into those conversations by choice.
IMHO, I highly recommend the Atomic CLR. I own and use two of the Neo version of them by choice because they work. I can depend on them. They are very versatile.
