Is anyone willing to entertain the idea

I'm more worried about "not remembering right" than I am about "hearing wrong" (Musicslug alluded to that). There are subtle or stark differences in many components and even from one album (cd or vinyl) to another. I hear differences all the time. The problem for me is really feeling totally confident about my reference point. It helps to have an intimate knowledge of selected recordings, but still ...

Like the song says: Don't worry, be happy. Enjoy the differences or curse them, the key to this game is enjoying the music, preferably with someone close.

P.S. Since this is all about what is sent to the ears and then how the brain interprets it, don't discount mood, colds, aging, even food reactions (e.g., salt leads to more water retention) -- all that can alter how you perceive the music. Throw in all the extraneous stuff like differences in power integrity and humidity and things really go nuts. Throw in things like discovery and learning (we are all on a journey) and things are really never the same over time. Differences are all tied to a reference point and that keeps changing over time even when no componenets are changed at all.

Regulate the 'High-End"? How about regulating the "Low End" first! More snake oil salespersons there than in all of our hobby combined. Cables: I don't see Roger Penske connecting his Mercedes to the driver via coat hanger, do you? So good cables are paramount, though still only fine tuning.
I hear better late at night whilst I'm alone and not distracted. Yeah, auto-suggestion is a powerful tool! Critical listening...as opposed to just 'hearing'...is to be highly valued. Many 'philes work from the wrong perspective...they have the amp. they 'like' but the speakers they 'cannot wait to unload'.
FIND the speakers that suit your room and your ears and your music, then FEED them with a SUITABLE amplifier, DELIVER the amp. a great signal via a properly matched Pre-amp. and GENERATE or RE-CREATE the information from your source: the best one you can afford.
Connect all and enjoy! Remember, we are only playing back recorder music! (Exception: live broadcasts, a rarity these days).
SO, why bother listening for 'differences'?

Nsgarch said what I was thinking.Thats really my final litmus everything else is secondary by a wide margin.JMHO.

im a firm believer that 50% of the things we hear aren't real but the other 50% is real,as for dbt tests i wouldnt trust any published test results ive ever read (for amplifiers) & ive read many,ive yet to read a published dbt where the volume levels were high enough to be able to discern any differences in amplifiers,also the testing methods in all the published dbt's that ive read are flawed & suspect in method & form.

jaybo did make a good point though,way too many manufacturers & reviewers make bold statements claiming out of this world differences in all kinds of stuff than cant possibly make a fart in the wind of diference in any system.