I think Music is somethings which will be extrapolated from the (physical) source (which is elaborated by brain).
Its somethings way abstract, placed at higher level.
If I read a book with sunlight or under artificial light, the story doesn't change, as well the melody/harmony playing an mp3 with my earbuds or a flac with a 10k system.
Probably will change my mental "illusion": read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer with sun rather than neon light of course will bring to me optimism, living the whole experience in a better cheerful way.
But that's another thing...
P.S. I'd like to reiterate it: I believe so.
The books we read, how we perceive the writings, the stories, etc.
It is our brain, it is the words written we all interpret to our own emotional intellectual values.
When I read that you mentioned "book" I knew right away that it was the right way to describe how we perceive audio.
A book with a hardcover encrusted of gold letters and sparkled with diamonds won't make a difference about the story.
Music is different though: Some recordings of the same music are not all created equal.
Say Black Sabbath for example; some CDs from the eighties are not the best sounding ones, some LPs from the eighties have a more emotional impact...I don't know why it is just the way it is with my listening, my perception of audio.
I recorded several guitars on open-reel tapes, tape cassettes, VHS tapes and CDs (digital), I like R2R tapes best and CDs second.
Some gear we like more than others. Sometimes I prefer small speakers and a clean integrated amp for some type, other times full range speakers with synchronised subwoofers for some music genre.
Each listening room can accommodate various speakers and amplifiers and turntables and music servers that we perceive well. Some preamps are cleaner for some well recorded music by quality music recording engineers. Some high-end speakers suit us better for the type of music we love listening to of quality recordings. The prices are relative, it can vary between say $1,000 (or less) to $100,000 (or more).
The way we perceive audio is a personal musical journey; the highest reward is the sharing and understanding and high respect we all have for each other. Appreciation of other's activities with the gear they use is a token of life evolution. ...It's a nice way to put it positively. We give freely without expecting anything in return, we love everything that is good and true to the heart of man, woman and child...and pet too.
Some of my best friends are . . . the Bose radio wave system owners.
Some of my best friends are . . . the ultra high-end hi-fi stereo system owners (turntable people).
The way we perceive audio depends of the quality of the music recordings of the music we love listening to best (classical music, jazz, blues and tango).
I love Beethoven, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Mozart, Coltrane, Munk, Deep Purple, Chopin, Simone, Bob Dylan, Ozzy, Miles, Rollins, Holiday (Billie) and Cash (Johnny).q
Among all I love operas, tango, calypso and gypsy music.
Some of my favorite musical instruments are . . . the human voice, the analog piano, the saxophone, the acoustic bass guitar, the cello and the Hammond organ.
The way we perceive audio is not inside a book, it is inside the soul of a music lover and listener. The audio gear we purchase to the highest goal of music reproduction pleasure with an acuity syndrome is proportional to the size of our room, heart, brain and soul.
The bigger our heart the better our audio perception, the larger our bank accounts the more the possibilities to explore more, here and there.
We love when we play ...