My point being this; can you accept that even though you have great experience of a piece and that experience is corroborated by others; should you believe in the inherent sincerity of someone's contrary opinion even though they have a potentially conflicted interest in that piece?

Sitting with honesty can provide a better nights sleep.

The trouble comes when the trouble comes, 'cause sometimes a good person stumbles. That's when a person has to make a decision. I've been very blessed, in that I've been fortunate to have a lot of great life-long friends. I haven't had to make a choice like that often, and usually, on the rare time that I do, I sort of just feel like going my own way so the decision isn't that hard.

What I've seen in audio is a tendency for some manufacturers to pander to reviewers, hoping to cultivate a better image. I think this is an ugly thing, transparent in every way. But I also know a handful of people in audio that I trust, and at least one has moved towards becoming a reviewer. That one, I trust because he has shown himself to be trustworthy over the years. Bill Epstein has always been friendly, genuine and honest. The folks at AudioXpress seem like they might be pretty good too.

" Ohh you can't scare me I'm stickin' to the union;
Stickin' to the union,
Stickin' to the union,
Oh you can't scare me I'm stickin' to the union;
Stickin' to the union;
Till the day I die!"

Woodrow Wilson Guthrie
Genuine native of Oklahoma and all around good guy.

So, in answering your question. Of course I review my friends piece. I'm already prejudiced by the fact he is my friend. If the piece in question is absolute dog shit, I have no problem to tell the friend that too. It will save him money in the long run because if it's that bad than there is no money to be made anyway.
So you do your friend a favor and write a review.

Good reviews help you with sales, bad reviews help you with product development. If enough people told me that a speaker I make with a crappy part doesnt sound so good, do you think I'm going to keep building it with out making a design change just because "i" like it? being self centered isn't a good way to manage a company; so of course i make a change. If sales are good for something then you figure out how to push them out until there is no more market. then wait a few years, make cosmetic change and introduce a new product. It's already been tested as successful.

The loyalty is with your friends. If they remain your friends while you converse on common ground and not loose sight of your morals than the friendship is wholesome and working. If you don't speak on common ground and jeprodize your morals then that person is not a friend. you must move on.

why do you ask grasshopper?