I like measurements derived from good engineering and science, including user studies that ask critical questions about what groups of listeners perceive as better. By looking deeply at the science and how human hearing appears to operate we can get better reproduction equipment. We certainly want, at first blush, equipment that accurately reproduces the original recording which means we want exceptional fidelity that can be assessed via principled measurements. Now some folks like coloring the reproduced sound to suit their preferences. Luckily, we are in a golden age where DSP can be used to achieved almost any outcome and room treatments can compensate where DSP can’t quite deliver. At least we can measure those outcomes, though!
But I do like this hobby and the musical journey, and especially like that we have great measurement resources that can help us distinguish exceptionally engineered equipment from merely overpriced and underwhelming hype.
