I can see a hydro setup going south causing problems, but just saying they're more stress prone isn't true. If the guy doing hydro is paying attention his plants are going to suffer minimal stresses, less than dirt growers in fact as transplanting without stress is a lot easier in most hydro setups.
I also fail to see the mechanism where a plant in a pot too small would herm but a plant in a larger pot would not.
I can see things going south in Hydro, but I think you gotta give those hydro guys the benefit of the doubt as far as their skills go until proven otherwise.
I ain't hating on TGA. I have some Vortex that are going in the dirt in the not too distant future. But I expect to have to hunt a bit for 'the one'.