What's the point of reviewing?

+1 @chowkwan 

Not to mention identical hearing and knowing the reviewer’s musical values are identical to yours. I see a big problem therefore you are totally stuck when it comes time to either purchase equipment due to shops closing and the difficulty of taking equipment home to audition in your space.

I hope you are not being serious with your statement but just making a general observation of how everyone’s musical journey and level of enjoyment is very unique. Find reviewers who you value their opinions and seem to be close to yours  and use that as a starting point but yes the final verdict is up to you to make in your listening space.

Different people listen differently. Back in the 80s when Physical EQs were all the rage the "average" listener almost always had the "smiley" face set up on the bands. Over doing bass and high end. Look at today's more clever EQs (aka digital filters) and presto... smiley face. Simply put, most people like what they hear when set up that way. Reviewers and more advanced listeners tend to have less bass and highs are more "ideal". Designers and Engineers tend to chase the graphs. Aiming for as flat as they can. Room correction (digital or physical) have similar objectives. Over the years, even "budget" equipment sounds great to the average listener. Mostly because they engineer it to sound over bass'ed and tweaked high ends. I like reading the reviews and reviewing the graphs just to understand where I'm starting from. Then use the 1% rule to tweak each area to eventually get what I like. I have a very flat set of headphones which I try to keep flat as a reference. I can enable to disable room correction and EQ also to compare. Reviews are just that reviews. Just because a reviewer likes something doesn't mean you will, and the biggest gap of all is how your room and set up is. That's all your listening preference. Also remember, big reviewers are paid. This is a hobby, Some of us obsess over it, other just enjoy it, jumping in and out of the rabbit hole as the mood hits us. Reviews are just a starting point. IMHO.

 ...the "average" listener almost always had the "smiley" face set up on the bands. Over doing bass and high end. Look at today's more clever EQs (aka digital filters) and presto... smiley face. That's funny and true. I made that face. Growing up in the 60's and 70's , almost every preamp and receiver had tone and balance controls. I have an old McIntosh preamp, and when listening to vinyl I use tone control adjustments to improve the experience. 

@voodoolounge 

No, the way you used it it was moot. No getting away from that.