The ability to hear a difference is a function of how resolving your system is.
If your whole system is below ~$30k, there’s an awful lot you’re not going to be able to hear.
In my own case, a few years ago I concluded I could not hear any difference between using the volume control on my DAC, which has a remote, and using the volume control on my integrated 300B amp, which doesn’t have a remote. Since then I have made lots of upgrades in other parts of the system. Out of curiosity I went back and compared the two again. Now it’s apparent that not using the volume control on the DAC improves the depth of the soundstage significantly. All of my friends can hear it’s deeper
As Einstein probably said, everything is relative.