Denial that subjectivist types hear what they think they hear.
That the ear is not reliable in blind tests etc.
That natural body and resonance are coloration etc.
That an explicit, hyper-detailed sound must be right.
When long-term realisation shows that it is just tiring. If you want to show your system picks up a vocal inflection, a click of the tongue ”more betterer” than your friend’s system that’s fair enough I suppose but you are probably cheating.
The fact that it is probably a manufacturer manipulated upturned frequency response to impress in a comparison audition… well never mind. When I look at Hi-Fi magazine reviews I am mainly looking out for the reviewer’s description of something as ‘musical’. That is what music is about not logic. Should not need to be said really…
Or equipment that you simply really enjoy that takes your mind off comparing – ”but this, but that”… that is always a good sign.
Or an album track suddenly ‘making sense’ that never quite gelled before – that is a good sign.
When it comes to music with vocals, I think we are too generous when we say people have different tastes. The voice is either as real as possible or it is not. Too many systems produce voices in a way that is slightly robotic and cold. (Speakers with baffles less than 8 inches wide tend to be poor in this area.) I don’t accept this trade-off !
I sometimes genuinely forget that I have loaned an item from my system such as a DC blocker and filter which would be hidden behind the equipment rack. I absent-mindedly wonder why the soundstage is relatively congested, where the life has gone. Then I remember I have loaned this or that.
Or when you audition something that should be better than what you had. You start by hearing what it does better. Then, maybe through tiredness, you just listen almost subconsciously, half-listening. Then you can really judge if overall it is more musical and enjoyable than what you had before. In other words, when you are not looking for a difference and you hear one that is what counts! Call it subconscious comparison.