Are reviewers biased towards equipment they own?

When it comes to anybody else's opinion things must be put in perspective. Even something that one person doesn't care for or that didn't work out in a certain system doesn't mean it can't be the same piece that sounds great in your system. Reviews are merely rough guides.

I take every review that I read with a heavy dose of salt. IMO reviews should be read to look at the specs not provided by the manufacturer, if any are provided. I don't and never would buy something off someone else's opinion. My ears make the decision for me. What someone else thinks about the equipment I own is irrelevant to me. Why people get upset at other people bashing the equipment they own, I’ll never know.

Would it make any sense for a reviewer or common Audiophile for that matter to not be biased toward equipment that they own? One needs a point of reference hopefully our Hifi gear reflects the quality of music that we like to hear. I don't buy equipment that I do not favor for its sound reproduction performance, its build quality, and its value. That said, I enjoy reading reviews for the sake of their entertainment value and to sometimes glean some valuable knowledge or a point of view. It also helps to refer to reviewers that have similar reference gear preferences and tastes in music, amongst other things.
I most enjoy reading Stereophile's Art Dudley. He still uses a Linn Sondek LP12 and favors the tube amp sound, with any of its possible short comings. I like his writing style and the fact that as cool as the equipment can be and it can be cool, I believe he shows that he loves the music more. His publication "The Listener" back before writing for someone else was fun to read and most helpful and he's never taken himself too seriously.
I would agree that buying equipment based on a single review without knowing what the reference equipment was or without understanding the reviewers preferences would not be a very good idea at all. This brings up a phenomena on A’gon that I find never ceases to amaze me, how a vast amount of threads offer “help” without quantifying or qualifying a recommendation… all someone who’s begging an answer needs to do is go out and Buy a $1000.00 “X” power cable and all will be blissful sound emanating from their rig because it worked on my “Y” system and hell, it’s the best because somebody else with a “Z” system said it was! I’m sure most all the folks here on A’gon have the best of intensions in mind, and most of us would be happy to show how smart we all are, not to mention that most of us anyway, have golden ears, but it just leaves a mind to reel! :^)
Tvad, you make an excellent point to grab a little caution when taking anyone’s review too seriously. Happy Listening!

I think this has to be true, otherwise he wouldn't have bought the piece in the first place. Disregardoing the notion of reviews based on advertising $$$ for a moment, I think this is why you have to understand the reviewer's preferences and experiences. I remember one review of a CD player that had been criticized by some Agoners as having bass lim,itations. The reviewer thought it had great bass, but then the reviewer admitted he had very little experience with full range speakers, CD players, and had just plugged in a subwoofer for this review. It's no wonder he was impressed with its bass capability. That's not to say he was dishonest, especially since he was very forthcoming with his experience, but it does put his comments in perspective. I wpould like to see more reviews that put the equipment under review in context to other equipment BY NAME, and to the reviewers experience level. I'm sick of reading revfiewers say something is so much better than other equipment that falls short in so many ways, but don't say what that equipment is.