Pleasurably better, not measurably better

Happiness is also dependent on the individuals tastes and needs. 

@westcoastaudiophile 

You can't baby, you can only measure lust.  🤣

Serious answer though is that there's a tremendous amount of scientific work on human preference and perception.  As you might imagine, much of it is geared to product development.

@bhvf 

That probably goes to you and @curiousjim's posts above about garage systems and old receivers. If that's what brings them joy, so be it. They probably spend money on something I will never understand why someone would spend money on also.

Lol, my garage system is an old boombox. 😁

Agreed. Finding the particular 'sound" that you enjoy is what matters most.

That may explain why Audio Note has such a cult following. They are just drivers in a box but, from what I gather, create a rather addictive and pleasurable sound, regardless of absolute sound quality.

That is why reading magazine reviews can be so worthless, even misleading in the search for our own audio truth.

They may hear crystal clear highs and imply it is a good thing. But you have to listen to it for yourself to decide if it is a good thing to YOU.

I got a NOS DAC just out of curiosity. Sounded kind of dead. But after extended listening decided I like it much more that the Delta-Sigma stuff. The hyped sound is an exciting ride at first but later results in a "low" in the name of listening fatigue. Also found NOS had benefits i never listened for to nor realized the value of before such as better timing.