You can only trust your ears if you have good ears and know what to listen for. Otherwise it can really be helpful to take advice and direction from others. Unfortunately it can be hard to figure out what is good advice and what's not. What I mean to say is that trusting your own ears has its limitations.
Seek advice on forums but always listen to your own ears!
I’m starting this thread because in our hobby there are no absolutes. You as an audiophile will bring a different experience. You will have different equipment, speakers,room, experience level and level of equipment. Be careful seek the advice but you never know who is giving it to you. Trust your ears not random measurements from random people. Some folks are not who they say they are.