Atmasphere,
Are you suggesting these EEs with bad sounding amplifiers can`t 'hear' that they`re bad or that they don`t care as long as the specs are good?How can anyone buy audio components(presumably to enjoy music) and not judge them based on how they sound? Or is what`s horrid to you may be good sound to them?
Honestly Charles1dad, it does indeed seem to me that many engineers do buy and listen on specs (although there are plenty of people who do that, not just engineers). I regard this as an example of how humans can run their lives around a made up story, in this case the story being 'this is what good sound must be like because this equipment has good specs'.
I think there is an education thing going on; that is to say that many people just never sort out how good things can really sound.
'Horrid' to me is usually 'bright' the kind of bright and harsh that forces me to leave the room to avoid a headache. IMO/IME, a stereo should not cause physical pain, but you know, to each his own :)