Which reviewers and review sites are the ost reliable?


Everybody has an opinion and some "professional" reviewers/websites tend to praise or criticize everything, while some appear beholden to advertisers or underwriters. Who can be counted on for expert, conflict-free evaluations?
pmboyd
Another vote for A.H. Cordesman. Don’t seem to hear much from him anymore however. 
@kijanki

“The problem is that everything is always positive. You can find how they classify them (A,B,C,D) in Recommended Components issue but in reviews you have to read between lines. For example "It is not perfect, but what is" statement means "It is pretty bad". They do this to keep money from advertising coming and for the same reason they don’t review some brands.”


Just about sums up every review and every reviewer that I’ve ever read.

You definitely should read between the lines.
The better ones will always give you more clues regarding performance limitations if you are prepared to read carefully.



I enjoy reading (and viewing on his YouTube channel) Steve Guttenberg « The Audiophiliac »

He knows about the expensive stuff yet he reviews tons of more affordable (sometimes dirt cheap) gear and finds the positives in them.

Steve is pretty cool and doesn’t take himself too seriously, unlike some  snobby reviewers out there.

https://youtu.be/aGmOK3T3c5w
https://youtu.be/bLh7E4PfwBc