Yes all that is true but there is also no evidence to support the hypothesis that measurements can in any way help people decide which component will be to their sonic preference .Or put simply what sounds best to them.What is the point of comparing devices based on these parameters if we cannot show that there is a correlation with how something might sound?
As somebody else said "I then have to conclude that in terms of helping me decide which component is to my preference -I CAN'T TRUST MEASUREMENTS"
Just because you can't correlate every nuance, doesn't mean all and any correlation goes out the window.
I'm pretty sure nobody enjoys a dominant standing wave in a room, or an amplifier that's forced into hard clipping.
Some things are just universally repulsive... like the taste of toothpaste+ orange juice. We are individuals, but we are not
that individual.
IMO, the real question is at what point the line between objective performance and personal taste becomes fuzzy.
I suspect a lot of the reason why the correlation seems to be non existent is due to mental burn-in. If you subject youself to something mildly offensive for long enough, your brain can easily begin to perceive it as the new "correct". Once you remove the offensive component/effect, the brain will perceive it as "wong". Ironically the correct sound becomes offensive. It takes a new round of mental burn-in to make the brain accept normality. Most people don't like the idea of going through that agony, or they simply aren't aware of what's happening and interpret the experience as an idicator of personal taste.
And of course if people have an expectation that something might sound good because it has good measurements that will create expectation bias.
Absolutely true. Bias haunts us all, no matter what side of "the fence" we are on.