See that depends on what the goal of the comparison is. My goal for example is not to find the objectively best components in my system but to find the combination of components that allow me to enjoy the music the most. That means to me a detailed but not fatiguing sound that is balanced across the frequency spectrum and gets the tonalisty of the mids right. I find, like JJ said, that if I concentrate on listening for specific things i do not hear the music but what I am listening for. Therefore, for me, I need a lot of listening over a long period of time before I feel i can adequately judge how well the component is working in the system. My point is that everyone may not have the same goals for their system nor the same criteria for a satisfying experience. Although interesting, that was a fairly caricatured presentation of the underlying data interpretation. That's why I gave up on doing "reviews" I do not believe i can judge a component for anyone else except myself.