This hobby is for hedonists, not scientists

I am a scientist…a retired regulatory affairs, quality assurance systems, and quality engineer.  My belief that measurements do not predict sound quality with reliability is not scientific denialism.  However, listening to reproduced music does induce pleasure with a calming effect, but not hedonistic sensual pleasure.  I think the latter term a step too far even though the biochemical mechanism of pleasure from music is the same hormone complex as hedonistic sensuality.  
 

Consider this as a scientist.  Is it possible that the reason current measurements do not reliably predict sound quality is that the state of scientific knowledge of the complex psychoacoustic, environmental factors, and psychological mechanisms of subjective musical perception/enjoyment are not fully understood, and an algorithm to measure and predict this not developed.   I believe this the case, and ‘‘tis a lofty goal that may never be achieved due to the complexity of human perception of sound quality.  

I've had NY bagels, Chicago bagels, Toronto bagels, Minneapolis bagels, SF bagels, LA bagels, Milwaukee bagels, Cincinatti bagels, well you get the picture. They all taste pretty much the same, and none of them taste like the kind you get at the grocery store (at least no brand I've ever encountered).  I assume it's the preservatives and extra cost-cutting ingredients that are used, but who knows?

Music lovers✔️

Tinkers ✔️

Disappointed or dissatisfied ✔️

H&H Bagels✔️

I am neither.  To me, the hobby is a question of “Can I get better sound?”

I was a fan in the early 1960’s when my dad bought his first true HiFi system.  I was hooked.  Through High School, College, Military service, first real job and until today, it has been an incremental series of purchases, trades and sales and over accumulation of products looking for improvement.

I think given my means, I’m there.  I’m happy with what I hear.  I wish every person on this forum satisfaction with what they hear, through their current gear.

Three of my favorite subjects!  HiFi, epistemology, and…bagels.  
I agree with @newton_john and @ddgtt in that without STEM, we’d have no HiFi.

Can faithful audio reproduction be fully proven by the commonly made measurements used by ASR, Stereophile, HFN&RR, etc? Maybe not…AND not everyone is after “faithful reproduction”.  But even as a non-scientist I believe that what we hear can be reduced to measurable phenomena. We all hear sound waves, however created. 
On Bagels, as a Bergen County NJ (NYC adjacent) product who has been in the Boston area most of my life, I will say this…any bagel with sugar in it ain’t worthy of the name!  Up here we have several purveyors of echt tori, my personal favorite being Bagel World, and we have a Montreal style bakery, Iggy’s, making something wonderful that resembles a bagel in concept, but not in execution. The supermarket kind, even Trader Joes, are contemptible.