What should be mandatory in every professional published review-

There is no way to "calibrate" your hearing

Yes, there absolutely is.  By triangulating the sound of components you’ve heard, other reviews of products used for comparison in the review, and the reviewer’s perception of other components you can glean some valuable relative information.  Of course it always comes down to your own ears, but by combining information from reviews along with other information you can at least get some indications of certain sonic characteristics of a component that can be helpful in a reader deciding what they might or might not want to consider or audition.  To dismiss a review because the reviewer may hear a bit differently than you or have different tastes or because you haven’t heard any of the equipment in the review is shortchanging what you can take away from a review with a little more thought and reading.  I’ve bought several pieces using reviews in this way and have never been disappointed and have found I got just what I was looking for and expected.  It’s a useful skill to have as good high-end dealers are disappearing and being able to hear equipment before buying is getting harder and harder.

Nope, there isn't. And trust me....I read and think about this stuff WAY too much. You simply won't ACTUALLY know the sound of a thing unless you give a component time in your system...If a lot of reviewers say the same thing about something you can make reasonable assumptions, but that isn't actual "calibration," it's just allowing logical influence...I bought a Pass XA-25 after countless positive reviews knowing full well it would compete with a treasured and amazing sounding tube amp I already owned, and it did...lucky me as I didn't have to send it back. I think speaker systems are likely the most risky, and I've proven that to myself too many times.

i would also like more reviews that test in typical compact amuuurican living rooms of typical americans with a mortgage, not auditorium-sized venues in manses.  

"Gear that sounds good"

That is so different amongst listeners that it would help to know what the sonic preferences of the reviewer actually are.

You simply won’t ACTUALLY know the sound of a thing unless you give a component time in your system...If a lot of reviewers say the same thing about something you can make reasonable assumptions

@wolf_garcia And that’s the whole point. I’m not saying it’ll be certain that this will necessarily coincide with your hearing, but it certainly gives you a possible indication of what you might expect to hear or want to audition. Nobody’s saying the reviewer should be the final arbiter of what you should think because that’s ALWAYS up to you and your ears, but if you read consistent impressions by reviewers you can certainly include that in your arsenal as to what you might or might not be interested in. To me, that’s as far as the benefit of reviews should go given all the variables involved, but I hope you can agree that used for the information they can potentially offer within their limits they can still be very useful.