Regarding amps, I began buying them based on measured distortion profile rather than focusing on their topology. I.e., the amp’s primary distortion harmonic that would be most audible. I began noticing a pattern that my favorite amps have either second or third harmonic as their highest distortion component, with higher orders being below the amp’s noise floor. Solid state amps of this nature provide the most tube-like dimensionality without the typical drawbacks of tubes.
That’s how I landed on my current integrated amps, one of them being class D. If you’d asked me a year ago, I probably would’ve told you I’d never again purchase a class D amp.
Regarding reviewers, they make their money off of raves and rhapsodies. No one wants a product that is merely “ok for the money.” They know this, and that’s why they tend to gloss over or entirely omit any negative criticism. There are other reasons why I believe most reviews are untrustworthy but that’s too long a diatribe for a Sunday morning. Suffice to say that if you think about the reviewing industry critically, there is really only one conclusion to make.
Perhaps the best thing I have done in my audiophile journey was to cease reading the online pubs and watching the YT reviews. These days if I can’t somehow experience it for myself through the secondhand market or an audition, it’s not worth my attention. I only look at reviews if they include the aforementioned distortion measurements.