I have been running the 2WIRE 1800HG for the last two days now. Significant sync speed increase! I now get 7424 kbps (@ 6dB Noise Margin) against Netgear's 6976 kbps (also @ 6dB Noise Margin). It's running firmware version 3.7.5, but in bridged mode it will not pick up any updates (there's no update button there).
Also, the DG834 used to drop its Noise Margin as low as 2dB at night time. The 1800HG appears to be more stable, although I need to wait for some wet weather to see what it does.
As long as it is ADSL2+ compatible I'll be well pleased.