the assessments are split right down the middle 50-50
Simple explanation: Half can hear and half can't.
More likely explanation: Any particular component may have some particular merit in a particular system. However, the remainder of the system may exacerbate or ameliorate its flaws.
People do not have identical hearing. Any sonic claim for any component is mostly hogwash and applies to only a miniscule subset of the population with similar systems.
Unfortunately only a tiny subset of audiophiles frequently attend live acoustic performances in good spaces and therefore base their assessments on their fantasies.