Over a decade ago it was not uncommon for editors to send true (dif) balanced components to reviewers whose systems were not. And in their write ups/reviews they would say they could hear no difference, proving both editors and reviewers weren't that bright. I would call them out on it to no avail. After way too many of such examples of stupidity I gave up
Some famous reviewers have atrocious listening rooms!
It’s almost sad, really. Some reviewers I’ve been reading for decades, when showing their rigs on YouTube, have absolutely horrible rooms. Weird shaped; too small w/o acoustic treatment; crap all over the place within the room or around the speakers; and on and on.
Had I known about the listening rooms they use to review gear in the past, I would not have placed such a value on what they were writing. I think reviewers should not just list the equipment they used in a given review, but be required to show their listening rooms, as well.
Turns out my listening room isn’t so bad, after all.