Nobody can turn off their 'systems'. This is why 'listening tests' have to be blind, so you don't have to turn your 'systems' off.This must be where i am going wrong. I don't share this ability to turn off the rest of my 'systems', and operate robotically with complete detachment using only my ears and a splice of brain matter containing independently operated audio analysis processing chips.
If you never choose any part of your music system, say you simply take the advice of someone you trust, then none of this matters. But as soon as you sit down to listen with the intent of evaluation equipment then you need to know why sighted tests are not just (or even mostly) about what you can hear.
It's a very honest approach to choose a brand based on any criteria that pleases you and simply buy a system from them that fits your budget.
You don't seem to be grasping the point that what you are actually saying is,IF IT SOUNDS BETTER, IT IS BETTER.
'If it looks better, it is better'
Paul