Internet reviews are a really good way to identify some of the best, most consistently good-value products in almost any hobby or field. If you look at this sub, you would think there are only a dozen brands in the entire hardware industry (I even made a meme about it).
There is so much great gear out there that you will never find reading reviews and forums. Not that there’s anything wrong with LS50’s and Schiit and Topping and SVS and Monoprice. But I think we would all do ourselves a favor to try to listen to a wide array of equipment, especially used equipment, which is often fantastic and worth 10x its cost in sound quality.
Reviewers celebrate everything like it’s a miracle.
And all of these guys review a wide range of stuff. The difference is the companies they partner with send free speakers to them. It’s marketing 101.
Examples of highly reviewed esoteric brands: Volti, Pure Audio project, Fleetwood, Gershwin, early Buchardt, kits like CSS, and the list goes on. It isn’t always KEF, BW, and Sonus Faber. I actually appreciate the YT guys more since they cover more affordable gear than the likes of Absolute sound and Stereophile.
It’s always gonna be a good review though. Know that going in.