I feel that, perhaps, I should clarify my perspective regarding objective measurement versus subjective evaluation. When it comes to an audio system intended for human listening, measured technical parameters should be in service of the human listening. Conversely, listening should not be in service of parameter measurements. Said another way, music is for the benefit of humans to experience, not for the benefit of spectrum analyzer readouts. This is an important distinction. In order for measurements to effectively serve the human listening experience, the context, relevance, and inter-relationship of those measurements with respect to the human ear-brain system must be well understood. As seems too often the case, designers reverse this proper arrangement and design on the basis that measurements dictate what sounds best. The implication being that if measurements appear good, but the ear doesn't appreciate the result, then the ear is necessarily in error, but the designers understanding of the what should be measured, the context in which it should be measured, and how to interpret those measurements.
Should a designer be in possession of a full and complete understanding of how each measurment relates to and affects the human perception (unlikely), such measurements can indeed serve as a parametric guide to the technical design of products, without further reference to the human element. Of course, this is the objective of current measurement practice, however, the subjective result often suggest an less than full and complete knowledge by many designers. In summary, the human ear-brain system should be the master, parameter measurement the slave. Not the reverse.
End of my pompous soapbox postulating.