Brad -
Thanks for making this personal by saying things like 'you feel sorry for me' etc.
It's good to know that you truly, deeply care about me.


Humans get sucked into the marketing hype and think hyperbole and amazing claims in magazines are gospel. Heck, even YouTube 'reviews' and niche forums like this will help change peoples opinions on products. Once we, as human beings read a review somewhere, we take on a few key elements if the writing was articulate and convincing enough and carry them through into the wider world as part of our opinion.

It's the same as when you worked in / owned an AV store.
A senior bloke on the floor or rep from a manufacturer would come in and 'influence' you. Whether you knew it or not, whether you liked it or not - it happened.
And it DEFINITELY worked in their favour to convince you that there is a difference in audio tonality between AVR's. It got you motivated to sell the certain brand / product that they wanted you to push.
It's all marketing.
Now, I'm not saying that you were sucked in by these people...

Well, actually, I am.
It's how the world works.


The fact of the matter is -
The odds are heavily stacked against us.
OUR hearing changes.
And it changes a lot.
OUR ability to hear top end detail decays with age.
OUR ability to reference everything because of this - that also drops away.

You know when you worked in / owned an AV store... did a system sound 'okay' one day, but 'amazing' the following day?
Why was that?
A magical combination of component synergy? The high end power conditioner attached to the end of some expensive aftermarket power leads?
Or was it that you ended up sitting in a car with the stereo up for 45 minutes on the way to work?
Road noise in the car, the hum of an aircon unit all day, the traffic noise from the street, the constant prattling of co-workers... it all makes it next to impossible for us to create a reference for audio. It's why we hear things 'differently' on a day to day basis. Heck, my missus says I only ever hear her when she opens the fridge...

It is what it is.

The issue is that people use all the influencers suggestions (that have now formed their own opinions), 'tired ears' listening sessions and whatever else that changes their thought process... to 'call it how they see it'.

Are they wrong?
Well, yeah... Probably.
Does it matter.
Nope.
Do Yamaha amps sound brighter than Denon's?
No.
Do Denon amps sound duller than Yamaha's?
No.
Do people desperately seek an answer to make sense of the ocean of chaos in which we live?
Yes.