I only state my position, if others take offence I suspect that is a function of them disagreeing with me not because I have outright said something that is inherently offensive.
The reason why it matters to me at all is very simple.
Are there potentially subtle nuances, sure, but are swathes of people going to genuinely hear those things like conversations on Head Fi seem to indicate they do ? I would say no, that is unlikely, and there is another explanation why people report such apparent nuances which I find more plausible.
I believe that a lot of often discussed differences in sound are PERCEIVED as a result of bias and other psychological factors not actually HEARD.
It seems extremely unlikely that Head Fi happens to be home to vast numbers of people that all genuinely hear subtle nuance difference in sound (or even dramatic differences in some cases) between very similar electronic components when psychology has an explanation why they may PERCEIVE differences that actually don't exist or are at a level to be inaudible.
Assuming that to be the case, which is what I believe is more accurate than not, I think it is disingenuous to essentially bury ones head in the sand in terms of the impact of psychology on audio perception but then go about telling people what differences technically exist when those differences may very well not even be real.
If folks want to ignore psychology in their own listening experiences have at it but I don't believe it is appropriate to be blind to it then pass on listening impressions as definitive fact and a report on a technical matter, especially if one puts themselves in a position as some apparent self appointed authority as many folks here do.
For reference, I hear all the same sort of differences as others describe in sighted listening. When I do simple volume matched A/B versions of the same comparisons the changes disappear. Either the controlled listening environment removes bias and I am then only hearing what actually exists or I need to see what I am listening to in order to actually hear it properly. The latter seems like a nonsense argument to me when talking about an inanimate box of electronics, especially when they are both sitting on the desk I just don't know which one I am listening with.
That is my reality, you likely have a different one and that is fine, we are never going to change each others minds.
You asked a question, I have replied, nobody else cares, I don't want to waste more space here.
Cheers.
