Fair stereotype, but not always the case. Music selection tends to be age/demographic rather than budget related in my experience.

I’m one of those guys with a big expensive system. The music I use to audition gear tends to be a broad mix of modern stuff like Phantogram, Beck, Radiohead, Halsey, The Who, Massive Attack, techno DJ’s like Charlotte De Witte with a little jazz or classic mixed in for good measure.

Similarly, a reviewer I know will often lean on Kruder & Dorfmeister, Slayer, Elvis Costello, Massive Attack, Amie Mann, etc. He’s in his 60’s.

The reviewers you need to be careful about are the guys who only listen to acoustic music, unless that’s also your jam. If they think Quad ESL’s are the pinnacle of hifi, turn the page. Look for the reviewers who will wax poetic about the sound using an average recording like Led Zepplin IV or Ramones Rocket to Russia.

The thing to remember is, there’s a contingent of well known hifi reviewers who are in their 70’s. Even if they enjoy contemporary music, they don’t write about it and they’re not going to tell you how low-fi/mainstream recordings sound on the gear under review.

When I attend hifi shows, I’ll often ask to hear a track like “Atlas Air” from Massive Attack’s Heligoland if I really like a system. As long as the room isn’t packed, they’re usually cooperative especially if I’m there in an official capacity. You can immediately tell if a system is a one trick pony by playing tracks like that.

FWIW, I like Steely Dan but I don’t write about it. Aja will make nearly any system sound good.