I mainly lurk here - and these (nasty) comments have forced me to respond. First, let me state that have been an audiophile since I was six years old. My dad worked at National Company in Malden, MA and made several 6L6 based Williamson amplifiers there - with matching 12AX7 preamps. I also have been designing my own tube, discrete transistor, FET and Opamp high end stuff since the 1970s & also have been a Radio/TV broadcast Chief Engineer for about 50 years.
1. Jason was 100% correct about what he said. EVERYTHING he said is true! Human perception (which audio/hearing is a subset of) can be affected by EVERY SINGLE THING that Jason spoke of - and if you don't agree then your powers of perception are suspect. Perceived bias is also quite real. Some things you WANT to believe - so you do - reality be damned.
2. Why can different pieces of audio gear that measure similar sound different? It comes down to ONE word: SYNERGY! It's literally how different pieces of equipment 'play' with one another! For the reality impaired out there, I have written an article about this. Though it is written from the broadcast perspective, most of you should still understand it.
Put Synergies to Work at Your Station (radioworld.com)
3. Has it occurred to you that perhaps since we live in a noisy ANALOG world that our ears LIKE TO HEAR the analog noise and distortion that comes from vinyl? I base this on the fact that my wife and I own a Low Power FM station outside Philadelphia (WZML) and our Wednesday evening show is 100% vinyl based. Only problem is it arrives digitally from NJ and is sent to the transmitter (and streamed) digitally - yet I can HEAR (and prefer) the analog 'sound' that is accurately recreated by our 24 bit digital link. Last night he opened a new 1970s British pressing copy of Help! by The Beatles - and I heard things I have never heard before - all accurately sent over our digital link.
Listen for yourself:
http://freeus2.listen2myradio.com:14821/Stream
Finally, this is supposed to be a hobby; thus enjoyable. Why is it that so many here seem to NOT be enjoying themselves? If HiFi so awful for you then you need to find a more enjoyable hobby!