ACTUAL MUSICAL SOUND VS. MEASUREMENTS

With only one caveat, I have always let my ears do the talking. That caveat is, does the amplifier has enough umph ( watts and current and stability ) to run the speakers I have at the time. Other than that,  I don’t care.

Measurements matter. Two factors. You usually need to combine them with perceptive listening. Subjective feeds objective and vice versa.

But some measurements matter more than others in the hands of an experienced designer. One who measures and listens. My late friend Murray Zeligman modified cheap Grado cartridges in the 1970s. And he measured AND he listened. I once saw him look at a frequency curve , square wave and separation curve for a cartridge without knowing what it was. I still recall him saying he wanted the cartridge; he knew what it sounded like. It was an EPC 205 MK4 cartridge. We bought them. He was right. And it wasn't just luck. I saw him do similar things.

But this was particular cases. He never claimed he could do it all the time. But he sure was good some of the time.

At least with speakers the goal should be to better correlate measurements with what you hear and how specific room shapes, sizes and treatments influence both. 

@calvinj 

Some live by:
“It’s/they’re wrong until proven right” or
“It’s/I’m right until proven wrong”
both based on their individual judgment often clouded by a stubbornness most often based on fear of admitting to be wrong - their linked self-esteem takes a hit.

These types of people will always be around. Recognizing them would help deal with them “objectively” which is much better than taking it personally

I believe a large majority of naysayers, many who refuse try themselves, are being stubborn to “not” spending above measurements because they don’t want to face the truth of unaffordability.  Sometimes envy morphs to anger/indignant

Like most things…there is very useful RESEARCH being done on the ear / brain… vs willy nilly measurements and silly 8 out of ten validity criteria….

The music induced goosebump hedonic treadmill can be intoxicating …my plan is to stay on it as long as possible….