Thanks. Seems ...I like to get beating up all the time.
I think much of the issue is the frustration factor you bring.
Those of us who have been around here for a while know you have a passion for sound and you have done plenty of listening and have progressed through some fine gear along the way.
Many of us have progressed through some form of bind test, or merely pulled out an older amp after the honeymoon with the new amp was over such that we were not so excited and thrilled with the new unit as those first few days of ownership.
I have read accounts from people who opened up their several year old amp and meticulously cleaned out any dust who swear that their system sounded better after that. This is simply human nature. If you spent the last 45 minutes putting tender loving care into your system, you are certain to perceive a difference because you just feel good about taking care of something that was bothering you (otherwise you would not have bothered to do anything). We are not machines that measure and report reality. We are creatures that experience and enjoy, (or not). How can you believe your perceptions are not influenced by excitement, anticipation, etc.?
If there is a new piece of gear that you have been anticipating for weeks or even months and you are setting it up today, isn't it reasonable that that excitement might be causing some extra pheromones or even adrenaline to be coursing through your body? After all, what is excitement if not a biochemical reaction?
So there you are with your new treasure and excited to play your favorite music. In such an alert state of listening, it is likely that you are more alert to subtleties of sound and will detect details that normally go unnoticed! I know I do!
I try to minimize the "human influences" by setting up instant and level matched comparisons. It does help. Certainly, my bio-chemical state has a hard time keeping up with the button under my finger and I can sometimes lose track of which is which. That can address (to an extent) factors such as clogged sinuses or state of alert listening; however, I still find that being able to see what the gear looks like influences my perception! I know this because I have done blind testing (unfortunately double blind was too difficult to accomplish) with very, very little interaction with the party setting it up (it would be double blind if they set it up and left while you did the evaluation). But these tests have proven to me that my sighted perception was very much influenced by knowing about what I was listening to.
There are some people who can do phenomenal things that would generally be considered inhuman (such as perfect pitch), and it is possible that you may somehow be able to genuinely bypass the human aspect of your existence that influences your perceptions. Unfortunately, it is so common for people to believe that they can that if someone actually did, they would be met with skepticism. If there were documented cases of people who can do this, we would be less quick to cry "BS", but as is, it seems very unlikely, and seems like you would need to be bereft of emotion (in the normal sense) to do so!
