@edcyn
I would suggest that art is sublimely precise in it's ability to communicate emotion, trigger memory, and influence thought. Science, on the other hand, is clunky in comparison with its manufactured measuring tools, limited precision, and dependence on established thought.
I tend to agree with the OP. Let your own feelings and emotions guide you in evaluating reproduced sound. The physical excitement and emotional response to music can only exist in your imagination – how your brain processes the information.
On the other hand, intellectual involvement in choosing audio equipment is necessary to make cost/value comparisons. We all have budget parameters, and must choose equipment we can afford. We also need to be able to choose equipment that satisfies our own peculiar aesthetics. How equipment looks and blends into our environment is important.
There are no hard and fast rules for achieving audio satisfaction. I can be moved and thrilled when I hear something on a cheap radio just as easily as when I hear something on my expensive home hi-fi. The message, for me at least, is in the music – not the equipment.
In other words, a bottle of Boone's Farm apple wine can trigger memories and emotions just as easily as a bottle of Château Le Pin.