What reviews do you trust if any?

I never listened to the equipment before I purchased, and have never been disappointed with the results.

Abucktwoeighty, to never have been disappointed, your experience is not typical, and you have been a very fortunate and lucky audiophile.

Crwindy, I read plenty of reviews, but have learned that while the reviewer may or may not be capable and honest, the gear he used is so different from mine and the other variables so many, that I can't really trust his performance results.

Douglas shroeder of Dagogo.com. I bought a used pair of King sound speakers from him from his review online . Then months later i bought the Eastern Electric minimax plus dac he uses and reviewed on Dagogo . So far two for two . maybe some day i will try the Wells amp he just reviewed and bought .I did drive six hours from the reviews i read then got to hear before buying though .

With all the reviews and reviewers out there saying positive things about the latest 'gee whiz' audio item, do you find any of them to be reliable?

No.

How many grains of salt do you need to take with the reviews?

A ton of grains of salt.

+1 to what Abucktwoeighty said. Between this forum and Audio Asylum, I get all the information I need to take a risk and try something out. Though I have been disappointed, I still have a much better batting average with these forums than with professional reviews. After a while, you do learn what members have similar tastes to your own.

I tend to trust people until I know them better. The same goes for reviewers. What's written doesn't necessarily translate to what's heard, but it's fun to read up and get to know someones tastes and finalize the reality of what's heard to what's written. Then I can get to trust.

I do my best to stay away from salt.

All the best,
Nonoise

Audio reviewers are entertainers, not reporters, and in many cases are loaded down with conflicts of interest that would even embarrass a politican (I once read a review where the reviewer started by raving about the magnificently expensive steak dinner the manufacturer's rep had bought him when dropping off the equipment). So I don't trust them at all, but I do read and enjoy them. And I do believe you can learn important things about objective issues (like price, specs and features) from reviews. But I have never made a purchase based on a reviewer's opinion of sound or performance, and never will.