Recently, I got new speakers and when I hooked them up, a/b tested against my old speakers, and heard tighter, punchier, deeper bass, more clarity and detail, I confidently told myself that the new thing is better, but over time I noticed that I was just not listening to music that much. Listening to my favorite albums or checking out a new one for the first time used to hold my attention, but now after a few songs, I would drift off down a YouTube rabbit hole and can’t get through an entire album. I put my old (apparently inferior) speakers back and I suddenly can’t get enough music.
I’m not going to go into over-analyzing those particular speakers, because I have had the same thing happen with headphones and amps as well. I think my takeaway here Is that in my time watching reviews and trying to judge what good sound is, I have inadvertently trained my self to look for certain characteristics of sound quality that aren’t actually what I enjoy the most… so how do you know what it is about sound quality actually keeps you listening as opposed to what checks the boxes you’ve created to distinguish “good” audio quality.
Reviewers have to apply all those criteria and characteristics to gear to make their reviews relatable. But we don’t listen to criteria and characteristics. We listen to music, and the gear either does it for you or it doesn’t. I’ve heard million dollar systems and been less impressed with them than I was with a smallish $5k system. Something can sound nice enough, but leave you bored after a while and seeking something else.