Have you ever thought it would be cool to have a stereo reviewer come to your house?

I kind of had that happen once. I bought a vpi record cleaner from a local audiophile. Before he came over I asked him about his system.

He got back to me with photos of his 3 systems. Blew my mind. I tried pricing them out and came to around 400-600 thousand dollars. It was insane.

So nervously I sat him in front of my meager (then) system and asked if he'd point out any areas I might need improvement. He was listening to Dali Helicon 400 speakers, M&K sub, Parasound integrated, and a Sony xa-7es CD player.

He leaned forward at one point (maybe to read the speaker label?) and asked, "What are these speakers again?" Afterwards he only had positive comments. I wonder if he was thinking, "Damn I could have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars?)  So I upgraded to Dali's (then) top of the line speakers. Now I'm a happy camper.

I suggested this to TAS a few years back. About reviewing a subscribers stereo system. May be help with positive suggestions. Speaker placement etcetera. Even approach the manufactures for possible up grades to the equipment you own. At a fraction of the cost. They would get a review in the magazine of what ever they gave you and how it made a difference in your system. They did respond to me and said they had thought about it before just never went through with it.

Fun question- I have had a current Stereophile writer in my home. He wasn’t critiquing my system but rather he assisted in tweeking a few things and we listened to music and had some lunch. It was tons of fun!! 

The gentleman who set up my turntable is a real expert and writes a monthly article for Stereophile. He's also a truly nice fellow. Ge's been in the industry a long time and it was fascinating to discuss some of his experiences and insights.

By the way, it seems that Stereophile just sold. That will be interesting.

In light of @zavato ​​​​@kerrybh comments, perhaps many of us are making assumptions particularly that our systems will be criticized/judged, but other scenarios can occur.

The person, reviewer by trade, can offer low cost sonic improvements suggestions, or tell stories, or just be a good guy.  Just like audiophiles can differ, I guess reviewers can as well.