I dont trust measurements either as i have no idea how they're achieved, did the reviewer do it in their living room, garage or on the kitchen table? do they have a good mic? is it placed in exactly the right position each time and angled just so? Is the environment noise free? if none of that is spot on, and it won't be if its torn down and put back in place for every review, then its not worth scratch it written on.
Unless tested in a dedicated space with all the correct items in place and never moved then I would trust an opinionated review way more TBH and generally they're right.
I see your point, but disagree.
Some thoughts:
- Measurements aren't particularly difficult to perform - I can get set up in about 5 minutes.
- Getting the mic in position etc - no problem. Couple of laser pointers mounted to the walls would mean it's aligned every time. If not, a tape measure would also work.
- I'd suggest that manufacturer recommendations WRT positioning ought to be followed. If there are obvious issues in the response, the obvious steps (closer/further from walls, toe-in/out) ought to be taken to try to remedy that. I'd suggest that could be done in another 15 minutes or so.
- A decent measurement mic is way cheaper than a pair of "high-end" interconnects. I use a Beyer MM1, although sometimes I'd like something that'll handle higher SPLs.
- Background noise ought to be minimal for a subjective review, but it's possible to eliminate the effects by taking multiple measurements and looking for correlated data (software does that automatically).
A microphone does not care about the time of day, whether the evening's meal was any good, how much sleep it got, etc etc etc. Given that, I'm more inclined to take those results seriously.
Some people do seem to treat the reviews as gospel, but I like your idea of treating them just as entertainment.
Cheers,
Chris