Where's the OP gone? What should every poster here, if they were professional, do? There's a myriad of preferences and likes/dislikes, just as in any marketplace, but @mikelavigne summed it up very nicely. You choose to read what you are looking for, since we don't have journalist and publications police... thankfully. Maybe another source can take on the role of industry critic's critic... mind you the marketplace here and elsewhere seems to do this very well already.
What should be mandatory in every professional published review-
When testing a company's newest amp, preamp, etc, and it is a refinement of a prior product that was on the market, ie, a Mark II, an SE version, a .2 etc, it should be mandatory that the review includes a direct comparison with the immediate predecessor. IMHO, it's not enough to know ion the product is good; it's also important to know if there is a meaningful difference with the immediate predecessor.
I'm fan of Pass Labs, and I just looked at a review of an XP22 preamp. I find it very disturbing that there was no direct comparison between the XP22 and the XP20. And this lack of direct comparison is ubiquitous in hi-end published reviews, across all brands of gear tested. I don't blame the gear manufacturers, but rather the publications as I view this as an abdication of journalistic integrity.
Opinions welcome-