We have a good friend that is a sommelier and the wine buyer at the place we shop. From the first time we went and said, we are looking for a wine that had a label sorta like this and tasted like that" She walks over to the shelf and says "we don't have that one, but this is almost the same" Spot on along with every other recommendation she gave.

Now, have you ever noticed how some dogs hear every minute sound and react while other dogs don't? It's because every dog hears different than the next, just like humans do. Otherwise Hearing Aids would not be a thing.

I have heard some changes and sometimes not. Some things are just different but hard to say better or worse. One has to adjust to the difference sometimes also as I learned when I bought my Fynes and had never owned concentric driver speakers. They had to break in but so did my ears and brain.

I will never spend $100 on a bottle of wine, or an interconnect, so I will never know.

I have and will spend $150 on a bottle of tequila, so go figure...

@clearthinker : (what a "relevant" username!):

He suggests that because confirmation bias is not present in wine tasting,

The result of course is rubbish. Confirmation bias exists in all fields

In fact the record shows that confirmation bias is present in wine tasting

legions of published accounts of confirmation bias

they tasted was the real thing - pure confirmation bias.

save to confirm confirmation bias is alive and well

This must have been the single post with most "confirmation bias" mentions. Which is real. But, it is real and true in your camp too, not just for people who report hearing some positive difference, have you ever thought about it? In other words, if you folks think everything sounds the same, they WILL sound the same. Even if you base your "listening tests" by reading stuff in the internet.

In the years I have been reading audio forums, I have come to believe that "confirmation bias" is simply a phrase naysayers throw in your face if you post something making a difference, anything making a difference. I.e. "this cannot possibly work, you are imagining things ---- confirmation bias!". Subjectively, the phrase / phenomenon has lost its true meaning to me. Unfortunately.

It just seems so subjective due to the human side of things. Perception is not just the sound coming to your ears but your personal experiences affecting how your brain interprets that sound. To me there is no right or wrong. I can't tell you how many times i listened to my system and loved it - came back a day later and was scratching my head on how the sound changed - came back another day later and loved it it again.  

Being an engineer I look at the science side but that is just a part of what I consider.  All choices are made to improve the sound I like. I have had people over that didn't like my setup and that is OK.

I have gone down many of the paths that are discussed here - some produced real improvements for me and some did not. I can't always explain why or why not.

The fun is the journey and everyone is on a different path.

The path I follow is -  read, learn, buy, try - then repeat the process.

Its been a wonderful journey that will never end!

OP, 

    Great post, Ive been using a similar analogy for a long time, Books and movies also very subjective...