Within the scope of subjective preferences, there are still qualities that could be universally accepted as bad. For instance, one could argue that odd order and IM distortion are bad although the significant amounts of even order distortion that tube equipment adds might be subjectively desirable. Jitter is always bad because there's no form of jitter that is musically satisfying. Huge, peaky resonances are also bad although small resonances are unavoidable and can be largely ignored.
I think the subjective aspect of Audio enters because it is impossible to acheive perfection. There's no such thing as a perfect listening room or perfect components. Different people balance the imperfect elements in ways that minimize the imperfections based on their own experiences, auditory systems and musical preferences.
Adding to the subjective nature of this persuit, recordings are made without any kind of absolute reference for the type of playback system that will be used. The recording engineer tries to balance the imperfections of his equipment, acoustics and artistic intent with what he thinks the typical system will reproduce.
I think the subjective aspect of Audio enters because it is impossible to acheive perfection. There's no such thing as a perfect listening room or perfect components. Different people balance the imperfect elements in ways that minimize the imperfections based on their own experiences, auditory systems and musical preferences.
Adding to the subjective nature of this persuit, recordings are made without any kind of absolute reference for the type of playback system that will be used. The recording engineer tries to balance the imperfections of his equipment, acoustics and artistic intent with what he thinks the typical system will reproduce.