Interesting thread. Many, including myself, believe that blind testing and A/B testing in general is flawed and not a reliable means to test for differences, identification or preferences between gear. The reasons are many and posted on many other forums including ASR.
I feel one must live with a “change” in gear for a period of days and over this time will come to better understand how the sound/music has changed. Yes, I trust we humans can decide this for ourselves with time.
Removing a sense, sight, does not necessarily make for a more accurate or statistically significant result. I think these short A/B comparisons place additional stress on the ear/brain processing and completely blocks the potential for a useful outcome. My system NEVER sounds very good when I am under stress or anxiety. Never. I have found changing a cable for evaluation during these times is not wise.
I am confident many greatly over emphasize the role of expectation bias and have fallen for the perceived benefit of blind testing. Much better to listen over days in your home with your eyes open and shut.
So many variables with blind and sighted A/B testing. Many we certainly don’t even understand in 2022. Give yourself time with the change and you can trust your senses in the end. Give yourself time to know how you engage with the music. How are your reacting to the change mentally, emotionally and even physically? More enjoyable? Less enjoyable? Listening longer or shorter periods of time? More or less relaxed and “into” the music?