As a long time reader and poster to this forum, I have the impression that a large proportion of the most contentious arguments evolve out of two beliefs:
#1. Why things sound the way they do can be explained through current knowledge of science and differences that are real can be measured.
#2. Double blind testing is the sword that cuts through delusion.
Maybe the objectivist vs. subjectivist view of audio reality is a philosophical microcosm reflecting our respective world views? This bickering between the two audio world views is somewhat like the disagreement between western medicine practitioners and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. Discussions that cut to the core of our sense of self and world view provoke passionate debate. It takes great humility to accept that someone with a radically different world view may nonetheless have a valid viewpoint.
#1. Why things sound the way they do can be explained through current knowledge of science and differences that are real can be measured.
#2. Double blind testing is the sword that cuts through delusion.
Maybe the objectivist vs. subjectivist view of audio reality is a philosophical microcosm reflecting our respective world views? This bickering between the two audio world views is somewhat like the disagreement between western medicine practitioners and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. Discussions that cut to the core of our sense of self and world view provoke passionate debate. It takes great humility to accept that someone with a radically different world view may nonetheless have a valid viewpoint.