I have to weigh in on the ‘scientific’ side of the issue. Blame my engineering background and confidence in properly applied science, if you like. We now have, and have had for some time, measurement techniques that are much more sensitive than our own native senses, and that tell us things our senses cannot. We should trust in equipment and methods that have been shown to be reliable.

Let’s try an alternate scenario: piloting an aircraft. Pilots are trained that when sensory perception of flight conditions appear contrary to the information being provided by instrument readings, TRUST THE INSTRUMENTS! The vast majority of people who have flown are alive today precisely because of that.

While “how it sounds to you” is the final word in whether you are happy with a component or a system of components, I would tend to trust ‘the instruments’ when betting my audio budget dollars.