What reviews do you trust if any?

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.

None to the point where I would buy the gear just because the reviewer liked it, especially when I see how many reviewers are playing the test piece in a system with inappropriate to suboptimal partnering equipment. Things I like are;
1. reading about new gear,
2. the old HiFi+ especially for the pictures,
3. JA's measurements of new gear,
4. reviews that go into detail about the piece itself, such as how it is constructed, parts used, and design information, all without undue hype,
5. the many pictures included with 6-Moons reviews, especially those of the insides of the gear.

I also agree there are folks here on Audiogon that seem to have more experience and better instincts than many reviewers. At least Audiogon members mostly try and post about gear that is a good match for their listening preferences and that plays well with their other equipment.

I ony trust reviewers who make reference to well accepted equipment that is already in the market. In that way, if I also have experience with the same equipment, I will often find out if they and I have been hearing the same things, have the same tastes, either good or bad.

Otherwise, IMO, the subjective part of the review is nearly useless.

3. JA's measurements of new gear,
4. reviews that go into detail about the piece itself, such as how it is constructed, parts used, and design information, all without undue hype,
5. the many pictures included with 6-Moons reviews, especially those of the insides of the gear.
Mitch2

Those are on my list also, especially love the pics on 6Moons. Another important piece of information is how the unit operated. For example, was the amp noisy, or did it have a finicky volume control.
I have made purchases based on reviews or get a high rating in Stereopile's recommended listing and been sorely disappointed. Have also been happy with gear purchased that way.

There will always be the 'one man's poison is another man's candy' element to subjective evaluation. The key is to hone in on the formal aspects of any review and decide if such features and benefits resonate with what you want to know about a given component. And, as I have said too many times in the past to remember the count, a component sounds the way it sounds in the context of a system, not in isolation. So the system must also and always be part of the 'poison' or 'candy' part of the perspective. I tend to focus on those aspects of a review that describe what it is like to actually listen to music in that context. Without that from an exampe point of view, it is almost impossible to understand what, 'sounds great' or 'superb slam' really mean.