So, do we listen in a wiggly world or do we use an objective test? Well, both... which may lead us to the enlightened state Lew mentioned.
Thom makes a valid point: having an objective standard to navigate through the wiggliness can indeed help train our ears.
My Wally Analog Shop (which measures crosstalk at 1kHz) did that. After 2 hours I got crosstalk optimized and played some music. The improvements were clear, quite as the OP described. This objective test trained my ears to listen through the wiggles.
After that, when changing cartridges I'd adjust by listening first, then confirm with the Wally. Having learned what to listen for, my by-ear settings became acceptably reliable and the Wally a waste of time; but it wasn't entirely so in the beginning.
Today, my reference cartridge produces so little crosstalk that the Wally can barely measure it. Using it would largely be a waste of time.
As Lew said, it's too late for most of us - but perhaps we can protect the newbies, if only by providing an object lesson.
Thom makes a valid point: having an objective standard to navigate through the wiggliness can indeed help train our ears.
My Wally Analog Shop (which measures crosstalk at 1kHz) did that. After 2 hours I got crosstalk optimized and played some music. The improvements were clear, quite as the OP described. This objective test trained my ears to listen through the wiggles.
After that, when changing cartridges I'd adjust by listening first, then confirm with the Wally. Having learned what to listen for, my by-ear settings became acceptably reliable and the Wally a waste of time; but it wasn't entirely so in the beginning.
Today, my reference cartridge produces so little crosstalk that the Wally can barely measure it. Using it would largely be a waste of time.
As Lew said, it's too late for most of us - but perhaps we can protect the newbies, if only by providing an object lesson.