Learning to Listen: Neurological Evidence

There is an expression used by orchestral musicians that says: “Nobody ever gets fired for having a bad sound”.  Somewhat an exaggeration of sorts to be sure, but with an important underlying message. This is, of course, assuming that the tone is question is not grotesque; highly unlikely in the professional world. That message has been touched upon in some of the posts here; specifically and most accurately by the OP. The message is that for musicians the most important considerations when judging excellence (or lack of) in a performance are rhythmic accuracy (timing) and pitch (intonation). Without those, good ensemble cohesion is impossible. When that cohesion is absent the musical message is lost. Beautiful tone, as great as that is, cannot make up for those deficiencies.

What???
Don't dis the squeeze box
Flaco Jiménez ... need I say more

This video is an incredible wealth of information. Thanks to @millercarbon for sharing it. I now have a newfound appreciation for dithering in the digital recording process! Apart from that, the revelations of how we listen have been fascinating. But quite honestly, I will have to watch this a few more times before I feel I've properly digested the vast amount of information presented. 

I can only offer a perspective, but my observations suggests that the greatest portion of professional musicians I know do not tend to research and purchase the best audio components they can afford. Only a select few seem to possess an appreciation for the value of high quality systems. By contrast, the selectivity with which they procure their instruments and then have them customized for their individual tastes tends to far outweigh the attention given to their playback systems. I'm not sure what to infer from this since, as a rule, serious musicians tend to be highly analytical of sound. Perhaps the way in which that analysis is taking place is the difference. Or maybe their sensibilities are just different from the average audiophile. I know I'm flirting with broad generalizations here, so I'll emphasize that this is just an observation that does not presume to offer an explanation of cause. 

The message is that for musicians the most important considerations when judging excellence (or lack of) in a performance are rhythmic accuracy (timing) and pitch (intonation). Without those, good ensemble cohesion is impossible. When that cohesion is absent the musical message is lost.

A nice reinforcement that studying, learning and practice by a musician can improve listening.

The question becomes, how does an audiophile who is not a musician, or who has no musical training, study, learn and practice his/her listening skills other than the ideas offered in this thread?