SNS expressed some of what I think about regarding this: Each of us hears differently and have different preferences. While I like bass, some of my younger friends go overboard, in my opinion. They think my systems lack Ooomp! that their systems provide with thundering bass (I think we have all been beside the car in stopped traffic that literally vibrates body panels from the thud of large subwoofers and big amps — what a headache!). I prefer more delicacy in the music, so I can hear nuances and not just bang, bang, bang! I think it’s true when people say, “Some distortion people like”. And we are all different.
I have questioned if I ever could hear as well as some other people — not just now when I’m older, but even when I was young. It was not my ability to hear but my ability to discern. Someone would say, “Do you hear that? I can’t hear that on those other speakers, but I can hear it through these speakers.” And I often wasn’t sure what they meant or were hearing, though I just nodded and smiled, “Yeah, man!” I could go to a high-fi showroom and the salesperson would play something and stand there with that satisfied grin, reciting all the statistics and accolades, and Im thinking, “I wonder if these would sound good in my less-than-optimal room, or if I could even tell how they really sound.” I so envy the people that have supreme confidence in their abilities to perceive better-than from lesser-than.