@charles1dad ,
"out of phase"was a spot on analogy about fuse direction. Lots of things can sound right when out of phase and yet something is amiss with other parameters. They are different, for sure, and I must stress that for me, the differences are of an amount significant enough to point to the better of the two choices.
There is some theory that I can't remember concerning distortion and other anomalies in hearing thresholds that was a cornerstone of sorts until some people were tested and found to have hearing acuity 10x greater than the limits originally thought. That was some 5-10 years ago.
Our ears are some fairly sophisticated devices that are, at present, unmeasurable with current testing devices when it comes to detecting false signals, cues and the like. Science has to take a long and serious look to see those differences with technology unavailable to the general population.
All the best,
Nonoise