"I Trust My Ears"

@devinplombier  >> 

None of this has to do with measurements and I’m not sure why they’re being brought into the conversation . . . . 

Instead it has everything to do with whether and how much we can / should trust our brains to accurately and reliably perform nonsimultaneous A/B comparisons when it is notoriously inaccurate and suggestible in that respect. <<

The connection between those two thoughts is that measurement systems are repeatable and precise and often accurate and are not suggestible. Therefore, they can help us overcome the issues with relying on the brain/ear system entirely. (I think you already know and appreciate that position.)

I would hope that even those who talk about "training" the ears would agree that an objective foundation is needed for such training. Otherwise, the whole situation becomes quite murky, as one can be "trained" to prefer highly colored sound. In a sense, we all get trained to prefer our current systems, as has been pointed out many times.

Training his hearing begins by studying basic acoustics concepts and the way to modifiy them in our room...

Listening 100 different speakers and 100 different dac and 100 different amp and pre-amp has nothing to do with training his hearings..

 This is what sellers and reviewers do to sell you a new necessary "upgrade",...

Half the time useless...

Training his hearing has nothing to do with the gear price, branded name etc 

I would hope that even those who talk about "training" the ears would agree that an objective foundation is needed for such training. Otherwise, the whole situation becomes quite murky, as one can be "trained" to prefer highly colored sound. In a sense, we all get trained to prefer our current systems, as has been pointed out many times.

Don't trust your ears unless you have something to reference your memory to. Audiophiles listen to expensive speakers and systems that often add extra flavor and that sounds better to us, usually because the system is expensive and impressive. The proper sound is in the mixing and mastering studio unless you have done that you have no reference to judge what the proper sound is. No one can say this or that is better or worse unless you have been in the studio listening to the final mix. 

[...] even those who talk about "training" the ears would agree that an objective foundation is needed for such training. Otherwise, the whole situation becomes quite murky, as one can be "trained" to prefer highly colored sound.

@mike_in_nc 

Therein lies the rub, I think. Colored sound is completely fine when it delights the listener; if eliminating coloration were the goal, no one would listen to tube gear, and I doubt we'd be better off for it.

When it comes to measurements vs subjective listening, I don't believe one excludes the other; both are necessary, in the right balance.

Without measurements, no gear could ever be designed or even repaired. I'm all for measurements, with the caveat that taken too far they can lead to a one-dimensional cultlike nonsense.

Just my 2 cents obviously :)

Training his hearing has nothing to do with the gear price, branded name etc 

@mahgister 

I completely agree, brand name and price should not be part of the decision-making process.

Maybe easier said than done, but this is an area in which we can train ourselves, if we so choose, to block / ignore those and other distractions.