It’s worth reviewing @Resolve 's 10 stages of the love-hate relationship with the Harman curve. Some of the points are equally relevant to this discussion. Not only is the individual’s head, ear, and psycho-acoustic apparatus unique, nobody really knows what the other person’s perception is.
Further, as you point out about clinical listening, I found for years in professional publishing that experience creates changes. Once you see or hear something, you won’t unsee it, as I pointed out in a discussion back in 2019 What are you upgrading? - #178 by pennstac
And the herd mentality is not merely flavor of the month, it’s a key sales technique. It’s taught explicitly in quite a few sales books.
Good luck with your work on doing your own reviews. Make them really your own and you won’t go wrong. Trust, but verify, your own perceptions.