Steve G has a point

I am a Cognitive Psychologist and spent most of my professional career doing experiments to understand how people perceive and respond to products. The aim was to provide designers and engineers tangible feedback regarding what physical product features most influence perception. I always collected perceptual data using valid psychometric tools as well as physical product metrics provided by engineers. A common finding was that psychometric measurements of visual, auditory, or tactile perception correlated with some, but not all physical metrics. The question, therefore, is not whether subjective or objective measurements are the most valid, but which correlate most highly with one another. You need both. Most important, though, is that you need to know which physical metrics correlate most highly with perception. Don't waste time with physical metrics that don't correlate with perception.

Another interesting finding was that the opinions of designers and engineers often did not align with the perceptions and behavior of the intended users of the product. In healthcare, the FDA requires that medical devices be tested with intended users before it can be certified for sale and use on patients.

I read that too and thought he made some great points. The one I liked best was about a speaker review. He simply said every piece of equipment that the original music  goes through affects the final result. From the stylus, the cartridge, wires, phono amp, preamp, amps, interconnects to power cords and speakers. Change any one component and it’s “different “.  Not to mention room acoustics. The music or signal is the only consistent thing, the processing is the challenge and a moving target. And then there those including my self that suffer from listening to music at way to much volume in our youth that has compromised our hearing. 

I saw the video and it was interesting.  That’s one of the reasons I get more from reviewers that share both measurements and listening impressions.  Erin’s Audio Corner and James at Audioholics are 2 good examples.  I agree with his comments about finding someone that has similar tastes or ways of looking at components to use as a reliable resource.  

When opined upon, the objective becomes the subjective. 

The difference, potentially, is in the relative probabilities of those responses for each of the two situations.