different people may hear the same sound differently...


This is quite interesting....

https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/b28f6090-980c-4a4c-883e14005921bd91/#:~:text=Neurons%20in%20the%20brain%27s%20hearing,Cynthia%20Graber%20reports.
 

"Neurons in the brain’s hearing center reacted differently to the same sounds in different test subjects--so different people may hear the same sound differently. Cynthia Graber reports.

Our ears are highly attuned to sounds in the world around us. It’s not just the frequency of the sound itself. There are also subtle differences and shifts in loudness and pitch. That’s what tells us, for instance, whether that baby crying belongs to us and just where it’s located. But according to a recent study, what you and I hear may not sound the same.

Scientists at the University of Oxford are trying to understand how the ears and the brain work together. They fit ferrets with auditory implants, trained them to respond to sound, and then looked at the way their neurons reacted. It turns out that each ferret’s neurons in the auditory cortex responded to changes in gradual differences in sound ­ but each ferret responded differently.

The researchers say this is applicable to humans. They say this means that our brains are wired to process sounds depending on how our ears deliver that sound. So if you suddenly heard the world through my ears, it might sound quite different. The scientists say this research could help in the quest to design better hearing aids and speech recognition systems

Neurons in the brain’s hearing center reacted differently to the same sounds in different test subjects--so different people may hear the same sound differently. Cynthia Graber reports.

Our ears are highly attuned to sounds in the world around us. It’s not just the frequency of the sound itself. There are also subtle differences and shifts in loudness and pitch. That’s what tells us, for instance, whether that baby crying belongs to us and just where it’s located. But according to a recent study, what you and I hear may not sound the same.

Scientists at the University of Oxford are trying to understand how the ears and the brain work together. They fit ferrets with auditory implants, trained them to respond to sound, and then looked at the way their neurons reacted. It turns out that each ferret’s neurons in the auditory cortex responded to changes in gradual differences in sound ­ but each ferret responded differently.

The researchers say this is applicable to humans. They say this means that our brains are wired to process sounds depending on how our ears deliver that sound. So if you suddenly heard the world through my ears, it might sound quite different. The scientists say this research could help in the quest to design better hearing aids and speech recognition systems."

—Cynthia Graber

kuribo

Poppy Crum of Dolby has done extensive and humbling research on this issue.

if some folks in this forum took her work to heart, there might be less bickering about this or that component, connect, technique, etc. Once your system reaches a certain level, there is no “better”, just different: it boils down to what YOU are hearing and what pleases YOU, not some audio cognoscenti.

Once your system reaches a certain level, there is no “better”, just different

 

I have said this here dozens of times yet there are those here who will still try to preach differently. Most often though they are those trying to sell something. Sad.

 Recently, I have had to accept my new different. It is my hearing, and so far, I can make a certain amount of adjustment. Too bad though for anyone else listening to my system. 

  But even before all of this, when a certain level of quality was reached, I still had preferences. Notably, most think that a flat response is the goal, when instead it should just be a starting point.

unreceivedogma

Once your system reaches a certain level, there is no “better”, just different: it boils down to what YOU are hearing and what pleases YOU, not some audio cognoscenti.

 

My first reaction to your post was that I agree with you.  Upon reflection though, I have a couple of issues: (1)  Who defines/knows when one has reached that level?  and (2)  If I make a change that causes a difference, I may find that difference to be an improvement.

For example, you and I may listen to what we both consider a state of the art system, to which a change is made; a cable or a fuse or whatever ...  One of us thinks it sounds better, the other thinks it's only different.  Who is right?  Both of us are.  It goes back to what you said:  "it boils down to what YOU are hearing and what pleases YOU..."

One person's lateral move is another person's improvement.