How far have ss amps really come in the last twenty years?

“I’ve come to understand from my 31 years of business experience that nasty bluster is most often a smokescreen.”

>>>>>Appeal to Authority alert 🚨

@geoffkait - I view it as more of a probabilistic inference, but I'll happily grant your point if it helps turn the dialogue in a more productive direction.

I have admitted I sometimes hear differences between amps, but, after reviewing evidence (incomplete?) I am also open to the possibility those were explainable by power/obvious artifacts or simply not objectively audible

What is 'objectively audible'??

Hearing amplifier differences to an educated ear is no different, than, to an experienced race car driver feeling a bit of difference on the accelerator pedal with a new small tweak done to the engine, which I have witnessed, living near Daytona. Or, my best friend, a guitarist, picking up 20 similar guitars by the same manufacturer, and stating one is preferable to him, by sound and feel. Or maybe, a certified wine sommelier who does tasting for a manufacturer before they decide to bottle it. I understand the doubt people have, but, does it really matter to continue the argument ? The reality is, if we all, the audiophile community, heard no differences, wouldn’t the high priced gear go bye bye, or, just 1 or 2 manufacturers would be left for all of us ? I say, let those folks, such as ahofer, be, and let us all just enjoy the realities of our hobby. It is getting tired, all of the naysayers and " trolls " ( yes, I needed to use the term ), telling us, it is in our minds, or, we are lunatics, or whatever. I have been trying to ignore these folks, but as always, sucked right back in to the arguments and discussions. Just some thoughts. Enjoy ! MrD.

Feel free to augment or quibble, but I would call an "objectively audible difference" between amplifiers as follows:  when the equipment is gain-matched to be sure the difference is not simply due to different overall volume levels, listeners can still repeatably distinguish between different pieces of equipment *only by listening*.

After reviewing what I can find online, it seems people, audiophiles and engineers very much included, have a lot of trouble with that, especially with respect to cable, differing digital resolutions,and reasonably powered amps that meet or exceed (essentially mid-fi Japanese) distortion specs. 

I see a lot of people here asserting confidently that they can easily do this, but not a lot of verifiable evidence.  That really  piques my curiousity. Although we are talking about amps here, I'm even more curious about high-res digital.  

Even if I came away fully convinced of an extreme objectivist case, I would still probably go for lower distortion, high quality amps, I would probably still by high-res digital (after all, it should  speak to the company's dedication to high audio standards) and I would still audition equipment mostly to ascertain whether the experience was likely to give me pleasure every night, as opposed to just on paper.   But I'm very curious, and I think hobbyists (but perhaps not dealers who rely on the constant tweak & upgrade cycle) would benefit from an open mind..

btw, I totally reject the idea that only self-appointed "Golden Ears" should engage in this discussion.  That seems not only snobby and unintentionally hilarious, but far too exclusive for what is, sadly,  a hobby seriously on the wane.  Don't you agree? To say otherwise seems like a formula for devolving into incestuous irrelevance.