I have a very hard time trusting anyone that
only recommends something out of an indicated price range.
I see this as:
"Get my phones, they're the best! We'll be chummeeeh-chummeeeh!"
Great way for the uneducated to fool the uneducated...
I also hate the famous
"Welcome to Head-Fi, sorry for your wallet!" thing when it comes from the same people. I can't help but say to myself: "I hope your sorry for his wallet, you helped a 13 years old spend 100$ more than he could afford to spend..."
I also tend to dislike when someone comes into a recommendation thread, say a line or two about a phone, à la:
"Don't get DT770 pro, they suck. You only get one note of flabby bass. Get some AD900 instead.", then vanish for ever
.
I'm amazed by how these people are helping "their" community...
Other than that, I'd say I tend to trust people that offer comprehensive reviews of their gear, or support the gear they like the most. What may be seen as blatant fanboyism is always fueled by something positive: best bang for the buck, favorite headphone. These people are the ones who orient most of my decisions. Or something negative: I'm a total newbie, and I recommend the headphone because everyone say it's the best, and I can't bring my own arguments to support the headphone). I also tend to dislike over-enthusiastic brand fanboys. "AKG, AT, Grado FTW!" The same can be said from BOSE bashers. Most of these people never had a single Bose product, yet they say it's bad.
On a more positive note, SKYLAB's review of Qinpu products really helped me picking up my first desktop amp. KRAMER mostly oriented me to KSC75 and pa2v2.
In the end, the "members who know what they are talking about" are the people that helped me the most.
I don't really care how active the member is in the forums. I like people with opinions, who aren't afraid to take a few minutes of their time to share them.
See? I know what I'm talking about...