A prime example of this matter is tube amps vs solid state ones or what some called glass vs sand amps. Compare a good tube amp’s specs, distortion, damping factor, actual power out put, square wave accuracy etc. vs. most class D amps, all receivers, & most moderately priced solid state amps. On paper the tube amp might seem to be much less accurate & less faithful to the music. In reality, the reverse is more likely true.
if this doesn’t show in the measurements, perhaps not all the right things were measured & I’ll bet we don’t really know exactly what they all are. Our brain & senses are very complex & amazing things w/ almost an infinite level of potential detail.