Telling musicians to evaluate and choose their instruments in a “scientific” way?

I don’t believe it will ever happen.  I don’t believe there will ever be a time when measurements will ENTIRELY explain why audio equipment sounds the way that it does.  

Sound, and especially musical sounds, are incredibly complex and are subject to the effects of resonances to a degree usually under estimated; and an object’s resonance characteristics are changed by the tiniest changes in the physical dimensions, shape and make up of the object.  Case in point:

One of the most coveted pieces of equipment in the professional woodwind world is one of the great vintage mouthpieces (holds the reed).  It has been tried countless times, and one would think that with all of the very sophisticated modern analysis, measuring tools and techniques that are available to modern manufactures that a great mouthpiece could be created that closely, if not entirely, duplicates the playing characteristics and sound of these vintage pieces.  Hasn’t happened yet.  Of course the same can be said as concerns the instruments themselves.  There is great modern gear available to be sure, but for players seeking a certain sound and playability characteristics, the vintage route is often the only way.

I will leave to others the possible reasons why and how the effects of resonance impact musical sound when it is being transmitted in the electrical domain as is the case with audio equipment.  However, it is clear to me that it does based on the effects of the many related tweaks that we play around with as audiophiles.  So, it all leads me to the conclusion that there is much more going on in this area in ways that are not as obvious nor accessible. 

clearthinker, because it is the human central nervous system that defines sound quality I think that would be forever.

I still get the shakes when I recall musical instruments I played at stores that were oh-so-wonderful but just a little north of my wallet's comfort zone. Science be damned.

Perfectly stated tommylion.  I'm one of those loons that like to listen with my ears. 

+1 OP
It’s been empirically demonstrated countless times but deaf ears and closed minds cannot comprehend that basic statistics and common sense say otherwise. People are increasingly scrupulous about performance the more $ they invest, it’s not an automatic placebo. When they claim what we hear is stepping over the common sense line.  I highly suspect either their systems are not transparent enough, their hearing is not as acute, or their conclusions are colored by their expectations.

But, as always they’ll never go away. Best to ignore and focus on good things like music.