Second opinions — how have others (including non-audiophiles) helped you?

I've found that some people inherently have good listening skills for discerning differences. For people around me, I've found that my mother has a particularly sensitive ear. I think my son does as well.

Despite not having listened to a whole of high-end audio, my mom can hear something and describe what she's hearing exactly as what's in my mind. I think people that have those skills for discerning differences, especially if they are not audiophiles that get all caught up in what the equipment "should" sound like are very helpful for overcoming the confirmation bias of thinking something might sound better or even different when it does not.

My wife is not into audio equipment at all, but by observing her responses to what's playing, I can learn a lot about the sound quality of the equipment that I'm testing in my system. She seems pretty attune to harshness. If she says 'your music is too loud', I will see if my actual volume is loud or not. If my music is on at a low volume level, I can tell that a digital component has some level of harshness (perhaps due to jitter or analog noise coming into the system). Also, if she starts singing to music that she likes, I can tell that equipment is doing in terms of being able to "follow the tune".

FWIW, I've been putting together a digital front end and my choices seem to all be trending in the right direction on this 'spousal acceptance test'.

WiFi > Ethernet (WiFi turned off)
Ethernet cable
USB cable
Addition of an Audioquest Jitterbug noise filter to the USB output
DACs: Denafrips Ares II > Chord Qutest > Chord Qutest running off of a battery > Denafrips Pontus II

@calvinandhobbes That's great that you have two close family members able to help. Are they particularly good with words? I find the vocabulary to be very vague but sometimes people not using that jargon use metaphors or describe what they're hearing with whatever they can come up with. 

Unfortunately, my mom lives several states away. My son is across the hall in our house though. He's pretty good with words...at least good enough that I can understand whether what he is hearing fits or doesn't fit with what I'm hearing.

+1 steakster for:
"He believed that clean power, quality cabling and vibration control were fundamental building blocks."

I couldn't agree more. That & room treatments (which you also mentioned) can turn a good system into a great one.

IRT the topic:
I love music & usually have the luxury to listen a few hours a day. It's important to me. IMO there is a perfection trait audiophiles have. Most of my friends are non audiophiles & are complimentary of the music system, but more than one has stated that I listen to music differently than they do. My wife is also a non audiophile. She once asked me when I was in one of my tweak modes (this time it was machining feet out of different materials & configurations); Doesn't it sound good enough? That made me laugh... but for her (& most people) that's true. 

I love this hobby    

"Very deep observation indeed...

We cannot perceive adequately a phenomenon for which we have no concept whatsoever...And further we cannot improve our perception of this phenomenon if we cannot even name it..."

Agreed, more or less. Brain architecture, if it's not there there is blackness, void, nothingness, non-experience. Perception needs the processor, and language takes us into the conceptual realm. But there is also the immediate, gut level perception that needs no language. Language often gets in the way of and can distort the visceral, animal level, immediate experience of things.