[MrSkelter]

Audiophiles are a self selected group. Membership has nothing to do with hearing ability. Most are of an age where they have less than “normal” hearing for a healthy child.

Audiophiles classically deliberately confuse measurable differences with audible ones. This they chase meaningless goals and convince themselves that anything which affects signal affects sound.

None of it would stand up to properly double blind testing. When it’s done things like “the sound of cables” disappears entirely outside incompetent engineering.

Even worse audiophiles tend to prefer distortion which flatters. I.e. exaggerated bass and treble to compensate for components and old ears.