I disagree with the premise that two people hear the SAME thing. With anything. Put a musician playing live in a room and then ask people to listen to a recording of that session to name the system that accurately reproduces what they've heard live and no two people will agree IMO.
That's why I believe there are so many variants of amps, preamps, TT's, CDP's, speakers, cables, etc. Those who voice them will not necessarily hear what your ears hear. But I do agree that we can tell differences between components - but not to an equal degree.
Of course, the difference between components can be obvious or subtle to some, but as to whether which one is actually more "accurate" or "musical" is in the ear of the beholder. We all have different physiology, tastes, emotions, hang-ups, etc., which is probably why we can't agree. What's the best color for a car?
That's why I believe there are so many variants of amps, preamps, TT's, CDP's, speakers, cables, etc. Those who voice them will not necessarily hear what your ears hear. But I do agree that we can tell differences between components - but not to an equal degree.
Of course, the difference between components can be obvious or subtle to some, but as to whether which one is actually more "accurate" or "musical" is in the ear of the beholder. We all have different physiology, tastes, emotions, hang-ups, etc., which is probably why we can't agree. What's the best color for a car?