You are completely outside of my reality!
We definitely can afford speakers like these! I've spent a huge amount of money in "audiophilia" over the years. Don't be a psychologist, just stay on your day job of speaker designer.
But, it is because of places like this one, ASR as one example, that I challenged myself to rediscover what it was all about. My "day job" is helping companies on the development of new drugs. That is, designing clinical trials, analyzing them and helping them interpret the results. My job is behind the scenes, but in the last two years my "client-physicians" asked me to publish with them (a commentary and a trial comparison review). Peer reviewed publications. It is when I started to apply the same parameters of my job to "audiophilia" that I truly discovered that I was conned. For years, by greedy people that took advantage of my goodwill and willingness to believe. Applying objective measures made me realize that it was all wrong. That you can really study what gets better sound and that you don't have to spend money in "Noise Harvesters" that do not harvest noise, in "power regenerators" that do not regenerate power. And have no effect on the sound.
My day job framework, applied to "sound", is what I am doing here. You do the work, you spend time in testing, you document your work, you "publish" (in the case you show your work) and then you can deliver your messages. I do know very well that developing drugs is different to hawking stereo. I still expect some integrity.
By the way, I am grateful that you wrote here. I'd rather not comment there as much as possible. Did you know that one of their posters insulted a woman and called a blind man a "moron" because he couldn't "see" something on the website? Besides insulting me at any opportunity? He was called on by Paul, but nothing happened. Now, I give him back when I feel like it.
I respect the fact that you are now trying to test. It should be the other way around. You should have told Paul the tools you needed to do the work "well". It is called R&D. You can't put a lipstick on a pig. If he didn't want to do it, you should have realized what kind of work you were getting into. It is clear you know your stuff, this is why I don't understand you. But I don't do psychology, so it is your life.
I can spend $15k on a bicycle, $8k going one week heli-skiing. It is not about the money. It is what I am getting. And this kind of subjective audio is really about satisfying insecurities. Not about sound quality. I live in an area where Ferrari's, McLarens, Lambos and expensive Porsches are a dime a dozen (incidentally, my wife has a Porsche though she rarely drives it now). That does not impress me.
As I said in your employer's site, I really have little patience for the subjective terms and the misleading advertising. Do you know that his $50 outlet is just a rebranded $7 one you can buy in Home Depo?
I have a PS Audio amp, legacy from my sorry days. I HAD respect for him. Now, I just don't know anymore. Does he believe his stuff or is he in just for the money?