Distinctly different headphone frequency responses can all be equally preferred

Evidence

The conclusion was that although the top four target curves sounded different from each other, they all sounded acceptable to the average listener. They noted that women tended to rate the Low Bass target higher than men. In two studies discussed in 15.6.4 and 15.6.5, we noted that women tended to prefer headphones with less bass than men. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1844

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the earlier finding in this book (15.6.4/15.6.5) that women prefer less bass — and complicates the notion of a single universally optimal headphone target, echoing the broader theme that listener preference tolerances are broader than engineering precision suggests.
• QUESTION: Why would women rate the Low Bass target higher yet prefer less bass in other studies? Is the Low Bass anchor disliked less by women because bass-heavy targets reinforce a male-idolized sound signature, or something neurological?
• ADDENDUM: Supports the ‘Grafting & Growth’ piece’s core insight that plural tolerances beat single optimal solutions — here applied to headphone tuning rather than tree infrastructure.