Lots of obsessing about receiver performance going on, not much talk about transmit performance. If folks were to obsess about that like they do about receive, then everyone would be running one of the ANANs with their PureSignal adaptive predistortion enabled.
BUT the most important aspect is also being ignored:
do you like to operate the rig? Go to a store, or find hams who have the rigs you're considering, and try them out. Do you like the panel layout? How about the bandscope design, if any? (I'm sure the new Yaesu rigs are excellent but that 3-D waterfall would drive me nuts

) How easy is it to navigate the menus? Having the world's best dynamic range is little comfort if you curse about the stupid menu design every time you have to adjust a filter.
Hope everyone finds a rig they like.
73
Dave, VE3WI