Sound quality is fundamentally subjective and requires perceptual testing to characterize

Evidence

Of the four general definitions, probably the most satisfactory is still “unwanted sound.” This makes noise a subjective term. One man’s music may be another man’s noise. — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 614 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Knowledge of psychoacoustics is based on listening tests in order to find out how humans perceive sounds in terms, for example, of pitch, loudness and timbre. Direct measurements are not possible in this context, since direct connections cannot be made for ethical as well as practical reasons, and, in many cases, there is a cognitive dimension (higher-level processing) that is unique to each and every listener. Our knowledge of psychoacoustics therefore is based on listening tests, and this section presents an overview of procedures that are typically used in practice. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2376 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Sound denotes both a physical wave and the subjective percept it evokes; Sound quality is judged as deviations from ideal amounts of perceptual dimensions; Traditional distortion specs fail to predict perceived sound quality (+14 more)

Broader Connections

• Noise is fundamentally subjective rather than an objective property of sound #corroborates (0.92) — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 614
• Psychoacoustic knowledge rests entirely on subjective listening tests, not direct measurement #corroborates (0.88) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2376
• Sound reproduction quality depends on both physical acoustics and human perception #expands (0.82)
• Visual and contextual cues bias human judgments of sound quality #qualifies (0.80)