I agree. I'd even go a step further - I'm a mod on r/budgetaudiophile and we're even open to company reps as long as they're from reputable companies and are transparent.
subject matter experts
The trick in a lot of hobbies is that it's so hard to have anybody, even a professional reviewer, stay current with this stuff.
There are a lot of audio products out there. It's hard to say what's good and bad without putting each one through some objective measurements, and for some products (ie, DACs, amps, etc) this requires $50,000+ pieces of equipment and/or hours of time.
The balance between free marketing and access to community-loved brands is an absolute razor's edge to balance. Each sub does it differently and there's no correct solution. One person's astroturfing is another's excitement for an AMA with a company or retailer.
There are a lot of audio products out there. It's hard to say what's good and bad without putting each one through some objective measurements, and for some products (ie, DACs, amps, etc) this requires $50,000+ pieces of equipment and/or hours of time.